3 Signs It’s Time To Leave Your Reps

No Magic Pill

Actors often harbor the biggest misconception about having representation— that they will do everything for you (get you auditions, launch your career, etc.) and you can finally kick back with your feet up and enjoy the ride. Too many actors see agents and managers as a magic pill to success. The problem with this perspective is that it’s super dated: the industry game has changed, and there are many ways for actors to open doors for themselves. And it’s important that you kick those doors down because no agent or manager is going to care about your career as much as you do.

You are the magic pill. You are the one person who is capable of driving your career forward as fast as it can possibly go. Think of an agent or manager as the Robin to your Batman. He can offer some assistance but you’re the one that’s going to be keeping Gotham safe and developing.

Gray Zone

But what if you have reps and things aren’t terrible, but they aren’t great either? Perhaps one of the biggest actor dilemmas: I've been with my manager or agent for over six months and they have generated 0 to 6 major film or TV auditions. What should I do? Should I stay or should I go? 

This is perhaps the busiest pilot year I have ever experienced. If it's been six months and your reps have sent you out for 0 to 6 top-tier film or TV auditions it is time for a serious heart-to-heart about where this relationship is going.

Whether you are a developmental client, working actor or celebrity, 99% of reps will not pick up a telephone and pitch you for an audition. Online submissions without a phone pitch mean a lottery’s chance of actually getting in to audition. If your reps aren’t getting you out enough, and most actors feel that way, then you need to assess the two other pillars of the relationship: communication and phone pitches.

Communication: is there an open door policy of communication between me and my agent or manager? Meaning, if they’re not doing a lot in the intensive game of helping you secure work, are they still very communicative with you? Can you email them about new headshots, new haircuts, class recommendations, cupcake flavors, you name it? The answer should be yes. Good reps will email you back within the day to weigh in about all things related to your career, and then some. If you don’t have this kind of rapport with your agent/manager, you should walk.

Phone pitches: Few representatives pick up the phone as much as they need to. There are a million reasons for this—some have to do with their lack of faith in your ability, others have to do with their fear of bothering a busy casting office, other reasons have to do with laziness, and so on. Regardless of the situation at hand, if you see a role you’re right for come through the breakdowns, and you know a member of the production team, or casting director who is in charge of the role or project (meaning this person knows you and is a fan), you need to be able to alert your reps that it’s “safe to pitch.” Meaning, at the very least you need to have an agent or manager who will pitch when they get an email from you saying, “Hey I’ve met Suzy Ulcer four or five times. If you call, I know she’ll be happy to bring me in.” In such a scenario your agent/manager really should pick up the goddamn phone, and not just add a little note to their submission.

If you’re not getting a nice flow of two-way communication and phone pitches at the absolute minimum, it’s time to pack your bags.

Expectations  

Actor's oftentimes put very unrealistic expectations on their relationships with reps. Unless you're fortunate enough to work with the 1% of reps who will really dig in for you—the ones who are willing to groom you for up to 6 years without pay—your agent or manager will not "get you in" for any major film or TV auditions.

Simply having an agent/manager does not make you more valuable as an actor. On the flip side, this doesn’t mean you should leave decent reps when you are the one that needs to be doing the bulk of the door-kicking—nor should you stick around with the belief that there is nothing better out there for you. These are murky waters and confusing situations, and this is a decision only you can make, and is best made by listening to your gut.

This article was originally posted on Backstage

How Should Actors Slate?

The audition starts the moment you enter the room and not, as many would think, when you start acting. Some of the industry’s biggest production teams and casting directors will actually interview you as a person before they audition you the actor. The slate is often the first time the producer, writer, or director will encounter you, as they are not typically in the room during pre-reads with casting. The slate marks the start of your audition.

I advise my clients to make a genuine connection with the production team by bringing their empowered and aware selves to the slate—their best selves in the moment. Any attempt to impress or force yourself into an emotional state can, and often will, put an abrupt end to your audition before you start acting. Slating with confidence, presence, and awareness—your version of it—can win you the role before the scene starts.

This article was originally posted on Backstage

What Should Actors Wear to Auditions?

Actors should present a “clean canvas” when auditioning. Trying to impress or glamming it up reeks of desperation and trying too hard, and should be avoided as it can shut you out of contention the moment you walk into the room. Never forget the first rule of the audition: Don’t try to guess what they are looking for, assume you are who they’re looking for, and bring yourself to the role with brave and fun choices.

Reading all audition instructions is paramount. If it doesn’t say to dress like a cop, don’t dress like a cop—be a cop! My recommendation is to dress for confidence, like you’re going out on an exciting date with the intention of trying not to over impress. Bottom line: Your audition wardrobe should be an attempt to magnify your inner beauty and charisma,    not distract from it.                                                                                                                                                                                  

This article was originally posted on Backstage

4 Tips for Making the Winning Audition Choice

Most ‘experts’ who talk about actors “making choices” haven’t a clue what a “choice” actually is, nor how to properly compose and execute one. This is true both in the audition room and on set. Casting directors and film/TV directors will often tell actors to “make a stronger choice” not really knowing what exactly they mean by that. Essentially they’re saying, “show me something I like better.” I often see this in instructions for actors for submitting a taped audition. It’s one of those hot button terms—“making a choice”—but ask that ‘expert’ to demonstrate what the hell they’re talking about, and watch most them start to squirm and filibuster their way through an answer.

Rule #1 Is Always the Same

Don’t guess what THEY are looking for! Assume YOU are who they’re looking for, and bring yourself to the role with a brave, fun, and impactful choice. Which means, it is your right and responsibility to always do “your version” of the character—how you see it. It means relentlessly looking for ways to find what being this character means to you. This does not mean that you’re playing yourself! It means that your winning performance—once all work has been absorbed into your bloodstream—should feel as easy and loose as if you were playing yourself.

Winning Choices Are Not Found Within the Text

Proper textual analysis must be done with the same specificity and expertise that a member of the LA Philharmonic would prepare Mahler’s Third. The text must ultimately serve as a springboard for your deeply imaginative and improvisational process of connecting what it all means to you.

Margot Robbie on how she won the role in “The Wolf of Wall Street”:

"So I walk up really close to his face and then I'm like, 'Maybe I should kiss him. When else am I ever going to get a chance to kiss Leo DiCaprio, ever?' But another part of my brain clicks and I just go, 'Whack!' I hit him in the face. And then I scream, 'F--- you!' And that's not in the script at all. The room just went dead silent and I froze." (cinemablend)

Doing this kind of stuff is scary. It’s risky. Margot Robbie instantly thought they were going to call the cops on her or sue her for hitting one of the most bankable stars on the planet. She was wrong: they offered her the part, and the rest is history. And hell, isn’t this why you became an actor? To scare people, scare yourself and to take risks? Did you really leave your hometown and everything you knew to go into rooms, play it safe, and show the casting and producing team a slightly different version of the same boring character they’ve seen all day? How has that been working for you?

Stop Obeying Character Descriptions

Most actors make the rookie mistake—especially in auditions—of thinking they must obey and act all character descriptions and stage directions. Be assured that this will be what every other actor does as it represents the obvious choice—its goal is to please the casting director. Show the producing team that you understand the character and the entire project well enough to invent a gesture or movement that is not in the script but which demonstrates that you get it—and you’re confident enough to create something more nuanced right before their very eyes.

Remember the casting directors are not the ones who call the final shots. Some of my readership are often surprised upon learning that the final casting decisions are made by the directors, producers or writers, and not the casting directors.    

Winning Choices Must Be Visually Obvious Choices

If a director, writer, producer, or casting director cannot check a box that says “Visually obvious choice made,” then you haven’t made a choice that works—or at least not one that will win the role or get you that nomination. Actors forget that their choices need to read on camera, even if the sound is off. Their performance should be able to be watched with the mute button on, and still read as driven and emotionally loaded. Unlike on set work, auditions are when you must achieve this immediately to be successful—oftentimes within the first 10 seconds.

Using a strong hook to launch you into your scene can trigger that visually obvious choice—the kind of choice Margot Robbie made.  

With the highest actor booking rate in the industry, we help actors make the confident and brave choices to stand out and win the role.

This article was originally posted on Backstage


 

A Sign of an Acting Scam

One of the biggest acting scams in the industry are those unsavory bandits who try to sell actors on the losing proposition of finding their “niche” or “type.” It’s like attempting to steal your personality and sell you back a second-rate version of yourself. The pursuit of niche/type is the occupation of the Sunday driver actor, as it revolves around trying to find what pre-prescribed stale box(es) you could neatly package yourself into—all for the purpose of pleasing! It’s herd mentality crap, and it’s sold to the stampede of actors who believe there’s one pre-prescribed path to industry success.

The higher art form is to do what's taught at Harvard Business School and distill your "singularity," or "value proposition"—it's your wow factor and the DNA of your branding! It's the unique combination of attitudes and behaviors that make you an original and set you apart from the herd. It's showing the industry what they never saw before and desperately must have because no one else can do it. I help actors discover their unique singularity, and help them use it to launch their careers, on their own terms.

This article was originally posted on Backstage

Why You Must Always Be at Your Olympic Best

The brutally competitive L.A. and NYC film and TV markets represent the Olympic level of the game for actors. It’s a very small industry, in that actors who audition for major film and TV roles end up meeting most of the top casting directors in any given year. If you’re not at your Olympic best—in shape and on your A game like an elite athlete—then you run the very real risk of closing more doors than you open in this industry. This is the equivalent of waking up one morning and deciding you love the tuba more than life itself, and after taking lessons for six months, decide it’s time to get on stage at Walt Disney Concert Hall to audition for the conductor of the L.A. Philharmonic.

In my work with actors, I help them reach their Olympic best every session, so they’re ready to go into the audition room, mark their territory, and either book the role or the room!