Film Acting in Louisiana
The reason I started Love Acting was to create a film school here in Baton Rouge, because I didn’t think we had anything like this in this city. When I was growing up here there were only theater classes offered— none really had to do with film. There was little exposure to film acting to filmmaking as a young person. I want people in Baton Rouge to know that there’s a place where they can not only go to learn how to act for the camera, but potentially get involved in filmmaking opportunities as well. For example, when I made Days of Daisy, a handful of the students in the film were my actual acting students from Loving Acting. I encourage all of my students to think of themselves as actors who also write or also direct or produce. It’s empowering as a creative person to tell stories that you care about, and when you’re young, you’re so full of ideas. You aren’t squelched by things like paying bills or just the general hardness of the world. You’re free, flowing in a different creative space. So many of the ideas that our youth have are actually ingenious. I find they still know how to dream without limiting their options and still see a world of possibility. The reality of filmmaking has become more difficult as I’ve become more experienced; I have a higher standard for what i think ‘good’ is, and it limits my creativity.
Alaina Canaday, Love Acting student, on local Baton Rouge film set.
When students ask me if they should move to Los Angeles, I tell them that this is a very warm market where they can build their careers, and if things go well here and they build a nice reel, then they should think about moving after that. Big dreams call for big responsibility, and if I could leave anything to Baton Rouge, it would be an amazing art school, where you not only study acting, but also painting, drawing, poetry, dance— a conservatory of the arts. Because I truly believe that the most creative people are Renaissance people, where they understand and are able to apply all the arts to their craft. I find that most of my students are solar-focused on just acting, but they are not interesting as humans, and they need to develop their humanity and skills as they develop their acting career to create depth and interest, also to create balance in their lives.
In 2022 there were about 50-70 film and television productions made in Louisiana, estimating 1.1 billion dollars spent. With these kind of numbers, the opportunity for Louisiana actors is great. In Los Angeles the competition for actors is fierce and almost impossible to break into. Louisiana has a smaller pool of talent, which makes for opportunities to work in bigger projects. So my message to anyone from Louisiana who is new to the industry and who wants to pursue filmmaking or acting: Stay here! You never know what opportunities are lying around the corner or in your own backyard.
Alaina Canaday, Love Acting student, on local Baton Rouge film set.