BELINDA
How long do you stay with an agent when you have photos and videos and they say they submit you, but you have had zero castings?
SEAN
We need to approach this from a business perspective.
1. SUBMISSION REPORT
The first thing I would do is request a submission report. This reports shows all projects your rep has submitted you for. If your rep has allowed the option, you should be able to see it on Showcast. You will have to ask your rep for your Casting Networks one as that doesn't allow talent the option. Once you have this report, you'll be able to trace all projects, casting directors and dates that you were submitted for. This will tell you whether or not your reps have been doing their job.
2. COMMUNICATE
The next thing you need to do is talk to your rep. Call them up and arrange a meeting in person, if not a phone call, if not, a Skype if you have to. Just talk to them. You need to ask them and find out from them what material they need from you. Sure, you have headshots and a showreel together - but is it something that your rep can sell you with to their buyers? I've had clients refuse to change their reels on my request or provide new headshots so as an agent, I can only sell my talent with the materials I have, and when these materials are not marketable to my buyers, my talent aren't going to be seen no matter how hard I try to sell them. The materials come from the talent, so it's up to the talent to make sure they're providing marketable material that the buyers are being enticed by.
Another topic of conversation you can have is finding out what relationships your rep have. If you know that you're perfect for a certain role and you know which casting director has a reputation for those types; you need to find out if your rep has a relationship with that buyer. If there's not relationship, then you're not going to get bought by that buyer. So research your target audience, create material for that audience and provide your reps with the opportunity to connect with said buyer if they don't already have that relationship. If they already do, then you can help establish a relationship by going to a workshop or lecture/seminar that they present or even emailing them to see if they're looking for readers. Anything that will get you in their door.
3. TIME
Time is a key aspect to think about in the career of an actor. Remember, agents and managers are different so you need to approach each differently however in most cases, both agents and managers plan to have talent on their respective books for a long period of time due to the nature of the industry. They say in the US that you should be with your rep for a minimum of 5 years before thinking about changing reps. Here in AUS, based on the time period in the US, I'd say you'd wait anywhere from 5 - 10 years pending on the trajectory of your career and the relationship you have with your rep. My point is, you need to allow time - time for your relationship with your agent to grow so you both have an understanding of each other and the way you both work; time to allow relationships with buyers from both you and your rep to grow and expand; time to see how the market changes and see where you fit (or in some cases don't fit) and time to allow some down time as you do need to take a break every now and then.
At the end of the day, this is an industry based on relationships and if you don't have a good relationship with your rep, it's probably time to go.
CHECKLIST:
- Check your submission report.
- Do you have marketable material?
- Do your reps have relationships with buyers you're looking to sell to? - Have you allowed time for your relationship with your rep to grow?
