We all know that hope is a good thing. And, as Tim Robbins' character says in The Shawshank Redemption, "No good thing ever dies." I've found that hope is especially essential when it comes to finding an agent. I've been a working actor and a SAG member for five years now. I'm currently in classes two nights a week and performing onstage every weekend, and I have two national commercials running. Things are pretty good, right? Well, not so much.
It started when I signed with a new agency earlier this year that took me on commercially. The agents liked my look so much that they asked me to audition for their theatrical department. I went through the audition and was accepted. The agent assigned to me said my headshots were "fantastic!" and that there was no reason I shouldn't be going on auditions three or four times a week. Of course that made my mouth water, and, after picking my tongue up off the floor, I decided to sign with her.
Three months passed and I hadn't heard from them—not even once. No word from my agent about needing new headshots or what's been happening with submissions. Nothing. I called the agency. I left messages with my agent's assistant, because the agent is always "in a meeting." Five calls and four emails later, she finally called back and asked what I wanted. I told her my woes and demanded to know why I was being ignored.
Her answers were pretty disconcerting. "We have your pictures, right?" she asked. "Did you send them to us? Did you send us your contract? Travis who?"
On the outside, I was calm and said yes to all her inquiries. But on the inside, I was full of rage, thinking, "Shouldn't she be looking at my 'fantastic!' pictures right now?"
I love to act. I love the filmmaking and theatre process. I love how commercials and television shows can reach millions of viewers in their homes simultaneously, or how a cast and crew make a play come alive from the page to the stage. It's in my blood, and it's what I've always loved to do. Despite all of the frustration, acting still gets me out of bed in the morning, and I give it everything I have.
That's why I'm confounded by this agent's behavior. My agent should take my career as seriously as I do. As actors, we need them to get auditions, callbacks, and bookings, but they need us in order to stay in business. When you sign with an agent, you enter a professional partnership, one that both parties must work on. I need a business partner, not someone who'll blow smoke up my ass.
Despite everything, I've decided to stick with this agent in the hopes that she'll come through. But it's not forever. I know those agents exist, those Jerry Maguires: the agents who will pound on CD'\s' doors for us, shield us from cattle calls, and even occasionally meet us for coffee. Those of us filled with tenacity and moxie will find them. Keep the faith, actors! Good night, and good luck.
Travis Greer can currently be seen in commercials for Southwest Airlines and Cox Communications. He also performs weekend nights in Keith Johnstone's Theatresports at the Livery Theatre in downtown Ventura, Calif. Travis can be reached at Tenacioustravis@yahoo.com.