The Los Angeles Actor Glossary

This glossary defines the words Los Angeles actors actually hear in audition emails, on set, and in agent phone calls, in plain language and without jargon stacked on jargon. It covers 88 terms across four areas: casting and audition vocabulary, SAG-AFTRA union and contract language, set and production terms, and the business words used by agents and managers. Union and contract terms here are checked against SAG-AFTRA's own published material. Dollar rates change with each contract cycle, so this page defines what each term means and points you to SAG-AFTRA for current figures.

A to C

Across the board

Across the board means an actor is signed with the same agency for every category of work: theatrical, commercial, voiceover, hosting, and anything else the agency covers. The opposite is being signed in only one category, such as commercial only, which is common for newer actors. Many LA actors start commercial only at one agency and add theatrical representation later, sometimes at a different agency.

ADR

ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) is re-recording dialogue in a sound booth after filming, in sync with the picture. It is used when location audio is unusable, when a line changes in the edit, or when a performance needs a different read. It is also called looping.

Agent commission

Agent commission is the percentage of your earnings a talent agent takes for work they procured, capped and regulated in California under the Talent Agencies Act. Ten percent is the standard for union work, and franchised agents deduct it after you are paid, never in advance. An agent who asks for money up front is not operating legally in California.

Avail

An avail is a request from casting asking whether you are available to shoot on specific dates. It means you are under serious consideration but it is not a booking, and it carries no legal obligation on either side. Actors who treat an avail as a job are the ones who get hurt.

Background actor

A background actor, usually shortened to BG or called an extra, appears on camera to populate a scene without speaking scripted lines. Background work is the most common on-ramp to SAG-AFTRA eligibility, because three days of work under a SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreement makes a performer eligible. General extras fill the frame; special ability extras do something specific like drive a picture car or skate.

Beat

A beat is a single unit of action or intention inside a scene, the smallest chunk where the character wants one thing. Actors break scenes into beats so the performance changes when the character's tactic changes. In a script, "beat" written into dialogue also means a short pause.

Blocking

Blocking is the planned physical movement of actors in a scene, set by the director and then locked so camera, lighting, and sound can work around it. On a film or TV set, blocking usually happens in a rehearsal at the top of the scene, before the crew lights it. Once blocked, you are expected to repeat it the same way every take.

Booking

A booking is a confirmed hire: the job is yours, the dates are set, and a contract or deal memo follows. It is the step past an avail and past first refusal. Bookings can still collapse if a production shuts down, but you are being paid to hold the date.

Breakdown

A breakdown is the casting notice describing a project's available roles, including character descriptions, shoot dates, contract type, and pay. In North America, breakdowns are distributed by Breakdown Services, which feeds them to agents and managers and, in a filtered form, to actors on Actors Access. Reading a breakdown correctly, especially the contract type and role size, saves you from submitting for things you should skip.

B-roll

B-roll is supplementary footage cut around the main scene, such as establishing shots, inserts, or background action. Actors are sometimes called for B-roll days that involve no dialogue. On a set, hearing "we're grabbing B-roll" usually means a faster, looser shooting pace.

Business

Business means the small physical actions a character performs while a scene plays, like making coffee, loading a gun, or folding laundry. Good business grounds a scene and gives the actor something real to do instead of just talking. Continuity applies to business, so whatever you invent, you must repeat.

Buyout

A buyout is a single up-front payment for the use of your performance in place of ongoing residual payments. Buyouts are common in non-union commercials, industrials, and some new media work, and they mean you get paid once no matter how widely the material runs. Read what you are selling, for how long, in what territories, and on what platforms.

Callback

A callback is a second audition for the same role, usually with more decision makers in the room and often opposite other actors. In LA the first round is now frequently a self-tape, so a callback is often your first live contact with the casting office or producers. It is the clearest signal you are actually in contention.

Casting director

A casting director (CD) is the person hired by a production to find, audition, and recommend actors, though the final hiring decision belongs to producers, the director, or the network. The CSA (Casting Society) postnominal after a name indicates membership in the professional organization for casting directors. Casting directors do not employ you and cannot legally charge you for auditions in California.

Chemistry read

A chemistry read is an audition where you perform opposite another actor to see how the two of you play together. It is common for romantic pairings, buddy dynamics, and family relationships. You are being watched for the relationship, not just your own work.

Chemistry test

A chemistry test is a chemistry read at the final stage, typically for a series or feature lead, run with network or studio executives present and usually under a test option. It is the highest-stakes version of a chemistry read. The paperwork is signed before you walk in.

Class A spot

Class A is a legacy SAG-AFTRA commercials term for a national network television commercial with the broadest use, historically paid per airing rather than by cycle. The 2025 SAG-AFTRA commercials contract restructured how use is classified and paid, so the phrase now shows up mostly as shorthand for a big national broadcast spot. Check the current SAG-AFTRA commercials contract summary before relying on the term in a negotiation.

Cold read

A cold read is performing material you have had little or no time to prepare, sometimes handed to you minutes before. Auditions are less cold than they used to be because sides are usually released in advance, but cold reading still appears in classes, in the room when they hand you a new scene, and in commercial auditions. It is a trainable skill, which is why LA has cold reading classes.

Commercial conflict

A commercial conflict exists when you are contractually barred from appearing in a commercial for a competing product because you are currently under contract for another one. Conflicts are tracked by category, for example soft drinks or auto insurance, and they are why you list current spots on your profile. An unreported conflict can cost the production money and cost you the job.

Continuity

Continuity is the requirement that details match from take to take and shot to shot, including your movement, props, wardrobe, and business. The script supervisor tracks it, and actors are expected to help. If you drink from a cup on a line, drink on that line every time.

Co-star

Co-star is the smallest credited speaking role in television, usually a handful of lines in one episode. It is the standard entry point on a TV resume and the tier most working LA actors book first. Co-star, guest star, and series regular describe the size and terms of a role, not the quality of the acting.

Crafty

Crafty is craft services, the department that keeps snacks, coffee, and drinks available to the crew and cast between meals. It is not the catered meal, which is a separate department. Knowing the difference marks you as someone who has been on a set.

D to F

Dark day

A dark day is a scheduled non-shooting day on a production, or in theater a day with no performance. Actors on a series use dark days for auditions, classes, and self-tapes. In theater, Monday is traditionally the dark day.

Day player

A day player is an actor hired by the day in a speaking role, as opposed to being hired for a full run of the production. It is the film equivalent of the co-star tier. One day of covered principal work under a SAG-AFTRA agreement makes a performer eligible to join the union.

Deal memo

A deal memo is the short document setting out the basic terms of your hire: role, dates, rate, and contract type, signed before or on the first day of work. It precedes the full contract and is binding. Read it before you sign it, and send it to your representation if you have any.

Eco Cast

Eco Cast is the audition tool inside Actors Access, run by Breakdown Services, that casting uses to request and review self-tapes and to run live virtual sessions. Actors Access lists Eco Cast Self-Tapes and Eco Cast Live Invitations as included with the free Starter membership as of July 2026. If a casting office asks you to "put it in Eco Cast," they mean upload your self-tape to that request.

EP

EP means executive producer, the most senior producing credit, held by people who may run the show creatively, finance it, or have brought it in. On a television series, the showrunner is an executive producer, but not every executive producer is a showrunner. In an audition room, the EPs are usually the people who can say yes.

Eyeline

Eyeline is where you look while the camera rolls, set precisely so the geometry of the scene reads correctly on screen. On set, an AD or the camera team gives you a mark to look at, sometimes a taped X rather than the other actor. In a self-tape, your eyeline should sit just beside the lens, never into it, unless you are told otherwise.

Fi-core

Fi-core, short for financial core, is a status in which a performer resigns SAG-AFTRA membership but continues paying the portion of dues tied to collective bargaining, which allows them to work both union and non-union jobs. It comes from federal labor law rather than from union rules, and SAG-AFTRA treats it as a resignation of membership: fi-core performers lose the right to vote, to hold office, and to call themselves members. Actors considering it should treat it as effectively permanent and talk to the union first.

First AD

The first assistant director (1st AD) runs the set: the schedule, the call sheet, the safety, and the actual calling of roll. The 1st AD is who tells you when you are up, where to stand, and when you are wrapped. Directors direct the scene; the 1st AD directs the day.

First refusal

First refusal is a request to hold specific dates for a production, with the understanding that if another job wants the same dates, you notify them before accepting. It is a step firmer than an avail but it is still not a booking and you are not being paid. In practice it means you are on a short list.

Forced call

A forced call is when a performer is called back to work before their required rest period has elapsed, which triggers a penalty payment under SAG-AFTRA agreements. The daily rest period for principal performers is measured from dismissal to the next call time. Rates and rest-period lengths are set by the current contract, so check the SAG-AFTRA agreement covering your job.

G to L

General

A general, or general meeting, is an introductory meeting with a casting director, agent, manager, or producer that is not tied to a specific role. Nobody is reading; they are getting to know you and putting a face to your materials. Generals are how relationships start, and a good one can pay off years later.

Global Rule One

Global Rule One is the SAG-AFTRA rule prohibiting members from accepting acting work anywhere in the world for a producer who has not signed a SAG-AFTRA contract. The union states it applies to any production, including student, low-budget, non-profit, and experimental work, and that violations bring fines and discipline from a panel of union peers. It is the main reason actors delay joining until union work can support them.

Golden time

Golden time is the highest overtime tier, reached after a performer has worked an extended number of hours in a day, and it is paid at a premium set by the applicable contract. Once a day goes into golden time, the premium generally continues until the day ends. It is a payroll term, not something you negotiate on set.

Guest star

Guest star is a television role larger than a co-star, usually driving a significant story thread in one or more episodes, with billing to match. It is the tier where careers start looking real to agents and casting. Top of show refers to the negotiated ceiling most productions pay guest stars.

Hip pocket

Being hip pocketed means an agent works with you informally, submitting you for select projects, without signing you to a contract. It is common for newer LA actors and it cuts both ways: you get access, but the agent has no obligation and you have no exclusivity to point to. Treat it as an audition for a real signing.

Hitting your mark

Hitting your mark means landing on the exact spot on the floor, usually taped, where the camera and lights are set for you. Missing it puts you out of focus or out of light, and it means another take. Doing it without looking down is a basic on-camera skill and one of the reasons on-camera classes exist.

Holding fee

A holding fee is a payment under the SAG-AFTRA commercials contract that keeps a commercial available for use during a cycle and preserves the advertiser's exclusivity on your services in that product category. The session fee typically serves as the first holding fee, and further fees fall due for each subsequent cycle up to the maximum period of use. Cycle lengths and amounts are set by the current commercials contract.

Honeywagon

A honeywagon is the trailer of small dressing rooms and restrooms that production parks on location for cast and crew. Day players usually get a honeywagon room; series leads get their own trailer. It is a workspace, not a status symbol, though it is treated as both.

Limited series

A limited series is a scripted series told in a set number of episodes with a complete story and no plan for further seasons. It is the current term for what used to be called a miniseries, and it shapes your contract because there is no series regular option running forward. Some limited series get renewed anyway, which is why the paperwork matters.

Line producer

A line producer manages the physical production and the budget, day to day, and is typically the person who approves what a job costs. They are not a creative decision maker in casting, but they sign off on the money side of your deal. On smaller productions, the line producer is who your representation negotiates with.

Loan-out

A loan-out is a corporation an actor forms that contracts out the actor's services, so productions hire the company rather than the individual. Actors set them up for tax and liability reasons once income is high enough to justify the cost and paperwork. Talk to an entertainment accountant before forming one; below a certain income it costs more than it saves.

Looping

Looping is another name for ADR, the post-production process of re-recording dialogue to picture. The name comes from the old practice of playing a looped strip of film while the actor repeated the line. Looping groups also record crowd and background voices, which is its own steady line of LA work.

M to R

Manager commission

Manager commission is the percentage a personal manager takes of your earnings, commonly 10 to 15 percent, on top of any agent commission. In California, managers are not licensed to procure employment; that is the talent agent's regulated function under the Talent Agencies Act. A manager who charges you fees up front rather than commissioning actual earnings is the pattern the state's scam-prevention law targets.

Martini shot

The martini shot is the last camera setup of the shooting day. When the 1st AD calls it, the crew knows the day is nearly over. The joke is that the next shot is out of a glass.

Meal penalty

A meal penalty is money a production owes performers when it fails to break for a meal within the intervals required by the applicable SAG-AFTRA agreement. Penalties accrue in half-hour increments and escalate the longer the violation runs. Amounts are set by the current contract, and background performers and principals are penalized at different rates.

Mini-room

A mini-room is a small, short-term television writers room, typically assembled to develop scripts before a series is greenlit or before a renewal decision. Development mini-rooms produce a few scripts so a platform can judge the show's potential without ordering a pilot. For actors, mini-rooms matter because they stretch out the gap between a show being sold and anyone being cast.

Moment before

The moment before is the specific event that happened to your character immediately prior to the scene starting, which you decide and play so the scene begins already in motion. It is a working actor's tool, not a theory: without it, you enter a scene from nowhere. Most LA technique classes drill it in the first weeks.

MOS

MOS means a shot is recorded without sound. You still perform fully, and dialogue may be added later or the shot may be scored. Hearing "this one's MOS" means the boom is down and takes will move fast.

Must-join

Must-join describes the point at which a performer who has worked under a SAG-AFTRA contract can no longer accept covered work without joining the union. It typically follows a Taft-Hartley period after the first covered job, after which further union work requires membership. The exact window depends on your work history, so call the SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles Local rather than trusting set rumor.

Network test

A network test is the final audition for a series regular or lead role, performed for network or studio executives after the studio test. Your deal is negotiated and signed before you test, which is why the test option exists. It is the last gate before a series booking.

Night premium

A night premium is an additional percentage paid on work performed during defined late-night and early-morning hours under some SAG-AFTRA agreements. It is calculated by payroll, not requested by the actor. Which hours qualify and the percentage depend on the agreement covering the job.

Off-book

Off-book means you have your lines memorized and no longer need the script in your hand. In LA screen work, being off-book for an audition is expected as a default for short sides, though casting rarely objects to a glance at the page. For theater, off-book deadlines are set by the director and treated as firm.

One-liner

A one-liner is a condensed one-page-per-day schedule showing the shooting order of scenes with minimal detail, distributed to cast and crew. It tells you which scenes shoot when and who is in them. It is different from the call sheet, which covers a single day in full.

Option

An option is a contractual right a production holds to employ you on defined terms in the future, most often a series option locking your availability and rate for additional seasons. Options are why actors sign multi-year deals before a single episode airs. The company holds the option; you hold the obligation.

Out clause

An out clause is a provision letting either party end a representation contract early under stated conditions, most commonly if no work is booked in a defined period. Agency contracts typically include one keyed to a stretch of unemployment. Know yours before you sign, because it is your exit.

Per diem

Per diem is a daily allowance paid to cover meals and incidental expenses when you work away from home. It is separate from your salary and separate from travel and lodging. Amounts and the conditions triggering it are set by the applicable agreement.

Pilot

A pilot is the first episode of a proposed television series, produced so a network or platform can decide whether to order the show. Pilot season, the January to April window when broadcast pilots historically cast, has thinned considerably as streaming moved to year-round production and straight to series orders. Pilots still exist; the calendar around them does not.

Pin

A pin, or being pinned, is a request from casting for you to hold dates while a decision is made, functionally similar to an avail or first refusal. Different offices use the words differently, so ask what they mean by it. Nothing about a pin obligates anyone to hire you.

Pre-read

A pre-read is an audition with the casting director or an associate only, before any producers see you. It is the screening step: pass it and you go to a producer session. In LA, pre-reads are now frequently self-tapes.

Principal

A principal is a performer hired to speak lines or perform in a way that makes them a featured part of the scene, as opposed to background. Principal status determines which SAG-AFTRA contract terms apply to you and how you are paid. One day of covered principal work makes a performer SAG-AFTRA eligible.

Producer session

A producer session is an audition in front of the producers, the director, and often the writer, after you have passed the pre-read. It is where the real decision starts being made. Sessions can be in person or on a video call, and both are now normal in LA.

Recurring

Recurring describes a role that appears in multiple episodes across a season without being contracted as a series regular. Recurring actors are usually booked episode by episode or under a limited option and are free to work elsewhere. It is the tier where television income starts becoming plannable.

Redirect

A redirect is an adjustment given during an audition or on set, asking you to do it again differently. Getting one in an audition is almost always a good sign: they are testing whether you can take direction. The skill being watched is how fully and quickly you change, not whether your first choice was right.

Residuals

Residuals are payments made to performers for reuse of a production beyond its initial use, covering things like reruns, streaming, and home media. They are established by the applicable SAG-AFTRA agreement, calculated by formula, and paid through the production's payroll or the union. A buyout replaces residuals with a single payment, which is why non-union work pays once.

Room tone

Room tone is 30 to 60 seconds of silence recorded in the shooting location so the editor can smooth the sound. Everyone stops and stands still. Do not move, do not whisper, and do not be the person who does.

S to Z

SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) is the American labor union representing performers in film, television, commercials, video games, and other recorded media, formed by the 2012 merger of SAG and AFTRA. It sets minimum terms through collective bargaining agreements with producers, and its Los Angeles Local is the largest. Eligibility to join comes from covered employment, not from applying.

Scale

Scale is the minimum payment set by the applicable SAG-AFTRA contract for a given job, role type, and media. "Scale plus ten" means you are paid scale plus an extra ten percent to cover agent commission, so scale reaches you intact. Scale figures are revised with each contract cycle, so use SAG-AFTRA's current rate sheets, not last year's.

Screen test

A screen test is a filmed audition, shot with a camera and often with hair, makeup, and wardrobe, used to see how you read on screen in the role. Studio and network tests for series leads are screen tests. The term also survives loosely for any on-camera final callback.

Self-tape

A self-tape is an audition you record yourself and upload, now the default first round for most Los Angeles film and television casting. Casting typically requests specific slates, sizing, and takes, and following those instructions exactly matters as much as the acting. See our self-tape guide for the setup.

Series regular

A series regular is an actor contracted for a television season, typically guaranteed a number of episodes and paid whether or not they appear in each one. It is the most secure position in episodic television and the one with the longest options attached. Series regular deals are negotiated and signed before the network test.

Session fee

A session fee is the initial payment for the day you performed, most commonly discussed in the SAG-AFTRA commercials contract, where it also serves as the first holding fee. It covers the work itself, not the use of the finished material. Use is paid separately through holding fees and residuals, or bought out in non-union work.

Showrunner

The showrunner is the person with final creative authority over a television series, almost always a writer and credited as an executive producer. They set the tone, approve casting, and answer to the studio and network. If the showrunner is in your producer session, that is the room.

Sides

Sides are the pages of script you are given to prepare for an audition, usually one to three scenes rather than the full script. Breakdown Services distributes them electronically through Actors Access. Sides tell you the scene; they rarely tell you the show, which is why you ask.

Signatory

A signatory is a producer or company that has signed a SAG-AFTRA collective bargaining agreement, making its production union covered. Only work for signatories counts toward SAG-AFTRA eligibility, and only signatory work is open to members under Global Rule One. SAG-AFTRA maintains a process for checking whether a given production is covered.

Slate

A slate is the short introduction at the top of a self-tape or audition where you state your name and any other information casting requests, such as height, location, or representation. Casting is watching your slate for who you are when you are not acting. Follow the requested format exactly; a wrong slate gets tapes discarded.

Station 12

Station 12, also called cast clearance, is the process by which a production verifies with SAG-AFTRA that each performer it has hired is a member in good standing before work begins. Casting or production submits it, typically 24 to 48 hours before the performer's start date, not the actor. If you are told you are "not cleared," it usually means unpaid dues, and you fix it by calling the union.

Straight to series

Straight to series is an order for a full season of television without producing a pilot first. It is now common at streaming platforms and is a large part of why traditional pilot season shrank. For actors, it means casting happens on the platform's schedule rather than in a concentrated winter window.

Table read

A table read is a seated read-through of a script by the full cast, with writers, producers, and executives present. It is the first time the whole script is heard out loud and it often triggers rewrites. Treat it as a performance, because notes get taken.

Taft-Hartley

Taft-Hartley refers to the report a signatory production files with SAG-AFTRA when it hires a non-union performer in a covered role, which is what makes that performer eligible to join. It takes its name from the federal labor act that permits hiring non-members under a union contract for a limited period. It is not a favor an actor can request; production files it because they want to hire you.

Theatrical

Theatrical, in Los Angeles usage, means film and scripted television work, as distinct from commercial work. An actor's theatrical agent submits for film and TV; the commercial agent handles advertising. The word does not mean stage work here, which trips up actors arriving from New York.

Top of show

Top of show is the maximum a production normally pays for a guest star role on a television series, a negotiated ceiling the show applies to most guest performers. Being offered top of show means you are at the standard guest star rate, not that you are being lowballed. Going above it requires the production to make an exception.

Under-five

Under-five is a legacy AFTRA term, primarily from New York daytime television, for a role with five or fewer lines of dialogue. It sits between background work and a day player role, and it is largely a New York and soap opera term rather than everyday LA vocabulary. You will hear it from actors who came up in New York; you will rarely see it on an LA breakdown.

Upgrade

An upgrade is when a background actor's work makes them a principal, for example by being directed to speak a line or by being featured in a way the contract defines as principal performance. It changes the pay and the contract, and it can make the performer SAG-AFTRA eligible. Productions try to avoid unplanned upgrades because they cost money.

Waiver

A waiver is permission from SAG-AFTRA for a production to depart from a specific contract provision, granted case by case. Waivers commonly cover things like hiring non-union performers where union performers are required. A waiver is granted by the union to the production; it is not something an actor signs away.

Wardrobe fitting fee

A wardrobe fitting fee is payment owed for time spent at a costume fitting before the shoot day. It is a paid work call, not a favor, and it is covered by the applicable SAG-AFTRA agreement. New actors frequently do not know to expect it.

Wrap

Wrap means work has ended, either for the day (that's a wrap) or for the production or for you personally (you're wrapped). Being wrapped ends your work time for payroll purposes, so note it. If nobody has told you that you are wrapped, you are not wrapped.