Author Archives: Kevin E. West

Kevin E. West

About Kevin E. West

Kevin E. West is considered Hollywood’s foremost authority regarding the business aspect, of Show Business because he is the rare combination of both current working professional with expertise / perspective and consultant. Kevin E. West is the President and Founder of The Actors’ Network, the most recognized, trusted, and industry endorsed actor’s business organization in the United States. Kevin is personally responsible for pioneering the guest speaker series concept, a retail discount program for actors, as well as an ongoing internship program for actors never before seen prior to 1991.

See “the value” of an Industry Speaker!

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Ahhh….my TAN peeps,

We hope you had a tremendous Holiday weekend…
We are cruising into a crazy month…trust me on that.

No matter what our contract negotiations lead to…the reality is after the writer’s strike there are a lot of productions finding themselves behind …and now if there is any real hint there would be even a brief strike…many many shows will be pushing.  Additionally, there was the typical 6-week dead spot in the Commercial world but it has rebounded with a vengeance and that industry will be looking to ensure they get all of their Fall spots cast and inked before any strike. Continue reading →

TAN Anniversary!

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On Sat, May 1, 2010 at 7:23 PM, The Actors’ Network <members@actors-network.com> wrote:

Good beautiful Saturday to you…

Yep, today is the day, May 1st…(19 years…don’t they go by in a blink).
Happy Birthday to The Actors’ Network.  What a long strange trip its been.

It was a mere 19 years ago when I first sat down with Bill Bassett, Elisabeth Camara, Kevin Collins, Mel Metcalfe III, Leslie Nattinger, David Ridenhour & (my girlfriend) Suzi Kesler. Continue reading →

Summertime – Career Freeze…NOT!

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Well, once again, we’re on the precipice of Summertime, as well as contract negotiations…or the “fear of a strike.” What a perfect time to “check out” right…NOT. At some point you guys, being an actor in this city, has to become something you’re not constantly looking to “put on the shelf.”  Again, if you treat something like a hobby…you will get hobby results, as well as be hobby proficient.  And I assure you that in LA, while there are a lot of bad actors, there are also a lot of good ones and having “hobby-level” skills…ain’t gonna get it done most of the time. Continue reading →

Build a strong professional Network!

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! Build a Strong Professional Network, by Kevin E. West!

If your goal is to build a strong professional network you have to ask why? Why do you need a strong professional network? The simple answer is necessity. In any profession to enjoy a successful career a strong network is absolutely essential. A successful acting career is no different than any other. It requires long term and focused effort to build anything. It is impossible to build a career without a strong professional network as a foundation, and additionally, a strong professional network cannot reap benefits without several years of work and maintenance. So long as you put the time necessary into building and maintaining a

strong professional network, you can achieve a terrific career.   What is the make up of a strong professional network? You must have diverse, intelligent, and professional people surrounding you who are moving forward. Ok, so how does this occur?  Well…you have to meet them so let’s breakdown this process.

Meeting: (Don’t forget that a lot of acting in Hollywood is TIMING!) Continue reading →

Dorothy you’re not in the 90′s anymore… (Pilots)

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So it is November 13th today, and conventional wisdom has it that there is maybe a week or so of legit “busy time” left before we ALL mentally just depart for a flippin’ 5-week stretch.

NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND.

Dorothy ain’t in Kansas… and it isn’t the 90’s.

People, do not be like everyone else.  Don’t do and think like everyone else… because when you’re an actor “95% of the everyone else” are people who’ve never really worked or really ever began building a career. Continue reading →

TAN on NPR, and Ent. Weekly!!

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Well well well, how fun it was yesterday afternoon when Lifers Lisa K. Wyatt and Amir Talai, along with “yours truly”, were interviewed on the Patt Morrison show (89.3). Additionally back on Tuesday, July 1st, we held a Special Guest appearance at the TAN studios with Jonathan Handel and that session was recorded (aired on 7/8) by Brian Watt from 89.3, as well as attended by Vanessa Juarez from EW.com.

Below are the links and information you need to listen to or read about both the AFTRA contract negotiations as well as its dispute with SAG.

Tuesday, July 8
This Week on Patt Morrison
http://www.scpr.org/programs/pattmorrison/ Continue reading →

Entertainment Weekly @ The Actors’ Network!

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Actors discuss potential SAG strike at Hollywood meeting
Jul 2, 2008, 04:11 PM | by Vanessa Juarez

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY LINK: (Full story below, plus more from J. Handel)

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/07/actors-meeting.html

Categories: Movie Biz, Strike, TV Biz

The Screen Actors Guild and its smaller sister union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, have been trying to hammer out individual contracts with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for several weeks now. Unfortunately, the unions despise each other, which leaves working actors caught in the middle of a political cat fight. And that’s a tough predicament for many since, well, most Hollywood actors aren’t Will Smith. Consider this: According to a Los Angeles Times analysis, 72.1 percent of actors make less than $5,000 per year, and less than 2 percent of them make enough to own a Bentley. Continue reading →

Technology and Conversation!

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Hey Actors’ Network peeps…Please know that the Jonathan Handel appearance this past Tuesday, at its core, is what The Actors’ Network has been built on since 1991.

We can have all the technology in the world, from online photos to on demand demos and I love it…because we save trees and time. But at the end of the day it is “how” you use those tools in life, NOT just that they exist.  Actors commonly get caught up in the tools and technology of our profession without realizing that they’re not getting anywhere.   Remember the “frame of a house” is only that…a frame, a structure upon which the rest of the actual “living quarters” are built.  Our community of actors today tends to “think” they have all they need when they go to class, have a photo, are listed on 200 actor websites + one of their own, a Facebook/MySpace page…get the BDs on the black market and go to workshops. Continue reading →

Waiting For Inspiration

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While I do not do it often, from time to time, I’ll get an email from a terrific member and I am just compelled to use the circumstances for a blog.  Mind you, the identity of any member never matters…as it is the principle…that matters.

The member wrote:

I did not use the vast resources of the network much at all this past year and I think deep down, I don’t believe I will this year.  I don’t know why I don’t.  Maybe I think I should be farther along than I am and so to come in for the discussions, Power Groups or guests feels like I’m stepping backwards.  Crazy, silly and self-defeating probably. Continue reading →

State of the Industry

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From time to time I just like to stop, and take a look at the State of the Industry. When I look around these days I see chaos, but it is a chaos I expected and talked about in 2000. We see it in this country, with our leaders, and we certainly see it with this industry. However, I encourage you to realize that with every decade, and every generation thinks…oh everything is “going to Hell in a hand basket” and in the end…it is just change.

It is imperative, be us actors or not, that we exercise common logic and a certain amount of humility…no matter how successful or confident we may be. At the end of the day, nothing that is going on now…is any different than what has come before…except that now we all have the Internet and cell phones. We live in a 24-hour news cycle, and we seem to take everything so tragically and in extremes…and then totally forget it happened…24-hours later. It is sort of sad. Continue reading →