Entries by Lisa Gold

The Show Business Food Chain

Look at show business like a pyramid.  Not a pyramid scheme, but like a numbers diagram with the largest amount of the show business population being the at the base…that’s you, the actor. You’re not at the bottom of the food chain because you aren’t important, you’re at the bottom because there are so very […]

How the “Breakdowns” got Started over 40 years Ago

The term breakdown was actually coined by the creator of Breakdown Services in 1971.  Gary Marsh was the son of a prominent agent at the time and the story goes that he was asked to fill in on a particularly busy day doing for his mom what most agents did at that time to get […]

Contacting Industry (Agents/Managers/and More) On-line

Let’s start again with the premise that shorter is better.  Long, drawn out explanations about you, what you offer, the reasons why you became an actor, and why you are a perfect fit for this job, agent, role, etc. won’t get read.  Cover letters are out.  Cover notes are in.  But you still need to […]

Shorter is Better – Statistically Speaking

As actors we love a good story so we tell them a lot. As a woman, I know I have the urge to tell all of the minor components that set up the actual point to what it is I really want to say before saying it.  The POINT of it all.  I’m not sure […]

4 Huge Mistakes to Avoid When Defining Your Product

I see actors make a lot of mistakes that could totally be avoided.  When it comes to figuring out your fit in the vast marketplace of actors, where there’s a large supply and you’re not yet in demand, distinguishing yourself, i.e. defining your product, is ESSENTIAL.  Here are some mistakes to avoid: 1. Not Studying […]

What Makes You So Special?

What are you uniquely qualified to do as an actor that NO ONE else can do or be?  Have you ever thought of that?  What’s your brand, archetype, bread and butter niche range of characters that you’ll become known for and reliable and counted on to create time and time again?  This is where the […]

Represent Literally Means RE-Present

I have an important question for you. What are you offering to your agent or a potential new agent to “sell” you with? Take a look at the word represent. It literally means RE-present.   Having a firm grasp on what you are presenting and what you are uniquely offering the show business marketplace is the surest […]

Tap Into Your Inner Know-it-All

Want to quicken the abracadabra of your career?  The truth is, you already inherently know what to do.  Before I move on to my next set of posts with the content “to-dos” of your career, you’ve first got to realize that trusting your own intuition is key.  It won’t matter if I give you the […]

The #1 Way to ‘Let it Go’

OK, OK, I hear ya.  A few posts back I gave you the answer to how to stop struggling by creating inspiration.  The answer was this: the minute you’ve recognized the thought that is creating the struggle, just let it go. I got a lot of emails asking me “How do you do that?”  By the way, […]