Do I need an agent?

Question

I want to move to LA to crack into acting, but how does it all work? Do I need an agent or do I just get audition schedules from somewhere and show up for castings? Help!

Answer 1

Yes, you need an agent... eventually. You can get started without one but eventually you'll need one. First you need training. Get into classes!

If you want to find a legitimate agent to represent you for commercials, TV & film go to Sag.org. Use the dropdown menu on the right labeled 'resources' and choose 'agent information'. On the next screen, on the left choose 'Find a SAG franchised agent' and follow the directions. You can look up agents all over the US, but there are higher concentrations where the work is (Los Angeles, NY, IL, FL, GA etc.)

Then you can send them your headshot, resume, and a cover letter stating that you are seeking representation and wait to see if they call you in for an interview.

Once you have an agent, they will get you the auditions, but until then you can check out actorsaccess.com. You can also see if your state has a film alliance. Sometimes they post audition information for projects filming locally. For theatre, you can go to backstage.com or www.actorsequity.org (click on casting call) 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.

good luck!

Answer 2

Don't expect to break into acting. You only need an agent when you are booking a lot of acting roles and need an agent to help you decide which role you should accept.

In general, no, you do not currently need a Talent Agent.
Agents want to see a well-rounded actor, with a LOT of THEATER roles.

An agent will not take you as a client unless you have many years of acting experience, in Community Theater or Regional Theater. They want to see that you studied with the BEST acting teachers in L.A. or NYC.

They want to see that you can do dialects, accents, dance, and vocal skills. They want to see that you have STRONG audition skills. You must know how to audition. If you are a dancer, they want to see it!

They want to see that you have years of Community Theater background. They want to see that you studied theater at a University well-known for training actors as professionals.
If you have not studied acting, get in a class as soon as possible.

Answer 3

If you don't know this you are nowhere near ready to move to LA. It's extremely difficult to get auditions. If you do get one you will be up against the best actors in the world. Are you that good too? Slow WAY down and get your training and some experience on the amateur level before you try to get paid.

Answer 4

Hi Traci,

thank you TheaterDoc for the kudos!
There are so many youngsters asking similar questions. Make sure you are ready before you go into the LA jungle!
Build your base first like TheaterDoc says. Being skilled should be your first priority. Then you need to become wise to the ways of the world. That means you have to know how to move and maneuver. For that you need life and business skills.

I used to work for Nike for many years before becoming an actor and motivational speaker. As the sales director, I was in constant contact with our retailers, the stores that sold Nike products. Some of them would open up the most beautiful stores while others’ stores left a lot to be desired. Some had the science of retailing down pat and as a consequence did really well and sold a lot of product. Some on the other hand had difficulties, because:
they weren't strategically positioned
they didn't get much traffic
they didn't do the right things to get traffic or worse yet, they didn't know how
their stores weren't set up in the right way or just plain didn't look nice
their product mix wasn't what their consumers wanted.

The reason they had these difficulties is because some just didn’t know what they were doing. Many didn’t have a solid planning strategy. Many didn’t think ahead about what they would encounter when they opened the store. Many just weren’t ready to take on the responsibility to open up a store. As a result, there are many retailers across all sectors that open stores and then close them, because they aren’t doing well. Some have really beautiful stores, but no one sees them, they get no traffic, because the owner doesn’t know how to get people to come into his store.

So why am I telling you all this about retail, when you asked me about moving to LA? Because acting is a business too. If you are an actor, you are your own business. Unfortunately every year, many actors open their 'businesses' and then many of them limp along for years, not really getting anywhere and then they 'close', because they are not doing well.
In your business as an actor your product is you. And product is king! That means it needs to be good if you want people to buy it. You have to know how to get people/consumers, your customers to find your product. If you can’t do that, you have no business.

It's a metaphor to say, that statistics say that you will fail if you don't build your base first! You MUST have skill. Having at least some business skills, so that you know how to get in touch with agents and casting directors and meet other industry professionals will facilitate your move to LA and increase your chances for success.

So here are some questions for you with regard to your business of acting that you want to take to LA:

how's the quality of your product?
do you have any training?
do you have a solid acting technique to use?
how many monologues do you have ready for your auditions?
how are your business skills?
do you know how to meet casting directors and agents?
do you know how to get an agent, write a cover letter, set up your resume?
do you keep abreast of what's going on in the industry?
do you know who casts the types of projects you are interested in?
do you know the LA market?
do you know where to look for housing and where you will 'strategically' want to live?

These are just a few questions you will want to be able to answer. There are many more.

I have a couple of different resources for you.

1) a free 36-page ebooklet called: What It Takes To Become An Actor. Just go to the link below my name at the bottom of this answer and you can sign in on the upper right-hand side of the page and you will then have access to the document that you can save to your computer.

2) here is a link for you to start to see what it is really like, day to day, working to TRY AND GET WORK as an actor: http://www.actingcareerstartup.com/working_as_an_actor.html

3) here is another link that talks about what I did to get two agents and a manager in just a very short period of time.

Try and gather as much information as you can. Do your homework first!

Best of luck to you!

Tony
ceo
http://www.actingcareerstartup.com/acs-blog.html

Answer 5

Eventually, yes. First you need to be extraordinarily skilled or extraordinarilly beautiful. If you are neither of these, get working on it or give up. You do sound pitifully naive like most of those who ask questions here. Write and tell me about your background in acting and something about yourself and I will try to advise you. I offer free advice to young actors at [e-mail]. Ask me anything about acting. I answer for free. Go to Actting Career Start Up on line and read everything that's there. Don't buy the book unless you are sure you are ready to proceed. I look forward to hearing from you.