Agents and Actors and Life after Theatre School

by Cathy McKim

Editor's Note: This article was written for Canadian actors, but contains advice that should be useful no matter where you live. Enjoy!

In objective terms, your agent is your professional representative. He or she will suggest you, as appropriate, for roles that come to his or her attention and will negotiate your contract when you get the job. An agent also deals with the creative aspects of the business, providing networking and support services.

In subjective terms, an agent can be mother, father, shrink, salesperson, facilitator, publicist. An agent, says Michael Oscars (Oscars and Abrams Associates Inc.) is "a champion, never enough for the client, far too much for the employer." An agent is an actor's lifeline to the industry in a fifty-fifty partnership.

Agents expect honesty, loyalty and professionalism from you. An actor needs to be working as hard as his or her agent to achieve their common goal of getting work. Your end of the deal is to provide your agent with up-to-date photos, resumes and tapes so they have the tools that enable them to sell you to prospective employers. When you get an audition be prepared, off script if possible, be dressed appropriately, be early and do your absolute best to show casting that you are the one for the job.

You must communicate with your agent; this includes everything from changes in hair style/colour and availability in terms of where you can be reached and vacation times, to the types of roles you'd like to be doing. No agent likes to look like an idiot because they thought they sent a brunette to the audition and what casting saw was a blonde. It's also not fun for agents to have to play detective in an attempt to track you down for a booking.

More >

©Moonlighters Publishing Inc.
email moonpeg@inforamp.net
Excerpted from An Actor's Guide to Agencies in Toronto, published by Moonlighters Publishing Inc. Used with permission of the author. Not to be distributed by any means without this copyright notice.