A few questions in regard to agencies....?

Question

Hi there! I'm 16 and want to get into theatre, hopefully one day Broadway. I keep getting told there's no way, but still, I can hope, right? Point is, I need an agent, and I have no IDEA where to start or where to look for any information on how to start, so I turned to you guys. The thing is, I'm learning ballet right now (7 classes a week to get to where I need to be..) I've sung in the local opera company for a year or so, but I really want to do some serious acting/dancing/singing etc.

Thanks for any help you can give,
Cassie

Answer 1

I don't know why anyone would tell you there's no way... it sounds like you're off to a great start! Ballet is a great dance foundation, but you should expand your horizons a bit, if not now, soon. Jazz and tap should be part of you repertoire. Don't forget acting and voice lessons (I mean in a different style than opera), also very important. The agent will come later, since most theatre auditions are open calls you don't need one yet. Opera is a great skill to have, but it's not necessarily the vocal quality you're going for in most Broadway leads... there are Gilbert & Sullivan shows of course and some Andrew Lloyd Webber shows such as Phantom of the Opera, but widen your repertoire in that area as well and make sure that you aren't only singing opera. Sing contemporary musical theatre and make sure you sing them as the character would and not an operatic Diva :-)

Personally I think it will be much easier for you to make the transitions I've suggested that it would be for others just starting out. I think you have a great chance of having a career depending on your actual talent level in these areas of course. Get yourself into acting classes, musical theatre workshops, or better yet some musical theatre productions. The best thing for you would be a combination of workshops and actual work experience.

For theatre auditions, you can go to backstage.com or http://www.actorsequity.org/castingcall/... If you find the audition on the Equity site, you still may be able to go, as long as their not taking appointments from equity actor's only :-) On backstage.com you have to pay to get all of the info, but the initial search is free and you may be able to see enough info to find out the rest on your own without paying OR you can go to your local bookstore or newsstand and look at their print publication (new every Thursday) for free, that is if it's available in your area.

Break a leg!

Answer 2

I think 16 is the perfect age to start. It seems that you are doing all the right things. You can get an agent later on in your career.

Right now you need to focus on getting experience doing local shows. You should take up other forms of dance to get yourself aquainted with other styles. Obviously continue with the vocal lessons.

Think of it this way - the more skills you have, the easier it will be to sell yourself to casting directors.

Like I said earlier 16 is too young to get an agent right now. You need more experience as an actor - do your high school plays, community theater, performing arts camps, etc.

You should go to college and major in musical theater or acting.

When you feel like you're ready make sure you get some good professional headshots and put together a resume.

You pitch yourself to credible agents by sending your photo and resume to agents with a letter of intent. Usually agents won't consider a new client unless the person has some experience or in a union.

I suggest reading Breaking into Acting for Idiots. Not that you're an idiot, but it will give you a lot of direction about the industry.

Good Luck

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Hi,

Don't worry about those people telling you negative things. You just try to form as objective an opinion about yourself and your potential as possible. Bring out your strengths and work on your weak areas.

There are several different resources you could use to get in touch with agents. Rather than talking about how to get in touch, I would encourage you to think about what your strategy could be.

You can find agents that specialize in many different areas, but big agencies will have different people within their agencies that handle different areas.

Find out which agents have clients for theater and Broadway and specifically for dance.

To find out who are the agents that cater to your area of interest or your genre, get a copy of the Ross Reports, Show Business weekly, New York or LA Agencies or something similar in your area (that last one is a resource by Sue Porter Henderson and her website address is www.hendersonenterprises.com). I don’t know what city you are in, but even if these publications don’t have addresses of agents in your city, it will give you some ideas as to the kinds of publications and information that exists.
Sue’s agencies booklet which is updated quarterly shows what kind of actors agencies are looking for (what kind of talent in that particular period).

It goes without say that you need a headshot and résumé. But find out first how to put together your résumé. There is a standard industry format with three columns and usually the eyes go immediately to the third column, because that’s where the credibility lies. It’s not only about what you’ve done, but also about with whom you’ve done it! Also besides your acting experience, agents and casting directors will also look at your training, where you train, the frequency and consistency with which you train and with whom you train. There are many professional services that can help you if you need help.

Carefully select the agents you want to target, and do a mass mailing that is TARGETED to specific agents that cater to your type. Send out a headshot and résumé and don't forget a cover letter, which must be very brief and to the point and state why you are looking for that agency to represent you. Remember that there are thousands of actors who are sending mail to that agent so anything you can do and say that will make you stand out from the rest is a good thing. Just keep it within the realm of what’s “acceptable”. You might want to think of using envelopes with a big window, so that the agents’ offices that receive your packet see your picture even before they open it. From what I gather, still the majority of actors still don’t use those kinds of envelopes. It could provide you with a slight advantage. Maybe. Every little thing you can do differently than the rest could be of help.

You will need to find out how to write a good cover letter. Like I said, short, sweet and to the point. There are lots of books about it. One good one is by a guy named Brian O’Neil and it’s called Acting As A Business: Strategies For Success. I think it’s a must read for any new actor. He also has examples of résumés depending on what kind of credits you have. And he also tells you how to build the résumé, which is very important.

It’s a numbers game, so send out a lot of packages, but expect to get back a low number of responses: anywhere from 5 – 10%. It really depends on a lot of things; how good your headshot is, how good your cover letter is, whether you targeted the right agent, whether your agent is looking for your type in that moment, etc. If you don’t hear anything back, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re not interested. It could just mean that they’re not interested in that moment.

So once you have made initial contact, you will need to follow up. Timing is important as is the way you follow up. One way is to use post cards with your headshot on it. Use the postcards about once every three months to report what you’re doing and to keep in touch or even more often if you have something to report, like a show you’ve been in, movie and industrial, commercial or whatever. Don’t send them to say hi or have a good summer. Report what you are doing. Even report close calls, meaning call backs or on-holds even if you didn’t get the job. It means that you got close and agents and casting directors like to hear that as well.

Once you get that far, you should start getting some responses and some meetings. Like I said, it’s a numbers game though, but be focused and don't think that if you just send out mass mailings that you will be successful. Target your mailings and you will have greater success.

This is just part of your strategy though. There’s got to be more…

If you have a reel and a website, that would also be a plus.

Lastly, you can submit yourself for jobs online: Here is a list of websites through which you can submit yourself. It's not as good as having an agent, but I have gotten some audtions and jobs this way. I use nycastings and actorsaccess mostly. I have found that with two or three of these sites, I'm pretty much covered with regard to the important auditions that are out there. Once you start checking too many different sites, you find that there is a lot of repetition.

www.actingdepot.com

www.exploretalent.com

www.actorsaccess.com

www.backtoholding.com

www.bigbreakny.com

www.castingnewyork.com

www.easycasting.com

www.actormarketing.biz

www.nycastings.com

www.backstage.com

Hope that helps. Good luck!

Tony
http://www.actingcareerstartup.com...