As a talent manager and acting career coach in Los Angeles, I often get asked the same questions: What’s the best way to stay in touch with my agent or manager? How often should I contact them? What should I say to remind them I exist without being bothersome?
All great questions and all important! So let’s start at the beginning.
Be mindful of how you interact with your reps. Having people who are excited about you and willing to work for you for free until you start making money for them is not something you should take lightly, nor be arrogant about. If you have representation, know that they have selected you out of hundreds—maybe thousands—of people, so be grateful. Pay attention to them by making sure you’re providing them with all the tools they need to sell you. That means a variety of headshots with various emotions, strong acting clips, and an always-growing resume. After they sign you, your job is to show them you’re a serious working actor.
Never contact your agent or manager and say, “Do you have any auditions for me?” Or “I already uploaded two more photos to my online profiles, what else?” You may think it’s helpful to stay in touch with them, but when it comes to stuff like this, it’s annoying and indicates you don’t know much about the business.
Instead, what you should be doing to stand out in your agent or manager’s mind is send update emails. Here are some examples of the types of messages you should be sending:
Dear agent/manager: I am in play from Dec. 7-19 at the Glove Theater. I play a schizophrenic. It’s a great show and if you would like tickets, I will get you industry comps.
Dear agent/manager: I booked a short film called “Twisted.” I will be shooting it from Jan. 5-12 2018 in Texas. When I have the footage I will send it to you.
Dear agent/manager: Attached is the footage from the short film “Twisted.” Please let me know if you would like me to upload it to my online profiles.
READ: Why Agents Drop Talent + How Not To Be One of Them
Dear agent/manager:: I booked a web series called “2 Cool for School” and have appeared in nine episodes so far. Here is the link to the series and attached are clips from three episodes I think are very strong. Please let me know if you would like me to add any of these to my online casting sites. Thank you!
Dear agent/manager: “Beyond the Waves,” the short film I shot two months ago has been accepted to 11 film festivals, including the Santa Barbara Film Festival. It will be playing Nov. 24 at 6 p.m. If you’re attending the festival, I’d love for you to see it! Here’s a private link to film as well.
Dear agent/manager: I just won Best Actress for “Twisted” at the Malibu and Albuquerque Film Festivals! I was interview by several papers. Attached are some of the clips!
Dear agent/manager: The web series I shot in October, “2 Cool for School,” now has one million views and is trending on Twitter!
Get it?
This is the kind of “pushing” it’s ok to do with your agent/manager because gives them something to sell and casting a compelling reason to bring you in. If you’re an unknown with no credits, your job is to give as much as you can to your reps to help them get you in the door.
Your job is to show them you are a working actor, not one who sits around waiting for auditions from your reps. That your work is getting noticed and that you take your career seriously. Talking about how you take your career seriously is very different than actually getting out there and working.
As you continue to train, add to your resume and create new clips regularly. Read as much as you can about the business and be proactive. (Backstage has a wealth of information in its archives, as well as the Community Forums!)
And of course, be sure to remember your rep’s birthday. Cards are nice around the holidays, as are small tokens of thanks and appreciation.
Wherever you are in your career, I wish you great success and sincerely hope you win an Oscar.
Inspired by this post? Check out our Los Angeles audition listings!
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and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Backstage or its staff.
