S.M. is an actress who regularly works in television and voice over and interns for a boutique agency in Los Angeles. She requested that this piece be published anonymously.

I am an actress. I intern at my on-camera agency. I go in and help out when I can, a couple of times a week. Many times, we – the other intern, assistant and even agents – sit there and find ourselves bitching about actors’ behavior and how frustrating it can get. Which made me wonder, what I can do about it? Well, I can write about it.

First of all, some of the issues I mention you would think are givens that any actor would know, but I still get surprised. My hope is to give you some insight into one agency that may help you have a better working relationship with yours.

Materials

Gone are the days of mostly hard-copy submissions; almost all breakdowns ask for electronic submissions only. But while there’s no reason to send your agent 50 headshots of your three different looks, I say it’s still a good idea to have some hard copies in the office.

When actors have new headshots, my agent asks them to print out their favorite 20 to 30 as 4×6 work prints and then make an appointment to review them in the office. This way they can be laid out, compared, and favorites can be chosen easily. But even with such specific instructions, many clients email 100 pictures anyway. What impression do you think that makes with the agent? Exactly – that they didn’t listen (and don’t we as actors need to know how to follow directions?). The attachments take a long time to open, slow down the computer, and can’t really be arranged on the screen to be compared.

Etiquette

Answering the phone at the agency made me realize how important phone etiquette is and what an impression it leaves with the person answering the phone. Chances are, the assistant or even intern answering the phone can help you with your question. Think about it: if you ask for the agent for a trivial issue, that takes time away from the agent making a pitch call for you, taking your booking, getting you a higher rate.

And I don’t think it’s too much to ask of the caller to say “Hi, This is so-n-so, how are you? Maybe you can help me with this.” I cringe when I answer the phone and the caller says “Who is this?” No “Hello”, no “May I ask who I’m speaking to?”

Please confirm your audition right away. Every actor’s audition confirmed means the agents/assistants/interns can go home at a reasonable hour and aren’t still in the office at 7:30 at night, on the phone, trying to get a hold of actors who haven’t bothered to call their agent back. Did you know that some casting directors give the agency a deadline for confirming the audition times, or the actors will get replaced?

Here’s a biggie: Every time you step foot into a Casting office, you’re not just representing yourself, you are also a representative of your agency. Here is an extreme case, but it helps prove my point: I remember an actor who took a female friend (not represented by the agency) to a theatrical audition and crashed it. Apparently, he had heard they were looking for her specific type. That casting director then called the agency, irate about how unprofessional this behavior was, how it wasted their time, what were they thinking and did the agency send the actress. I know it was quite some time before that office regained their trust and called any of my agents’ people in again.

It is absolutely okay to drop by the office and say hello. A quick phone-call checking if it’s a good time, to find out if they’d like a coffee drink or snack is a thoughtful thing to do. Try not to overstay your welcome, however; ask about headshots (do you need any more), maybe have a fun story to tell, or tell us about a successful workshop or class.

And it might not seem like it, but it is a small town. My agent has an amazing reputation with many casting offices and their talent should want to help them keep that good name. Watch what you say about your representation when in a class or at a workshop. It can and will get back to them. I’ve seen it happen first hand: I was doing a workshop during which another actor badmouthed her agent to the guest. I recognized the actor from their headshot. Yes, we were rep’d by the same agency.

If the partnership with your agent isn’t working out, be professional and let them know you are leaving. They will understand and wish you the best. You are a good actor and they are a good agent, it just wasn’t the right fit for either one or both of you. My advice: leave on good terms and don’t burn that bridge.

Preparation

It’s our job as actors to audition. I have actually had an actor tell the agent that they can only audition after 3:oopm because that’s when they get off work. Or weekends. “Are you kidding me?” was my reply.

Asking to change the time can turn into a major time-consuming task for the agent, especially when it comes to a theatrical audition. The appointment times are close together and time frames are virtually non-existent. For commercial auditions, some CD’s give time frames, to be used only in case of emergencies. Asking for a different time because you’re meeting your mom for coffee or are celebrating your friends’ birthday the night before and don’t want to get up early doesn’t qualify as an emergency. It makes you appear “difficult” and you don’t want the reputation of being high maintenance.

Another not-fun phone call is when a CD calls and asks where an actor is, who had been confirmed. Last minute things come up, everyone knows and understands that, but have the respect and call your agent to tell them you can’t make the audition after all.

Booking out can be tricky. You could have been submitted before you told your agent about your trip, and then get the audition. It would be almost impossible to keep track of the audition and shoot dates for each project and all the days all the booked out talent isn’t available. And you want to start being submitted a few days before you are back in town, since scheduling auditions can take a day or more. For me, it never fails that I will get at least one audition while I am out of town. I look at it as “playing hard to get”. I suggest to let your agent know of your travel plans as far in advance as possible and discuss it with them about how to handle submitting you. Of course, it also depends on how long you’ll be unavailable to audition – a day or a month makes a difference.

Mapquest or use your torn Thomas Guide if you don’t have a Smartphone, but know where you’re going. Your agent is not your personal navigation system. Again, would you rather your agent spend 10 minutes on the phone with you giving you directions, or on the phone with a casting office praising your talent?

I watch a lot TV, especially the shows that are shot in LA . (Shows shot in other states or Canada generally only cast the lead guest stars or recurring out of LA.) One of my pet peeves are actors who say they don’t watch TV – then you’re not an actor in my book (unless you only do theater). We’ve all heard it: get to know the names of the casting directors, associates and assistants. Know what show your type might be cast in, and target those offices. Let your agent know about CD’s you’ve met, or what roles you want to get submitted for. I’m sure your agent is on “favorite” or “go-to” lists of casting offices and their people get called in on a regular basis. There are many resources online that list projects and who casts them: IMDb Pro, CastingAbout.com, Breakdown Services CD book and updates, Alex’s Info Newsletter, etc.

“That” Question

Why am I not getting out?” gets asked a lot. And if anyone has a good answer, please let the rest of us know. Get new headshots, sure, enroll in a class, why not, take some workshops, okay, send out postcards, will do. So many actors do all these things and more, and still don’t get a lot of auditions. Maybe your agency isn’t one of the big agencies, or maybe the agents don’t have strong relationships with a lot of casting offices, or the casting offices have to bring in people from certain agencies, or there are so many actors submitted, it comes down to luck rather than talent and experience? Maybe we actors overestimate the power of an agent and we have unrealistic expectations. As long as we do our job as an actor, and our agent does their job, we have to believe in the process and that this is part of the career we have chosen. It is about the journey not the destination, right?

For Unrepresented Actors

Here are my thoughts on blind submissions: they almost never work. Just yesterday we got a phone call: “My daughter just graduated from Barbizon”, how can I get you to represent her?”  Sigh. I’ve seen the amount of headshots that get sent to an agency and going through them is the very last thing on their to-do list. They do get opened and looked through, briefly, and most likely tossed in the recycling bin. I remember an actor actually sent a $5.00 bill with her headshot and resume. It got our attention, but not in the way that actor intended. It didn’t get them a meeting.

From my experience, having a friend walk you in and introduce you has the best chance of peeking an agent’s interest. Provided your friend has a good rapport with the office. I’ve brought many friends into the office. Unfortunately I’ve had a few bad experiences – they were taken on, then didn’t put up headshots, never made auditions, or turned out to be flaky. Now I am more careful about whom I introduce to my agent.

Workshops are a wonderful tool as well. My agent is impressed not only by a good performance, but by smart questions. She prefers the “How many actors of my type to you represent?” over the “How many actors are on your roster?” question. Her philosophy is that if she already represents 15 actors of your type, and knows their work and commitment, it will be an uphill battle for you to get ahead of those 15. You might only get submitted if the 15 ahead of you have already worked the show or are booked out.

And just a side-note: if you are cold-calling to ask about representation or see if there is interest in your submission and I happen to be answering the phone and you are rude to me, I feel more compelled to be rude right back or put you on hold indefinitely.

I’ve had the chance to sit in on some of the new-client meetings as well. Actors have actually said “Oh, trust me, I’ll book everything” or “Let’s make some money!”

Actors who blow my agents away with their performance (just last week she was telling me about this improvised scene an actor did during a meeting that made her laugh so hard) leave a much stronger impression than these one-liners that are completely off the mark.

Actors who take their career seriously stick out. The agent will notice you and therefore be willing to work with you on your career. You have to put in time, effort and hard work, and educate yourself on the business side as well as the creative side. It is both tough and rewarding, and your agent wants to help you reach your goals. My favorite times in the office are definitely the ones when a booking comes in and my agent gets to tell the actor the great news. As much as us actors love getting those calls, our agents love making them.

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