And I thought I was lost and confused...

I don't have a whole lot to say today and was planning (am still) to tinker with my blog formatting (I am still new at this, I don't speak html, and I don't love el blogo yet). Then I was bored and surfing the web and I saw something I felt merited blog postage.

So, my current day job contract is up at the end of the coming week (anyone hiring?) and, as a result, I am hunting for new opportunities. In the course of investigations I have, of course, been through the classifieds, and what should I come across but multiple posting with titles like "Serious actor launching career" or "Actress/Model seeking work." I click on them because I am intrigued. I refuse to link to them because I am appalled.

Basically, they are all the same thing: several bad photographs (some semi-nude, almost all suggestive) of people who look like they haven't got a clue, an email address, a list of their skills and "training," and links for websites, resumes, etc. So I follow a few of them because I really want to know who thinks that posting on classifieds is going to get them a "serious" acting job. Some have taken acting classes, it seems, but not necessarily from reputable teachers/schools. And whoever told one girl that she needed to list her measurements on her resume should be banned from advising all aspiring actresses in the future.

It is so easy to be taken advantage of in this industry. And I don't know whether people chose to post this information in the classifieds on their own or if someone suggested it (I am not under the impression that anyone has ever gotten a real acting job like this, please correct me if I'm wrong), but it's kind of pathetic. And mostly sad because, well, it doesn't seem like these people have any idea about how to get the ball rolling (and I say that as someone who is frequently also at a loss). I don't even know what else to say, I wasn't aware that people did this.

This isn't, obviously, a well thought out post...more of a ramble, really. But, I guess my point is, don't we all, in this community as well as others, have a responsibility to help along the next generation? To mentor those who haven't yet accomplished what we have so they don't wind up deluding themselves or looking silly? I believe so. And while I haven't come that far, I certainly have tried to help those I can (and my little protege is doing quite well on her theatre school audition tour). And I am always looking for someone to show me the way...So, if you are in a position of some power or if you know anything at all, get out there and share the wealth. So people don't post crazy things in classifieds and so I don't lose my mind.