CAMILLE
I've been freelancing and friends/colleagues keep encouraging me to get an agent. When do I know it's the right time for that?
SEAN
As an agent (in Australia), I require my clients to be committed to the long journey that is a career in the entertainment industry - not a job, but a career. In the U.S.A., Managers focus on building your career whilst Agents focus on getting you jobs to help progress your career.
I also require my clients to have high quality materials so I have the tools to be able to sell them - an amazing set of headshots, a fabulous reel/ library of clips & an easy to read CV.
On that CV, I expect to see experience or credits to show that they have done some capacity of work and to show that they have the resilience to keep finding their own work and not get put off by this industry despite the many “No’s” they may receive.
Icing on the cake is that they come to the books with an established network of contacts which not only benefits them when joining the agency but also benefits the other clients on the books which then wins them brownie points for increasing work!
Of course there are just a few things that I require from my talent; in order to answer your question though, I ask you - do you have all of this to offer an agent? If you don’t, then I think you have some work to do. If you do have all this to offer and more, then keep reading.
The next thing I would ask myself, which I did as an actor when I myself started looking for rep after a year of freelancing, was “Am I ready to be part of a team?” This is important because it isn’t just you anymore. Communication is key for a team to run smoothly and this includes taking advice and feedback from your reps, even if it hurts to hear such as “you need more training” or “I don’t think you’re ready for XYZ yet”. If you’re not ready for the “bad” news, then you may not be ready to be part of a team.
Another thing you need to consider is if your current lifestyle allows you to drop everything to attend an audition or a job? Commercials can give you less than 24 hours notice for an audition while some jobs can give you a week to a few days notice. In TV/Film, you may not get the call sheet till 12 hours prior, let alone the script which is scary, but exciting too!
Also you’ve got to remember that you still need to be networking and looking for auditions. Now that you are part of a team does NOT mean you can just wait by the phone waiting for your reps to call - you need to continue to look for auditions WHILE your reps are looking as well! That’s the point of the team! If anything, you have to work harder than them because you’re getting 90% of the pay while they only get 10%!
The big one, which is hard for most actors to face is, are you willing to wait a number of years before landing “The Big One”? Most “overnight sensations” are up to 10 years in the making! Being a lead in a feature film for your first gig is literally winning the actor’s lottery and if that’s your expectation, then NO rep will take you on.
If you are self sufficient, resilient, strong, hard working, kind, courteous and ready to work - then it’s time to get yourself an agent and prove to them why you deserve to be working with them and why they need you.
AGENT CHECKLIST
- Can I provide commitment?
- Do I have high quality materials?
- Do I have experience/ credits?
- Do I have an established network/ contacts?
PERSONAL CHECKLIST
- Am I ready to be part of a team?
- Can I leave my ego at the door and listen to someone giving me advice & feedback?
- Does my lifestyle allow me to drop everything last minute to attend a casting/audition or a job?
- Am I willing to keep looking for work/auditions despite having rep?
- Am I willing to invest time and money in updating my materials regularly?
- Am I ready to wait a number of years before landing “the big one”?
Please connect with Camille here: https://www.facebook.com/camille.gabbrielli