Let me start out by saying that my agents are absolutely amazing. We make a really fantastic team! Find yourself an agent you love, because it’s so worth it.
It’s a constant give and take with agents; you do your work so that they can do theirs, and vice-versa! Here are some tricks to befriending your agent and making your lives easier and more efficient.
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Now:
1.) Act fast when they email you.
Time is money, honey. They are waiting on you to confirm with the Casting Director, so email back within an hour of receiving their email. This is really crucial, because they can’t do their job without your answer. So answer quick!
A helpful thing to do is to give your agent a specific ringtone and email tone. Never miss your agent’s messages! They’ll be mad if you do!
2.) Be quick when fulfilling their requests.
You never know when that Casting Director is going to see you and call you in, so when your agent asks for new headshots, you get them done and taken care of quick. Don’t miss any opportunities!
My musical theater agent wanted to send my tv/film reel to their tv/film department, so she said to get that ready. And I did the best I could do, although the really good student film I had done hadn’t been sent to us yet! So I kept waiting for that clip, while I still had 4 other clips in my reel. It finally dawned on me; an incomplete reel is better than no reel! So I sent it in, and now I have a tv/film agent! Yippee! Get your stuff out there! It doesn’t matter if it isn’t perfect, just get it out into the world!
3.) Go on every audition they send your way.
Unless you’re going to be at someone’s wedding, there’s no good excuse to turn down an audition. If you don’t go to auditions, they can’t make money off of you, and then they’ll drop you. Not to mention, when Casting Directors are turned down for something you were submitted for, you’ve just wasted their time and now they’re much less inclined to hire you in the future. Don’t do it.
4.) Don’t be late to your auditions!
This is a no-brainer, but they know if you’re late. People fill them in. They’ve got spies everywhere. Other clients, the Casting Directors themselves, who knows? Don’t get dropped because of being late!
5.) Send in every selftape earlier.
Another no-brainer! Casting Directors have deadlines, people! They have things to do, people to see! Early is on-time, on-time is late, and late is fired. If your deadline is 5:00 PM and you hand it over at exactly 5:00 PM, it just doesn’t look professional, and your agent was probably stressed out over it.
Also, too many technical issues happen when you’re stressed and low on time. Start earlier and finish earlier so that you don’t have to stress about being late. I made this mistake once and never made it again.
6.) Email them rather than call or text.
I’m not sure how universal this is, but for my agents, it’s easier to respond to emails than texts and calls. They prefer emails; everything is in one place. Texts aren’t in the same place, and calls waste time (chatting) and aren’t recorded information, so they can’t reference any of what you said to them if they need to remember something. (That last part I wasn’t told, I just think it’d be helpful!)
7.) Keep in mind, they watch all your selftapes.
They know your skill level! Don’t think they don’t, because they screen your selftapes before they go out. Don’t put out a not-so-great selftape just because you don’t think anyone’s really watching, because they are.
In fact, my Dear Evan Hansen selftape is the example video my Musical Theater agent, Nicole, sends out to clients when sending selftape emails! They really do watch you!
8.) Go to their events and get to know them!
Meet your agents whenever you can. It’s important to be relevant in their lives but not too clingy. So, when they throw events, go to them! Have fun and mingle! Get to know the person who’s trying to make you money.
9.) Let them know when you do shows!
They want to know that you’re doing things to better your craft, so invite them to your shows! Keep in mind, they probably won’t be able to go because they’ve got so much stuff to do, but they like to get invited! If the stars align, you might see them in the audience!
10.) Study up!
Keep studying your craft and keep refining your skills. Everyone loves someone who’s good at their job. Do yours as well as possible!
Go woo your agent!
A good relationship with your agent is critical to your career. If the pairing doesn’t fit and consistently doesn’t match up, it might be time to find a different agent. You need an agent who wants the same things as you. Go out and find your soulmate agent and befriend them using these tips!
Have an absolutely amazing week, and don’t forget to email subscribe below and check out our Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest! Thanks so much for stopping by!
