I Thought You Told Us He Already Has An Agent

The Artist has done alright for himself since moving to California.  

Commercials. Movies.  TV Shows.  But there has always been one piece of the puzzle missing:

A theatrical agent.

I know I wrote a blog post a few months ago but his shiny new agent.  He still has that agent but it's his commercial agent.

Let me explain.

There are two types of agents in the industry.  A commercial agent works to get you auditions for commercials (duh!) and a theatrical agent works to get you auditions for movies and TV shows.  You might get lucky and get one agency to represent you across the board (both commercial and theatrical). Most actors have different agencies representing them for theatrical and commercial.

Zach's manager has done a great job getting him film and TV auditions while waiting for the right theatrical agent to come along for The Artist.  She is very protective of the boy.  She has always stated she doesn't want him to sign with a theatrical agency unless they love Zach as much as she loves Zach.

The boy attended an acting workshop about three weeks ago and meet a representative for a theatrical agent.  She seemed to like him so we contacted Zach's manager about scheduling a follow-up meeting.

The meeting was this past Wednesday.  The Artist seems to do well when I take my vehicle so (following our superstition) Zach and I headed to the meeting in the good luck redneck truck.  

*4:30pm

We arrive at the agency  

*4:35pm

The agency folks give Zach a script to look over quickly so he can do a cold read for them.

*4:40pm

He goes back into their offices.  The standard procedure is for the teen actor to meet with the agents and then the parents are brought back to the office.  (The "splitting up" tactic is so the agency can meet the teen away from the comfort of his or her parent.  It allows them to meet with the kid in a one on one situation.  The parents are brought in so the agency can determine how easy or hard they will be to deal with on a daily basis.  Sometimes kids are passed over because the parents are so over the top and obnoxious that it's not worth the hassle).

*4:40pm-5pm

I spend my time looking at my phone and reading The Hollywood Reporter while trying not to worry too much for Zach.

*5pm

The kid emerges and announces he is done.  (What???  I don't get my time in the meeting???  Actually, I was happy about this fact.  I'm always afraid I'll screw up the deal for the kid by rambling on too much.)  The agency person thanks us for coming and says they'll be in touch with his manager for any follow-up questions.

The follow-up process normally takes around two weeks so we're now entering the "wait and see" period.

*5:02pm.  

We enter the elevator and Zach tells me about the meeting on the ride downstairs.  He seems happy with how the meeting went and enjoyed talking sports with the agency folks.

*5:05pm

We drive out of the parking garage when the voice mail goes off on my phone.  It's Zach's manager saying she needs me to call back NOW!  I was about to do just that when Dana calls saying Zach's manager is looking for us.  She sounds worried (Dana and the manager) and we need to call back NOW! (Hey!  I missed the call thanks to being on the elevator!!!  Sorry!)

*5:07pm

We return the call and the manager wants to know what Zach said in the meeting.  I reply I have no idea since I wasn't in the meeting.  She insists I hand the phone to him so she can find out exactly what happened in the meeting.  Zach gives her the details and she gives him two choices:

A.  Learn a lesson from this meeting and keep looking for a theatrical agent

or

B.  Be excited because they called her the moment Zach left the room wanting to sign him!  The exact quote from the agent?  "I couldn't wait for that kid's butt to get out of the chair so I could call you." 

*5:09pm

Zach now has a theatrical agent!

We figured it would take a little while for them to get the paperwork together for Zach to sign on with their team.  I received an email a little over two hours later with various forms for him to sign and return ASAP.

He goes on his first audition from the agency this Monday afternoon.

It's been a long road for the kid but we are thrilled for him.  He's worked hard and deserves the benefits of his efforts.

Do I sound too much like a proud parent????

Well, I am so deal with it!

Look! It's "Mister I Have A Theatrical Agent"!