My #1 Secret! Get Proactive! Stop depending on an agent or manager! Stop chasing auditions and start building relationships with casting directors directly who will call you in when you are right for something. I can't tell you how many times I tell actors this. In order to get parts in TV and Film, casting directors have to know you. It is YOUR job as an actor to make sure casting directors know you. It is also YOUR job to make sure you deliver performances that STAND OUT from all the rest when you are with them.
Stop waiting for managers and agents to make your career. As a manager, and performer myself, I teach my clients how to be proactive in this industry and work to create lasting relationships with casting directors, producers and directors. I am in favor of Casting Director Workshops, Intensives and Seminars. I believe they are a GIFT to today's actors. In the past, the only way you could meet these important people was through an agent. Today, any actor can stand in front of a casting director and prove they are outstanding actors during a Casting Director Workshop. WOW, what an opportunity! People all around the country, the world for that matter, dream of being an actor and here you are right in front of a casting director showing them your talent. Yet, some actors want to complain about having to pay for this chance. This is a business and being in business costs money. These career making, networking opportunities cost between $25-$175. Actors will spend around $3,000 per year on Casting Director Workshops. It is an investment in your business, and an investment in you! You think that is expensive? Research the costs of opening a franchise.
My clients create a Casting Director Target list, that is a list of 10-15 CD's who cast shows my actors are right for. Actors visit the same casting director 3-4 times a year. Meeting with a Casting Director is a great thing. But the goal is not just the one time meeting (1,000s and 1,000's of actors have those) It is to keep in touch every 2-3 months for the next 10 years that makes them someone who will really get to know you, and call you in when you are right for something for years to come. That is the HUGE difference. Whenever you meet a Casting Director you should find out WHAT address they likes things to be send to, and if possible, what month their birthday is. This information should be put into a spreadsheet, or however you arrange info, and used to send them postcards telling them when you book something, inviting them to shows or screenings you are in, happy birthday cards, happy holiday cards. It helps to be in their workshop, intensives, and seminars every 6 months, and the cards should hit their desk every 1-2 months. That is how it works. In 2-3 years they will be very familiar with your name, your face and your work. That is how you professionally "pursue" a casting director to begin building a relationship. This strategy works! It takes 2-3 years and it effectively creates productive relationships with casting directors that are very valuable.
With these connections, actors can approach agents and managers with something to offer because they already have relationships with casting directors. This makes it easier for reps to pitch and helps convince agents to take on newer people. Some actors feel they should be able to walk right to the top. They don't understand they have to pay their dues and work their way to the top. They have to prove over time that they have talent, perseverance and the right attitude to succeed. I manage about 25 people at any given time. I have 3 very successful clients who pay the bills, and more. Because of them, I have the luxury, and honor, of taking on brand new actors right out of the gate and developing them. These "newbies" are anxious, excited and want everything right now. It is tiring sometimes dealing with it, but, they are the whole reason I am a manager. They have a dream and I can help them make it reality. They have passion and talent and I have the knowledge and experience in this business that they lack. Some of them take direction right away, others are not that easy.
In today's business, actors have to learn how to market and sell themselves on a continuous basis, branding their name like any other business. A good manager will teach them how to do that. My job is to guide actors to build these relationships, whether their agent is "working for them" or not. These relationships are critical to their success. The bottom line is casting directors have to KNOW you if you want to work in television and film. When new actors come to Los Angeles they don't know any casting directors, but they want to get on tv tomorrow. (sigh)
At WAW ENTERTAINMENT I am developing well-rounded actors who are establishing long term relationships with industry pros. My actors strive to train with the best acting teachers, highly develop their audition skills, understand their type, have strong resumes, great headshots, and concise, powerful demo reels. They study how the business works, how to market themselves professionally, and how to meet the demands expected of them. This is my approach to management. In 3-5 years my clients will be at the top of their game. I have met actors who have been here for 14 years and still haven't figured any of this out. It's a sad waste of talent, but actors often self-sabotage and are their own worse enemy.
Another problem when actors "chase the auditions" is they make getting the job hyper-critical. One veteran Casting Director Bonnie Gillespie says, "when actors bring mental "junk" into the room with them, they make everyone uncomfortable. When we watch actors try to get the role and see how high they make the stakes for that experience, it's not fun to watch. We want to see actors playing off one another, (or the reader) enjoying the process and simply showing off their goods for an appreciative group."
As a talent manager I work very hard helping my clients understand the big picture so they can lose their desperation and just enjoy the process and journey of being an actor.
You can read more about CD Target Lists from the following links:
How To Make Casting Director Workshops Work For You.
Gearing Up For Pilot Season! Be Specific.....
How To Navigate The Casting Director Workshops Dilemma.
Casting Director Workshops: Casting Director Strategy for Actors.
Some History: Kevin E. West founded The Actors’ Network on 5/1/91 and much of what you see talked about these days throughout Hollywood he pioneered. The concept of a target audience is not new, but actors had not really actively pursued their day-to-day business with a “target list” mindset much prior to the creation of The Actor's Network. Focusing on target lists is a necessary tool in the fragmented world of being an actor in the 21st century. Kevin West offers a workshop to help actors create a casting director target list that makes their approach more effective. He shows how to adjust the lists over time, how to select a target list that makes approach effective, what TV shows are more easily targeted, what shows are best for you given type and resume, why are less successful shows a GREAT reason to target them and when and why would you add or delete a casting director from your list in film or TV. Check him out!
I also HIGHLY suggest actors take workshops with MARK ATTBERRY to learn how to be working a actor. He helps to define type, and select Casting Directors that are casting your type!
AUDITIONS
Understand this, a Casting Director may receive thousands of submission for one role. They may call in 100 actors and only chose one. I urge actors to stop chasing auditions intending to get a specific role, and commit to becoming a great actor. Train, train, train. Do theater work, indie films, and self-produced projects. Stay focused on the work. Great work will speak volumes.
Read this from Valerie Adami, Dir. Weist Barron NYC. -
"Actors are understandably angry and frustrated. Unfortunately nothing can change simple facts. Ever since the industry became so irresistibly glamorous a few decades ago hundreds of thousands of young hopefuls having been trying to find a way to their big break. Every year Colleges, conservatories and private acting schools are training leagues of talented newcomers to enter a business already saturated with talented professionals.
Managers and Agents cannot rep thousands of actors, nor can a casting office see all the actors submitted for a project. Walls have gone up. There are no more 'open call' days at agencies. Mailings are mostly futile. Referrals can work, sometimes. Actually being seen in a showcase has always been the most effective marketing tool. So it was only a matter of time until entrepreneurs got the idea of creating 'pay to meets'. For a certain amount of money you are guaranteed face time with an industry professional.
Has this business gotten out of hand. You bet. Guests are requiring $400 to $500 (or more) to teach a two or three hour workshop. Newcomers with little training or experience clutter workshops bringing down the quality of the event for everyone. Do some guests come just for the money? Yes. Do most actors get no results? Yes. Do a small number of actors get a positive result? Yes. That's the carrot that keeps the machine turning.
Is there a better solution? Possibly. Make your own work. Create your own web series. Produce your own film. Do hundreds of shows at UCB. Become a Stand-Up. Produce your one-person show. Become an on-line casting junkie. Create a YouTube video and hope it goes viral. Pursue celebrities and ask them to mentor you. Drive your family and friends crazy begging for money for your projects on Kick-starter. The truly horrible truth? This business costs money. Money for classes, photos, unions. Money for wardrobe, for transportation. Money for websites for demos. Actors will also work for little or no money just in the hope of making a contact. Is there anything that can stop the madness. If you think of anything please let me know. This is a business of Dreams. In our business Dreams cost, time, energy and yes money. - Valerie Adami Dir. Weist Barron NYC.
I quote Valerie Adami because I agree with her 1000%. Workshops are just 1 way of starting a relationship with a casting director. It does not take the place of being proactive by creating your own materials, doing theater, auditioning like crazy, networking with producers and directors. You have to hustle in their business and I suggest you use every avenue that is available to you.
That's it for now! Follow your dreams, follow your heart...and let nothing stand in your way.
Follow me on twitter for more valuable advice @wendyalane1
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MONTHLY WAW "WINNER'S CIRCLE" WORKSHOPS
Every month I offer a workshop called, “The Winner's Circle" for brand new actors which will help you begin to understand the business and start to develop a plan of action for your success. I teach it along with several important industry friends of mine including a top Theatrical Agent, Commercial Agent, Casting Director, Headshot Photographer, WorkingActor and including Reel Producer. You will learn so much information in this workshop from top people in the business who are all committed to your success! I have been coaching actors for years, and I know new actors need a mentor and professional guidance, so if you are new to this business I highly recommend this workshop. It will give you the "inside" information you need and it will put you miles ahead of the hundreds of other newcomers that arrive in L.A. every year. At the end of this 4-hour seminar with us you will have a game plan for success. The cost is $179 and it's worth every penny. Visit my website and sign up today for the next workshop. email wawentertainment@yahoo.com for more info.
If you liked this information leave a comment! Follow me on Twitter @WAW_wendy Wendy Alane Wright Smith Talent Manager WAW ENTERTAINMENT wawentertainment@yahoo.com
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