Not in Kansas Anymore
KU's aspiring actors and filmmakers take on L.A. By Marissa Stephenson, Jayplay writer
home to Los Angeles! The sun shines bright, the beaches are wide and inviting and the orange groves fetch in star as the eye can see. There are jobs plentiful and the land is cheap...who knows, you could have discovered, become a movie star one. Life is good in Los Angeles; it's Earth. Ha ha ha...That's what they tell "
ens, L.A. Confidential
Mark Mackie, Lawrence resident, doesn't like to tell people he's an actor. He's tired of the snide comments and giggling reactions. Mackie, who left KU before graduating, beat the odds in L.A., but came back for his Kansas fiancé. Luckily this girl doesn't mind that he's an actor. His last girlfriend wasn't allowed to date him — her mother said he was a nice boy, but no good could come from dating an actor.
It's the glitz. It's the glamour. It's the draw of bright lights, big city, the "Industry": our Mecca of stars, fame and fortune. Los Angeles calls to the film lover in all of us, but mostly from the safe comfort of our reclining theater chairs. We're here, they're there and the distance between dreams and reality is more than just miles. But there are a dedicated few ready to throw toothbrush, underwear and a treasured copy of Chinatown in a bag and make for the Hollvwood hills.
Brad Combest, Fort Richardson, Ala., senior, knew early on he had to entertain. The understudy Santa Claus in his fourth-grade play, Combest saw the spotlight when the real Santa got sick and Combest performed his way into grade-school history. Since then, he's focused on directing and screenwriting and plans to draw on his classical antiquities major to create literary success. Combest (pictured) plans to leave for L.A. in August, but even success here is slow in coming. "I haven't finished anything yet," he says. "I'm really good at writing halfway through things."
Every year, handfuls of KU students and graduates take the leap and head out to L.A. to follow a dream. They're writers, producers, directors and actors. They're ready to be successful, famous or just lucky. They'll toss off the doubts from family and friends and determinedly travel 1,592 miles, unsure whether they'll make it in the infamous film industry that sucks you in and spits you out. The stats play against them, but even struggling moviemakers from Kansas have help from home. The roulette is whether they can take the aid and still make it.
Dara Barton, KU graduate, is living the L.A. life. She moved there alone and slept on the couch of a friend for the first few weeks. She found an apartment, a deal at $500 a month in West Hollywood, but a job is still a work in progress. She'd love to do film production work but also is open to acting and modeling. She confesses she has no idea what's protocol and orthodox to get a job in movies. The classifieds aren't much help either. "I looked in the L.A. Times for two hours today and couldn't find a single job for any work in the industry," she says. Until she lands a job in the movies, Barton does have work at Ralph's Grocery, a grocery chain in southern California. All of its current workers are on strike, so Barton could make up to $18 an hour. She says if this is what it takes to help her get by until her big break, she'll be more than happy to do it.