Tag Archive for: film

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

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 Minute Overview Answering Many Questions

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Hi all you fabulous ACT-ion oriented actors. Take a peek at this wonderful interview I did several years ago with ForTalent.com on the Business of Show.  It stands the test of time and I look exactly the same today, LOL. Though the events mentioned at the end of the interview are no longer running, so many new things have been created since the interview first premiered and even more amazing things are ahead.

Actors have all kinds of questions and several of them are answered in this quick 5 minute overview of what the industry is REALLY looking for when seeking talent for their projects.

Get the insider scoop and return to this blog often for many tips, hints, beneficial info and how to further your BUSINESS as an actor.

If you have questions, particularly about getting an agent or manager, I’d love to have you put them in the comments below.  I’ll do my best to answer as I’m always wondering if I’m covering the bases of what you want to learn most.  Thanks!