It's that time of year again. Many agents call it "spring cleaning." Now that pilot season is over and the upfronts are done, agents and managers are clearing the dead weight from their rosters and looking for exciting new clients to add. It's a hot time for actors to be pitching themselves in submission letters.
But once they get an appointment, many actors are confused about what agents and managers expect in the meeting. Should actors have a pitch prepared? What can they do to make an agent or manager want to work with them?
Before the Meeting
Get in the right head space. April Baker, a former youth theatrical and commercial agent at Brass Artists & Associates who now does private consulting and coaching for actors, suggests that before you go to a meeting, you fully understand that this is the entertainment business. What an agent wants in a new client "is a real person who has real views and a true sense of self," she says.
In order to present yourself in the best light, first ask yourself these questions:
1) What is my market?
2) What makes me different from everybody else?
3) Why do I want to be in this business?
If you know the answers before you walk into a meeting, you won't be tongue-tied by these questions. Plus, it's always good to know who you are and what your strengths are. A realistic view of who you are and where you fit in the industry will help agents and managers take you seriously. Gar Lester of the Gar Lester Agency specifically looks for actors who are honest and are willing to listen and learn. "I want actors to ask themselves if they're truly willing to do what the agent asks of them, if they're prepared to hear the truth about what they look like, and what their strong and weak points are," he says. If you barely have any credits on your résumé, don't plan on coming in and talking about pilot season, Lester advises. "Know your character and what you'll book," he says.
Decide beforehand if you would want to sign with this agency commercially, theatrically, or across the board. "If you are a developmental actor seeking theatrical representation, it is very difficult to secure an agent, so be prepared to say that you'd come commercially also, if that agency has a commercial division," says Lester.
Make Sure You're Ready
If you are going to start taking meetings with agents and managers, you should be actively working on your craft. "Are you in class?" asks Los Angeles theatrical agent Angelo Padilla of Greene & Associates. "Are you training? Are you doing something to better yourself? If an agent is going to put their name on the line, they want to make sure you're studying. If you're a new actor with very few credits, I would be hesitant to take you on if you're not in class. It's all about the work."
"I once met with an actor who had not had an acting class in 20 years," says Baker. "He believed that his USC degree was enough. When I told him he needed to get into classes, he laughed at me. That meeting was over."
New York manager Cathy Kanner of Kanner Entertainment encourages actors to do research before meeting with a manager. "Do your homework," she says. "Know how this team works together and what a manager does. Look at IMDb. See who we rep. You don't want to spend the whole meeting asking us those questions. That's something you should know when you come in."
If after your research you still have questions, have them prepared before the meeting. "You can ask who we've developed—that's a good question," says Kanner. "But be specific with your questions." In other words, don't ask something just to ask something.
Seeing that you have your materials organized and ready to go is vitally important to agents and managers. It lets them know that you treat your acting career as a business and will be prepared at future auditions. "You must have your tools in place—your picture, your résumé, your reel," says Kanner. "If you don't have a reel, then prepare two monologues just in case."
"Agents don't want a stack of postcards or 4-by-6s," says Baker. "Just give your headshot." She also emphasizes having your résumé correctly formatted. "Remember, being an extra does not make you 'featured.' Know your résumé lingo. Do not embellish. Do not lie. And remember, your special skills are crucial. They are what separate you from everyone else."
At the Meeting
Wear something comfortable but classy. You don't want to be too dressed up, but you don't want to look too casual either. "Come into the office looking natural, but not like you just woke up," says Baker. "I need to have an accurate sense of your style. Often your picture and your natural essence are worlds apart. I want to look at you and 'get' you."
From the moment you arrive, be courteous to everyone you meet in the office. "The receptionist tells us if you were rude," Baker reveals. "Treat everyone like they matter. Your attitude toward everyone reflects how you will treat others in auditions."
Kanner advises not to ask too many questions. "Confident actors don't ask a ton of questions," she says. "Confident actors know what they want, know what they're looking for, they're confident in their abilities, and they're not too chatty."
Stay away from negativity, especially regarding your current or former agents and managers. "Many of us speak to one another; we hear what you say," says Baker. "Not having an audition in the first two months of rep is not a reason to move. That proves you are impatient and probably not very loyal."
All the agents and managers interviewed discourage actors from coming in with a gimmick or rehearsing a pitch about why this person should represent you. "Don't play any games and don't have any gimmicks," says Kanner. "That doesn't generally sell you. We've been doing this a long time. After seeing how you market yourself, what your work is like, and your general aura, we know if we want you. That's basically it."
"Don't try to oversell yourself," says New York manager Emily Gipson of Josselyne Herman & Associates. "Instead of trying to 'pitch' yourself, try to tell a captivating story about the success of your career."
"Don't put on the Hollywood game," says Padilla. "Be yourself but a smart businessperson. You need a little of both. You don't want to be fake, that's for sure."
"Most actors say the same thing: 'I'm ready now. Just get me out and I'll book for you,' " Lester says. "That is a big turnoff. I would want to hear that you're training hard, you get coached for all auditions, you're on time, and dedicated."
Be Yourself
Our sources agreed that the best way to pitch yourself is to show up to the meeting on time, with your materials, and with an open, confident mind. "Be yourself and be prepared," says Gipson. "It's your personality that will make you an attractive potential client, along with demonstration that you are taking your business seriously."
"When you come in, you don't have to pitch yourself like you're pitching an idea for a treatment," Kanner says. "Be who you are, look attractive, bring the best tools you can bring that represent who you are, and either there's going to be a connection and we're going to click with you or we're not."
Think of it as a first date. You want to be yourself, but the best version of yourself. You want them to like being around you. "Be personable," says Padilla. "Be charismatic. Sparkle in the room. You want to pop."
And remember to enjoy yourself; be happy just to be there and meeting other people in the business. "Have fun, because deep down inside, this is a fun business," Padilla says. "A lot of bullshit, but it still should be fun. That's why we do it."