How Do I Find Acting Work Without An Agent?

Since you've discovered a love for acting from being in the plays, your best bet would be to start checking out schools that will help you refine that talent and get you ready for auditions and serious acting.  There are many schools for dramatic arts around the country, and it would be wonderful if you looked them up, applied and were accepted to attend.  Once you've graduated, you will need a portfolio to show some experience (it's good to keep an eye out for local groups in your area of the country that audition for community plays, musicals, dramas, comedies, etc), and it will feature flattering pictures of you that can be used for advertising (and this is when you'd also be looking for an agent).  You didn't say how old you are, but if you're still school age, this is the best time to get a great start looking into all the different opportunities for learning and getting into the acting profession.
 
Hope that helps you out!
Moe

It can be very difficult to find an agent who will work with you – and even then that does not guarantee work. Most working actors will tell you that most of the work they get is through their own hard work and contacts.

You need to be able to market yourself and your talents. You have to be a good networker and be able to manage and prioritise your time to your benefit. You have to seek opportunities as they will not always be laid out on a plate for you.

So what can you do to help yourself get work? First of all be proactive. Make sure you always have a good stock of photos, CVs and cover letters at your disposal. Keep reading plays and rehearsing monologues. Make sure you have a good variety which can show off your abilities.

Join casting websites. There is plenty information out there about which ones are good and which are not so good. The best people to speak to are, of course, your fellow actors. Apply for all the jobs that you fit the profile for (thus the need for having CVs and photos at your disposal.

Mail out your information to casting directors. You may just strike lucky.
Failing that do it yourself. If there is no work, make some. Use your contacts and put a show on or make a film! You'll learn a lot about the industry that way too!

I would like to say that it is better to have one as then you don't have to do as much.

Yeah you actually can but to get a better image you might need one but not really

Yeah but it is better to have one as then you don't have to do as much.