L.A. Affairs: Our flight felt like a first date. Would it continue after we landed at LAX?
Key takeaways
- After graduating from Juilliard five years earlier, I was getting theater work in and around the city.
- I didn’t think I was pretty enough to get work in Hollywood, but my agent disagreed.
- Over the next few months L.A. slowly recovered, and I started going on auditions.
(Asahi Nagato / For The Times) By Martha L. Thompson May 1, 2026 5 AM PT 6 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
When I was 30 years old, my agent told me I needed to go to Los Angeles to get some “West Coast credits.” I didn’t want to go because it meant I’d lose my precious rent-controlled apartment on Central Park West as well as the supportive New York theater community I’d worked so hard to get into. After graduating from Juilliard five years earlier, I was getting theater work in and around the city.
I didn’t think I was pretty enough to get work in Hollywood, but my agent disagreed. She had faith in me, so I reluctantly packed up my stuff and moved to Santa Monica with Gus, my German shepherd. A week after we arrived, the Northridge earthquake happened. I crouched under a table, holding Gus close. Aftershocks filled me with terror, and I wondered if California was telling me I wasn’t welcome.