Welcome to BrainsofMinerva.com, the Guide to the L.A. Actor Hustle. After months of developing the idea, slogging through books about WordPress, and debating which one of us was going to have to date a computer programmer, opening night is here!

A bit about our odd name, it is from an Ethel Barrymore quote (though we don’t know when or why she said it. We’ve searched and searched), “For an actress to be a success, she must have the face of Venus, the brains of Minerva, the grace of Terpsichore, the memory of a MaCaulay, the figure of Juno, and the hide of a rhinoceros.” This from a woman who was part of one of the greatest acting dynasties, had major successes on Broadway and in Hollywood, and was proposed to by WInston Churchill! She clearly knew how to hustle. Claire and I discovered it when we were searching for a name to convey that this is a place for motivated, thoughtful actors. I don’t believe that only those with a “figure of Juno” can make it in this town, but I do believe that one must be creative, perseverant, confident, humble, brave, and a touch out of one’s mind to pursue making one’s life and livelihood as an actor, in other words, have “the brains of Minerva.” And who is this Minerva woman? She is the Roman Goddess of wisdom, warriors, and poets, among other things. A fine ally to have on one’s side in Hollywood!

This spring I found myself in a number of situations where I was one of the more, umm, shall we say, experienced Los Angeles actors. Recent graduates and newly arrived New Yorkers had a lot of questions for me. In the bar after a show or on the phone, we would end up talking about how to get an agent, how to get into voiceover, and most of all, how to survive this crazy town. What’s the difference between leasing and owning a car? Is it worth it to do free work? How do you talk to your boyfriend about the fact that he doesn’t seem happy for you when you book a job? All these conversations pointed to the one thing I have always found most challenging about pursuing an acting career: there is no map. As difficult and sleepless as the path to being a doctor appears to be, I have always been jealous of its concrete nature. But what is our college to med school to residency to intern equivalent?

Cameron Thor, an amazing acting teacher and coach who I have been lucky enough to study with, always says, “The problem is the solution.” So there is no map? Wow! There is no map! This most frustrating quality of an acting career is also what makes it so dynamic and exciting. There are as many paths to success (and definitions of what that even means) as there are those of us pursuing it. What I’m interested in here is elucidating those paths. Creating a space where we can explore what has worked and what we’ll never do again, even if they pay us. Reveling in the journey, because we know, no matter how many times our great aunt asks us when she’ll see us on the big screen, that that’s all that matters.

Actors are natural collaborators in our work, and yet we take on our careers alone. Very few of us enter the business with a team of agents already in place or a mentor to whom we can turn. We are told again and again how competitive this town is, discouraging us from even reaching out to each other. We arrive in LA, make a few friends through plays and class, but unless we happen to have family in the business, we rarely have access to people in other stages of their careers or from other parts of the industry. At BrainsofMinerva.com, we will bring you insights from actors, filmmakers, directors, voiceover agents, theater company founders, producers, and other exciting people that we haven’t even thought of yet. We hope that you will reach out to us with your questions, thoughts, and adamant opinions in the comment section below. Lets create a space that allows for that same spirit of collaboration that we share on stage and set to be put to use in our careers and our lives.

photo credit: State Library of New South Wales collection