Tag Archive for: Actor

Why Do You Want an Agent?

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We all know we want and need one, but what’s the real reason behind having someone in your court, fighting for you too?

You get to be one of the talented actors that has a committed partner in your career.  You won’t be on your own anymore.

You’ll gain access to those awesome casting directors and auditions that you otherwise wouldn’t. Stepping up a few rungs on the ladder to reach your dreams happens quicker because you’re part of a team.

The feeling of success that comes from working side by side with your agent towards a common vision – your vision – is realized.  The right agent is a faster track to you making a living with your passion and art.

Your resources and relationships will instantly expand.  With your combined network of influence you’ll experience the “whole being greater than the sum of its parts”.

Generally your casting opportunities for roles that are a pro-fit will increase. No guessing or submitting to any/every audition possibility on every on-line casting site.  You and your agent will have discussed and targeted the roles you’re most likely to book and are appropriate for.

Your agent will “push” for you when needed and get “feedback” on why it didn’t work out when it doesn’t.  Not all the time, but certainly when it counts the most.  This will speed your career up because you can correct and continue and learn how to make it better for the next audition.

Yep, the benefits of having an agent are plentiful.  Keep your eye on the prize and go after the kind of agent that you deserve!  Study them and choose wisely…they are not “one size fits all”.  Remember a pro-fit means PROFIT!

And up next – What’s in it for them?…YES, you want to know this too!

Feel free to comment and let me know personally WHY you want an agent!

What Does it Take to Get and Keep an Agent?

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When I was doing my live version of my most popular seminar on “How to Get and Keep an Agent”, I’d open with these questions:

“How many of you are currently looking for an agent?” and 70% to 80% of the actors would raise their hands. Then I’d ask “How many of you have an agent, but you’re looking for a better agent?” and most of the remaining hands would go up.

THEN I’d ask “How many of you are here for the ‘how to keep’ part?” And usually one person would raise their hand and often no one at all.

You know what that tells me?  You have an agent problem.

At 90210 Talent I worked with actors that I had never seen perform live in anything.  Yes I watched some demos to get a sense of what their talents were but for the most part I was looking at marketability (more on that later). Talent is in the eye of the beholder and very subjective.  We all have different points of view.  So if you think your talent is what is going to get you an agent, that’s a mistake. But I digress…

I’m simply making the bold statement here that what you think you know about getting (and keeping) an agent isn’t true.  It’s just what you think is true.

This is the part of the process I love to teach the most!  Your breakthrough in securing the right representation for you has less to do with your talent and more to do with your thoughts around what it takes to get one.

I’ve discovered a pretty pervasive scarcity mentality, an adversarial mentality, and worst of all, a hopeless mentality with regard to pursuing agency and/or management representation. This isn’t true for everyone of course, but if you have any negative emotion around gaining a rep or working with your present one, then keep reading this blog on what it’s gonna take for you to flip that switch.  What switch?  The thought process you have around what they’re looking for, your approach and responsibilities, and what it costs in terms of time and money.  Trust me, it’s a LOT easier than you’re making it!

After almost a decade of delivering this course in many formats the problem I’ve determined that most actors have is NOT how to get an agent but how to ATTRACT the right agent for them.

So how do you attract one? Stay tuned!

Your Agent Has Feelings Too.

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Remember how crushed you were when you had 3 callbacks for that pilot, were the first choice of the CD and the director, but lost the part to that name actor at the last minute? Sooooo crushed. Well your agent was crushed, too and that was the fourth time that same thing happened to one of her clients this week.  

And then it was that Network National commercial that she had two clients on “avail” for and they both got released, losing the booking. She talked each of those clients off the ledge, just like she did for you, while at the same time submitting on the breakdowns, closing deals for other clients who did book, and saw 8 new prospective clients at interviews.  She’s holding it together, but she’s ready to crack. Cut her some slack and know that she’s doing her best.

The greatest feeling for any representative is when you book a job. My highest highs when working at the agency were when the call came from casting with an “avail” for one of our actors, then waiting with great excitement and anticipation for the booking call to come. However, when I got “release” emails, or if casting actually took the time to call (rare), my lowest lows were when they didn’t book it.  I felt every bit of it, and then I also felt it again when I had to tell the actor. Talk about a roller coaster.  

I believe everyone is always doing their best and I want you to believe that about your agent too. Your agent is a person. There are emotional, financial, organizational and scheduling aspects to her biz that inform how she operates. She’s got a boss and co-workers, and then at home, her kids and dogs and a husband and, oh yeah, the gym and the book club.  Who am I kidding? There’s no time for a book club or even a book for that matter!  Again, being a representative is hard.

I know you want your rep to believe in you, take care of you and be interested in your dreams. But you believing that an agent lives to make your dreams come true is just plain stinkin’ thinkin’!  She is not responsible for your happiness or your success.  It’s her job to make her own dreams come true and it’s your job to tirelessly and passionately make yours come true. Choose to believe that the work, the marketing and the mindset is ALL ON YOU!  Taking control of your work (craft/business/networking) and being responsible for your own career happiness will have your agent calling you!  And doing all of these things to begin with, before you’re represented, will most assuredly give you your choice of agents and managers to work with.

Feeling good now?

To Your Success, Lisa

Are You Really Hearing Clearly? Communicating with Your Rep.

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My agent just doesn’t “get me” is a phrase I’ve heard a lot as a consultant and now since being in the shoes of representation I can honestly tell you why.  Ready? Your agent most likely doesn’t speak your language.

Though some representatives come from an acting background the majority have not, and chances are your agent isn’t in a weekly acting class. (By the way, you are, right?) No, she spends her evenings on the computer till midnight, because the breakdowns come out at all hours.  And I do mean ALL!

While many agents have great instincts about actors, they may not speak a language that suggests that they understand your artistic process. So, don’t expect them to. When they offer a note about your performance that may seem insensitive, don’t take it personally. Transform it into something that helps you grow and expand as an artist. And if it’s not helpful, just chalk it up to “their opinion”.

Again, and I’ll keep saying it over and over, agents are spending 10 or more hours a day on their computers, on the phone, sending email messages and making submission notes, all in service of getting you IN THE ROOM. When you call to talk to them in the middle of all that, don’t expect them to be super sensitive to the creative and delicate artist that you are.

I think folks loved having me work with them when I was at the agency because I was an actor/singer for 35 years (still am!) and could relate on that level and did take the time to consider their feelings.  But I do that as a general rule all day every day with everyone I meet!  Except the guy that cuts me off on the 405 at rush hour…I’m only human!

That was the saddest part of my leaving…a loss of that relationship for both of us.  However my clarity around what makes me happy on an on-going basis and the courage to choose my happiness above all else is what ultimately brought me back to what serves a much larger audience these days.  And I’m grateful to you for being a part of this community and reading this right now.  Thanks for letting me be me!

To Your Success, Lisa

Is Your Agent Cheating on You?

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Yes, your agent has other clients. Deal with it. Your agent would go hungry if she only had you as a client. She has to have “everything on the grocery store shelf” to have the best shot at making a living.

One of the fun parts of searching for and finding new talent is creating that awesome stable of actors with unique talents and skills that cover all of the possible casting needs in this crazy industry. We need one or two in every category.  Age, ethnicity, male/female, union and/or non-union, height/weight, languages, special skills, and every possible saleable commodity is needed so we can provide our shoppers, ahem, casting directors, with what they need. So when your phone call/email/text (pick ONE please!) isn’t returned right away, know that there are at least 20 other actors who are also demanding attention.

Again, I share with you that my love of actors and people in general was also the thing that had me leave the agency.  I was inundated with communication at all hours of the day and night because I didn’t set the proper boundaries I needed to have my own life work. This was a very valuable lesson learned for me and let it be one for you as well.  Please realize that while your focus is on ONE career, yours, your rep’s focus is widespread, on MANY others…it has to be. Give them the space and time to respond.  Here’s a great communication guideline to use:

  1. URGENT – Immediate (or within the next couple of hours)  – CALL them

     Examples:

  1. Car broke down/running late to audition
  2. Last minute accident or injury
  3. Having you sign something weird on set/at an audition

 

  1.  IMPORTANT – Something today – TEXT them

     Examples:

  1. Audition follow up – how it went/info
  2. You sent an email that you want to call attention to
  3. Checking in from set/audition and need something

 

  1.  INFORMATIONAL – Something this week – EMAIL them

     Examples:

  1. Recommendations for classes, photographers, etc.
  2. Review of new headshots or other marketing materials
  3. Invitations to performances

In my next post I’ll talk about not just the when, but the HOW to communicate clearly with your rep.  Stay tuned.

What are your thoughts on being “part of many”? Do you feel you’re on the inside; part of a team; listened to? Comment and share!

Your Agent Isn’t an Angel

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OK, by saying your agent isn’t an angel, I’m not disparaging their mood, mode or how they operate. What I’m trying to say is that your agent is not here to save you!  

Many actors suffer from the notion is it that it’s the agent’s job to dust you off, polish you to a brilliant shine, and escort you to the promised land. The belief is that the agent does all the work.

In fact this was MY mistake when I took on working with 90210.  Inherently the coach and teacher in me kicked in and I was spending an inordinate amount of time getting the talent I inherited and brought in by the last agent working there into what I considered to be “fighting shape”.  Polishing up their online profiles, telling them the best classes to take that would mean something on their resume and sending a lot of inspiring messages to prop up feelings of doubt, took time away from the most vital aspects of being a representative…submissions and bookings.  

I realized that even actors that are represented didn’t really know a lot about business and marketing and had the thought that it would and should be my job.  They’d do the “show” and I’d do the “biz”. And I was facilitating this…big mistake on both of our parts!

I had seen it for many years when coaching actors…this persistent thought that there’s someone or something outside of you that has the power to make dreams come true with little effort or output from you, and once you find that person, you’ll be rich and famous. But then it was “theory” and here it was in practice, evidence of this insanity.  I drove myself insane too, then I stopped it at the behest of the head of the agency.

I want to let you know that during my tenure there I had actors who never got an audition at all.  I was submitting them a TON and the CD’s weren’t calling them in.  Not because they weren’t talented (how would they know?) but because the materials I had to submit with weren’t viable and requests for new headshots or media on their profiles, updating resumes and other requests were ignored or took months.  I pushed the buttons knowing that they’d never get in the door…and it was a very disturbing place to be in.  Since I left, I’m fairly certain many of these actors have sadly been dropped from the roster.  A very avoidable situation.

Getting an agent doesn’t mean you’ll ever have an audition and it certainly doesn’t mean that you don’t have to do most of the work in getting opportunities yourself.  Leaving it all up to your rep is folly. You have to be in classes, write/shoot/produce/direct your own material, put up a play/Youtube video/Facebook live and get yourself out there. These days you have to work harder than your agent. Training in class consistently, creating your own material constantly, and doing whatever you can to engage with other artists is essential to your craft and your career. You have to give your agent the tools to sell you. Relying upon anyone other than yourself is career suicide. Giving up your artistic and professional responsibility to an agent is a grave error that too many actors make. Do the work and make your agent catch up.  

Stay tuned for more “insider” info in my next post.  To Your Success, Lisa

Conventional Wisdom Suggests that you Need an Agent, but Do You?

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My brand for well over a decade, “How to Get and Keep an Agent”, has been my “hook” to get actors to pay attention to what I teach.  It’s because I know the prevailing thought process of every actor out there, ready for representation or not, is that you need an agent and/or manager to make your acting dreams come true.

Agents and managers validate you by saying “yes” to representing you, and when they do, what goes through the average actor’s mind is something like this: 

The doors of casting offices you’ve never been in before will suddenly be flung open and you’ll have awesome audition opportunities.

You’ll then be able to get in front of the real decision-makers, get hired on jobs in a major film or TV show, book a National Network commercial or Broadway show and the result is a big paycheck, champagne and red carpets. You begin rehearsing your Oscar/Emmy/Tony speech.

Conventional wisdom, and this thought process, is all kinds of wrong. I came to find that agents and managers are human beings with human limitations (like me) who require a LOT of understanding (like me!)

The first thing to really understand is that representatives are in a BUSINESS. Our business is to RE-present what you offer the marketplace to our contacts and MAKE MONEY.  Yep, that’s why we do it.  It’s not the only reason of course, but it is the primary one.  We choose the best options for that particular outcome…money in our pocket to pay the rent, put kids through school and enjoy a desired lifestyle.  We don’t choose to represent you because we like you and want to grab lunch or even because we think you’re awesomely talented.  We choose you because we think we can make money with you.

Your job as part of this TEAM, and even before you’re a member of a rep/talent team, is to make yourself easy to sell (both craft wise and with complete and amazing marketing materials) and realize that to be a working actor today, you need to consider yourself as more than simply a talented artist.  Gaining opportunities to show that stellar talent is a full time job, and it’s YOUR job.  A representative is an extension of your marketing efforts.

But you’re an artist who’s in it for the art. Great. But every other artist before and since has had to balance art with finance. It’s a completely necessary consideration. Hearing actors say things like “I have an agent but got in the door on that audition by myself…why didn’t she get me in?” Or, “my agent isn’t getting me any (enough) auditions.” Or “I’m the one writing to Casting Directors, marketing my butt off going to networking events and casting director workshops, so why should I have to give her 10%?”

I’m actually going to answer those questions and hopefully give you a different perspective in my next several blog posts. For now I just want you to accept the fact that your rep is trying to make money. And if you’re not a commodity that’s ready to be sold, it’s not personal, it’s business.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.  Feel free to comment and share!

Aaaannnnnd Scene. Why I left working at the talent agency.

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After teaching so many actors for so many years “How to Get and Keep an Agent” my first reaction when I was invited by the head of the agency to train in the commercial department of 90210 Talent, and then take it over, was a resounding NO. My almost 2 decades of being one of the owners of Actors Connection prepared me for what I knew was going to be starting another new business. My gut instinct was in play and since my coaching/consulting company, Act Outside the Box, was doing great things with all of the insider info I now had, I felt it might not be the right move.  But after several days of thinking about it and conversations with the head of the agency, he convinced me to “try it on for size”. So I decided “why not”?

I took the opportunity to expand into what I thought was the natural progression of my own career – to become an agent.  Seemed like a good fit, but it actually wasn’t.  Here’s why…

I quickly came to realize that I liked, and was great at, HALF of the job. 

The part of the gig I loved was what I’d already been doing as a coach and marketing consultant, however the other half was being at the effect of outside influences that truly sapped my physical time and emotional energy.  These days, being an agent means being constantly tethered to a cell phone, computer screen and clients, casting directors, and crowds of other people (actors seeking representation, production folks with details for bookings, contract info, the union and the list goes on…) in a 24/7 business that never stops demanding attention.

First and foremost, I teach people that if you’re not enjoying what you’re doing and pursing your passion, move on…and fast!  Life is meant to be a joyful endeavor and we spend a majority of it at work, so you have to love your job.  Being an agent is hard work and though I’m one of the hardest workers I know, I soon knew I’d dug myself a hole that I had to get out of because I didn’t enjoy this kind of hard work.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of people and plenty of agents who thrive on this constant activity and do LOVE the fast pace of technology, but there are just as many others who are getting out of their line of work because they started out when the industry was quite different.  

As a coach and consultant, I have always had a huge respect for agents and have taught you that, in most cases, they work much harder in service of your career than you think. And in many cases more than you do. Yep, I just said that.  Working at the agency, I unhappily found that last statement to be true.  

When I realized that I worked all day, every day, in service of actor’s careers and that most of my clients did not treat their own career like they were actually in a business, I knew I could serve a LOT more actors by giving them yet another perspective on getting and keeping a rep. 

My thoughts about what the job would entail and what it actually was were very different and I’m going to share in my next several posts everything I learned so that you’ll have all of the vital and important information you need when seeking a rep or working with the one you have now. Stay tuned.

To Your Success, Lisa

 

5 Tips to Rock your Holiday Networking

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Snowman-Happy-Holiday-CardThe holidays can be awkward, or you can make them into a huge opportunity by using this time as a platform to network. Most actors take a break or think of this time of year as slow. I say NOW is the time to ramp it up!

The holidays are here now and seem to come earlier every year! For some the dread is starting to set in. And no, I’m not talking about the awkward family gatherings with your fruitcake-wielding in-laws or being relegated to the kids table for a meal you’ve waited a year for.

For many of us, the real terror surrounds holiday networking. So if you’re currently stressing over whether you’re going to look like an idiot wearing a Santa hat or whether it’s appropriate to talk about your acting career at all, you’re not alone.

Oy, all these winter events you have to go to! There are soooo many parties and other opportunities to gather at this particular time of year, so when to go and when not to? Many of us would rather pretend to be sick and stay home drinking eggnog in a darkened room. But in actuality, this is the perfect time to get ahead. All these holiday parties are the prime time to make fresh connections and start the New Year off on the right foot.

Ken Rutkowski, host and president of the Business Rockstars radio show, is a networking veteran who has earned himself the reputation of “the super-connector.” I love finding great info and sharing it with you so please take Ken’s words to heart as if they were my own…because I’m in 100% alignment. Here are his top five tips to network yourself through the holidays.

1. Don’t look at it as “networking” 

View events, social and business as relationship building opportunities and don’t ever ask for money, a job, an audition or anything else for that matter. This is time to create and build rapport ONLY.

2. Pick the right events and be realistic

If the event is only for union members and you’re not one, then don’t go. If the event is at an agent’s office that you are not a client of, then don’t go. Seriously…find the FIT first. If you have a sinking feeling in your gut about attending, then the event is probably not right for you. Go to parties and events where you are certain you will be a part of the right crowd and go with the intention of meeting great people just like you!

3. Dress appropriately 

This is a big one. I can’t tell you how many actor events where I’ve seen pictures on line and say to myself, “Wow, don’t they have a mirror in their house?” At the same time, holiday flair is always a winner. Really know the crowd you’re going to be hanging out with. In general, don’t wear a suit and tie if the event is more casual and vice versa. But jeans with rips in them that look like they need a good wash is a no-no no matter how casual the event is.

4. Bring a wingman or wingwoman.

Two heads are better than one when it comes to meeting people. You’ll be able to cover more ground and have a fallback person to rendezvous with if you need a break. But don’t get stuck…meaning you have to go out on your own to meet new people. If you only end up talking to the person you came with you’ve missed the purpose entirely.

5. Make it about others

Ken became known as a “super-connector” because he was always introducing people to other people. People appreciate it when you do the networking for them. They come to know you as someone who is connected, and gets things done. Take on this role if you have met folks at your event who you think should also meet each other. You’ll be much more remembered by both of those people, especially if they hit it off.

These same tips can also be applied to family gatherings as well with a little tweaking. Not really excited to hang out with your spouses’ Aunt Millie twice removed? Try asking her questions that illicit stories that you could then use in your acting or writing class. You might even be surprised when Millie shares about her nephew the TV Exec who works at CBS…really? Really! Ask questions. That’s the key!

The holidays are an awkward time for almost everyone. Remember, we’re in this together. Stick to these five rules and get ahead this season!

First Thursdays – Cartoon Impressions, Silly Poses, and Lots of Fun! 5.3.2012

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Wow! Our May First Thursdays Networking Party was packed!  This month we had some new contests for our ACTors.  Brave folks won kudos (and free drinks) by impersonating Family Guy, knew a whole bunch about vocal training trivia, and gave us their very best glamor pose Read more