Getting an agent is certainly an important step in any actor’s career but it’s not necessarily the answer to all your prayers. Here are 8 things you can do to maximize this important opportunity.
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1. Keep self-submitting and looking for work on your own.
Think of your agent as a new team member rather than someone who will do the work of finding work for you. Now is not the time to sit back and relax. You only had one person (you) looking for work for you before you got an agent. Think what you might accomplish with both of you working together! I list some sites where you can self-submit here.
2. Give them great tools.
Supply great pictures and a beautifully formatted, up to date resume for them to represent you with. Your reel should rock and be posted on Actors Access and/or your IMBD Pro account. The individual clips should be descriptively labeled and ready for casting directors to view. These are the calling cards for your business. They tell people who you are before they meet you. Don’t handicap yourself and your agent by having them be sub par.
3. Keep networking.
Stay abreast of what’s happening in your industry. Attend an industry event. Use social media to engage casting directors, directors and other industry professionals who are in a position to have a positive impact on your career. Do some research and, instead of your usual hang, drop in someplace where industry people meet. But, please, be smart. Don’t introduce yourself and then ask for advice or for them to look at your reel or to get you an audition. That’s like meeting a doctor at a party and asking them to take a look at your bum knee. Find out what interests you may have in common, relax and make a human contact.
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4. Keep developing relationships.
Cultivate relationships with others. Not just industry people but with everyone you come into contact with. You never know who people are or who they may become. The server at your local restaurant may be the actor who becomes the next big thing or your UPS delivery man may know someone that will be an important contact. Taking a genuine interest in people can not only help your career, it’s also a good way to live your life.
5. Keep your survival job.
Just because you have an agent doesn’t mean you’re going to start booking work left and right. Your agent may start sending you on auditions but you still have to get the work. Not worrying about where your rent is coming from will allow you to focus on more important things. Desperation is distracting for you and unattractive to others.
6. Keep training.
It seems obvious but improving your skills and keeping them sharp so you can deliver when it counts will mean everything when your agent calls with that important audition. Yes, it costs money but this is not the place to cut back on expenses. Give up the daily lattes instead. That’ll add up pretty quickly. You’ll never have the kind of career you want if you’re not ready to pounce on an opportunity when it presents itself. Training costs are 100% tax deductible so it’s really like they’re free if you keep good records and file your tax return properly. Remember, the agent can only get you the audition. You have to wow them to get the job!
7. Communicate.
Keep your agent in the loop about what you’re doing and the progress you’re making. Be a team player but not a pest. “Please” and “Thank you” also go a long way. When they choose to send you on an audition it’s a vote of confidence. They could’ve sent another actor. Remembering their birthday doesn’t hurt either.
8. Be patient.
All good things take time. Sometimes things are slow and there just aren’t many auditions. There’s always something you can be doing to move your career forward. While you wait for your acting agent to call stay positive, keep working, stay in touch and you’ll always be in a strong position to book!
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
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All my best,
Philip
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Philip Hernandez is a respected acting teacher and singing coach in NYC. He is also the only actor in Broadway history to play both Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert in Les Miserables. He created principal roles in Broadway’s Kiss of the Spiderwoman and Paul Simon’s The Capeman. You may also know him from his many television appearances: The Blacklist, Gotham, Blue Bloods, The Path, Bull, Nurse Jackie, Elementary, Person of Interest, Law and Order, Hostages and Damages to name a few. For information about acting lessons CLICK HERE or singing lessons CLICK HERE.
Follow him on twitter @philip24601, on Instagram @philip24601 and on Facebook at @philip24601.