How did Zach end up moving agencies? By taking a risk that (thankfully) paid off.
The Artist and I moved to Los Angeles two years ago(!) in January 2012. We were lucky because he had already booked a pilot while we were living in St. Louis. Zach's winding road of acting jobs and contacts ran through St. Louis, Chicago and Minneapolis.
Our Minneapolis connection paid off in two ways. He helped Zach land the pilot and he also introduced us to the wonderful lady who would become Zach's manager. In other words, we made the move a little bit ahead of the game. There are so many struggling actors in Hollywood who have been here for years without a manager (much less an agent).
Signing with a manager is a good starting point because they can help you get in the door to see certain casting directors. They can only submit you for so many auditions because it's not their main focus. Managers are there to help you grow as an artist. To land the bigger auditions you need to sign with an agent.
Agents fall into two categories - Commercial and Theatrical. The two divisions break down exactly like they sound. Sometimes you're lucky enough to sign with one agency to represent you in both divisions (known as "across the board"). Many actors sign with different agencies for commercial and theatrical representation.
So...How does one go about getting an agent?
You could be like us and have an "in" with an agency. Zach's manager set up a meeting for him with a top level agency. The agency meeting for a child actor goes like this:
*The actor meets with the agent separately
*The actor is interviewed to find out if they are "all business" or if he or she has a life outside of acting
*The actor performs a monologue or a scene for the agent
*The parents are brought into the office to be assessed by the agent...In other words, this is how the agent determines if the child actor is being driven by stage parents
*The meeting ends and the agent (normally) spends a few weeks deciding whether to sign the kid actor
There are so many factors that go into that decision. A nowhere near complete list includes:
*Is the kid actor talented?
*Does the agency already have enough of whatever "type" the child actor is?
*Will the parents be too much of a pain to deal with?
*Is the kid marketable?
*Does the kid have range?
Zach signed a long-term deal with his first L.A. agency in early 2012 with an "out" at 18 months.
The first year was great for Zach at the agency. He was sent on plenty of auditions and was represented well by his agent.
And then it all fell apart...
The agency was run by two guys. Notice I said "was run" by two guys. The two heads of the agency started arguing and fighting and didn't get along anymore. All of the fighting led to only the top earners at the agency being sent out on auditions. The talent that didn't book as many high profile/high earning jobs (like Zach) fell through the cracks.
One of the two main guys ended up leaving the agency. Our 18-month option was on the horizon and we decided to get Zach out of there while we had a chance.
While it was nice to make a clean break, we were now in the super scary situation of not having an agent.
So how does one go about finding a new agent?
We made a plan with Zach's management team to keep him in the public eye with improv performances, casting workshops, red carpet events and submissions for acting jobs.
There are also services in Hollywood that advertise your headshot to various (lower level) agencies that are looking for talent. Dana and I submitted Zach's credits and headshots to see if we could get any interest. We honestly didn't think we would find a decent size agency in the cattle call process. Our main goal was to get Zach some appointments with the agencies and treat the interviews as practice for meetings with bigger agencies. At least we hoped bigger agencies would be calling.
To be continued...
Check Out The Hero Of Our Story On IMDb
*The actor meets with the agent separately
*The actor is interviewed to find out if they are "all business" or if he or she has a life outside of acting
*The actor performs a monologue or a scene for the agent
*The parents are brought into the office to be assessed by the agent...In other words, this is how the agent determines if the child actor is being driven by stage parents
*The meeting ends and the agent (normally) spends a few weeks deciding whether to sign the kid actor
There are so many factors that go into that decision. A nowhere near complete list includes:
*Is the kid actor talented?
*Does the agency already have enough of whatever "type" the child actor is?
*Will the parents be too much of a pain to deal with?
*Is the kid marketable?
*Does the kid have range?
Zach signed a long-term deal with his first L.A. agency in early 2012 with an "out" at 18 months.
The first year was great for Zach at the agency. He was sent on plenty of auditions and was represented well by his agent.
And then it all fell apart...
The agency was run by two guys. Notice I said "was run" by two guys. The two heads of the agency started arguing and fighting and didn't get along anymore. All of the fighting led to only the top earners at the agency being sent out on auditions. The talent that didn't book as many high profile/high earning jobs (like Zach) fell through the cracks.
One of the two main guys ended up leaving the agency. Our 18-month option was on the horizon and we decided to get Zach out of there while we had a chance.
While it was nice to make a clean break, we were now in the super scary situation of not having an agent.
So how does one go about finding a new agent?
We made a plan with Zach's management team to keep him in the public eye with improv performances, casting workshops, red carpet events and submissions for acting jobs.
There are also services in Hollywood that advertise your headshot to various (lower level) agencies that are looking for talent. Dana and I submitted Zach's credits and headshots to see if we could get any interest. We honestly didn't think we would find a decent size agency in the cattle call process. Our main goal was to get Zach some appointments with the agencies and treat the interviews as practice for meetings with bigger agencies. At least we hoped bigger agencies would be calling.
To be continued...
Check Out The Hero Of Our Story On IMDb
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