Taking The Step: A Review of Sorts

TAKING THE NEXT STEP
understanding the value of a talent agent

Speakers/Agents:
Alexander White
Kecia Michelle
Russell Wiggs
Susan G. Reid
Susan Tolar Wallers
Samantha Stoller
Terri Dollar

Event Hosted by Erica Arvold

Today I was present at a panel discussion at The Byrd Theater here in my hometown of Richmond, Virginia. The discussion, Taking The Next Step: Understanding The Value of A Talent Agent, was produced and hosted by the amazing team of Arvold. 

Arvold is a Charlottesville-based company helmed by casting director Erica Arvold. Erica and her talented, passionate team are an amazing group dedicated to making this industry more accessible and the people in it better through many educational opportunities like today. 

If you go to the Arvold Casting website there is a pop-up with this quote: 

“We love film.  We love actors.  We love collaborating.  What better job could we have?”

Notice the word ‘love’ used several times in that brief statement? I think that pretty much sums up Erica’s philosophy and the whole team’s approach to how they run their business. 

Today's event is just another example of how Erica and her team work to help Mid-Atlantic Region actors be the best we can be. And why not? If we’re all a better at what we do, doesn’t she have a better group of people to work with and choose from for projects she is casting? It’s smart business move. There's a lot of heart in that smart, though. 

AGENTS
Today was an opportunity for a Mid-Atlantic actor like myself to hear from agents. Real, actual agents. I’ve never met an agent. I don’t know any agents. I didn’t even know agents were real people. Up until today agents had only been mythical creatures actors talked about in hushed whispers on set between takes. None of us had actually seen one though. Agents were stuff of legend like The Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. 

I’ve only ever seen agents portrayed in movies as cigar-chewing bullies using words like ‘Bubbie’ and yelling into phones. Think Phil Silvers in a fedora screaming into a phone while shuffling papers.

I’m now at a point in my career where I am actively seeking representation. I want to get an agent. I want someone calling me ‘Bubbie’ and yelling into a phone for me while they shuffle papers. 

How do I get an agent though? What do they expect from me? And how do I get an agent? Where are they located and how do I find them? How much of the money I make do they take? AND-FOR THE LOVE OF GOD-HOW DO I GET AN AGENT?!

That was why I was at The Byrd Theater today. To hopefully answer those questions and maybe get some answers to other questions I didn’t even know needed to be asked. 

Today was a chance for me to hear what some of these people-these agents-these mystical, all-knowing beings-are like and how they work and what they think of people like me. 

You know…actors. 

How appropriate today’s panel discussion was set in The Byrd Theater, a grand old movie theater in Richmond’s Carytown District. Theatre. Movies. See where I'm going with this? Movies! It’s where most of us sitting in those plush velvet seats want to be one day. It was the perfect setting if you can overlook the fact that those plush seats were originally created for a generation with much shorter legs. 

*That’s not a comment on the event. I’ve said that for years about the seats at The Byrd Theater. I’m 6’3 and for me to sit in those seats comfortably requires yoga skills way beyond my training. 

There was a large crowd at The Byrd today. I don’t have access to any real numbers, but I would guess somewhere around 400 people showed up to hear some of the best agents in the business tell us what was what. 

I would also guess a high percentage of that number was actors. 
There were other agents and casting directors in attendance but for the most part the audience was composed of actors. Actors who had questions and who wanted answers. And work. We're always looking for work but today was not about that. Not directly, anyway. 

This business can be intimidating and being able to hear people speak about a certain subject, a subject so important to you, is a luxury not many are granted. 

This is why I respect and really like the folks at Arvold. They have a true passion to share what they know and learn right along with us. The many opportunities they provide actors in The Mid-Atlantic Region are unbelievably generous. I don’t know of any other casting director who goes to the lengths Erica (and her team) goes to to educate the people in an industry which they promote so positively.

We are a lucky lot here in The Mid-Atlantic. I'll say that again and again. 

The discussion, monitored by Erica, moved along at a good pace. Erica always asks the right questions. She is a thoughtful and focused presenter. She monitored the panel discussion with humor and real interest. She, it seemed to me, was as curious as we were to hear what the agents would say.  She was excited to be there and, therefore, so were we.

There was a lot of passing back and forth of the two microphones between the speakers. Sometimes the microphones worked. Sometimes they didn't. It didn't take away from the event. 

I Didn't Know There Was Going To Be Math

There was a lot of mention of numbers and percentages today. 
The thing to take away from this part of the discussion is simple. You have to know the numbers...the business. If you are serious about this as your career, then know the business end of the business. 

Agent Russell Wiggs said: "You (actors) have two personal responsibilities. The first thing is your creative, intellectual property. The second is be a good business person."

"This is a business, a market, that is constantly evolving," said one agent. "You've got to be on your toes." Or you'll be out on your ass, I guess, is the meaning there. 

There was also a great deal of discussion about union and non-union work and non-union and union actors. That, however, is a topic for a whole other post. I just don't have the strength right now. 

Everything Is Grey

It's interesting to hear seven people talk about the same aspect of the same business. Each of these agents had something to add from their own experiences and perspectives. Seven people. Seven perspectives. Sometimes their views were opposite and sometimes they all nodded in agreement. 

The one thing they seemed to agree on however is that everything is grey. There are no rules. The questions we asked today may not even be relevant next week. There are standards, but the game is ever-changing. 

Portrait House

There was a meet-n-greet afterwards in a small restaurant across the street from the theater. I’m thinking the organizers were hoping some of the attendees would come over after the panel discussion. The thing is I think every one of us did. Everyone wanted more. Everyone wanted some face time with the agents. Anyone walking by would have thought some huge celebrity was inside passing out autographs. And who knows? Maybe there was. 

It was "asses to elbows," as my old granny would say but that's okay. Yes it made for cramped quarters, but no one complained. 

I kept having images of that scene in The Marx Brother’s classic Night At The Opera. If you’re a movie person, you’ll get the reference immediately. 

The agents did their best to meet and greet everyone. Business cards and friendly handshakes were exchanged. 

Night At The Opera? Really? You don't get the reference?  Okay, if you don't know what I'm talking about-here's what I'm talking about: CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW.


NIGHT AT THE OPERA

Did you watch? Have you ever seen this scene...this movie? Do you know who The Marx Brothers were? I'm not judging. I'm just asking. You should know, however, a little history of this business you are so eager to be part of. It helps to know where we came from to figure out where we are going. 

Ironically this all goes back to another point made today by Agent Samantha Stoller. 
Watch television! 
She said she had an actress say to her one time, "Oh I don't really watch television?"
WHAT?!
That's crazy. Crazy, I say. You need to watch some television and see some movies. This is the industry you want to work in one day. You need to not only watch television shows but study them. You need to study the different acting styles and the work of different directors. 

If you’re serious about being an actor, especially on television, these are things you need to know.
See! You have an excuse to watch television now. You're doing homework. 

“If you’re not growing as a person, you’re not growing as an actor.”

This was the statement I wrote down and circled several times as I tried to take notes in the darkened theater. I wrote down a lot of things, but this is the one statement that is sticking with me. 

“If you’re not growing as a person, you’re not growing as an actor.”
Boom! Well, that’s it! Right? Doesn’t that say everything?

It’s a simple sentence but man does it pack some punch. Think about those words.  
What do they mean to you?

What do they mean to me? I’ve been thinking about it since I walked back to my car. 

Growth. How do I grow as a person…and as an actor?
Am I growing? What do I need to do to grow?

This is what I love about events like today. My brain is racing right now! Racing! Jim-Carrey-Somebody-Stop-Me racing. 

Look. Here's how I look at events like today. If, after three or so hours, you have the ability to filter all the information take just one point you’ll remember and carry with you throughout your career, that will make you a better person, a better actor, than it was well-worth your time. 

Today was well worth my time. I learned several things. Things that will impact my life as a working actor. 

Here are some other random key phrases from today. I'm trying to read my own notes. Seriously, I was writing so fast it looks like a monkey got a hold of my pen. A monkey could have gotten a hold of pen, I guess. Regardless...

Be flexible. 
Make the commitment. 
Be confident. Be secure. 

In regards to agents...

If you have an agent, help them help you. 

YOU HEAR ME, JERRY?

It's really kind of simple. 
Do your job so they can do theirs. 

And Finally...

And finally, when all is said and done, ask yourself this one very important question:

Are you having any fun?
Well. Are you?

Through all the long hours on set, through all the nerve-wracking auditions and those long days waiting for a phone call or email, through all the driving and standing in lines and rejection….

Are you still having fun?

Am I? You bet your ass I am. I love this business. I love that I am part of it. 
I love days like today, in which I get to spend time with so many people I have worked with over the last two years. 

I am an actor. I learn something new every day, about the business, and more importantly, about myself. 

Events like today are a step in the right direction for me to better understand what I need to do to be the actor I want to be.

To Erica and Amy and the entire Arvold Team who work tirelessly to create such events: THANK YOU. You are true friends to all actors here in The Mid-Atlantic Region. Erica, you are our advocate, our teacher and our hero. 

To the agents who traveled to be here today-Terri, Samantha, Susan, Susan G., Russell, Kecia and Alexander: THANK YOU so very much for the gift of your time and passion and wisdom. 

To Todd and the folks at The Byrd Theater: Thank you for your hospitality. 

And finally, to my fellow actors: Virginia is a great state to live in. I may have lived other places in The United States, but I always come back to Virginia. I love it here. 

Over the past two years I have worked with a lot of you and I have found you to be a passionate, talented, kind-hearted group of individuals. 

I’m lucky to be part of a community that is so generous and caring and passionate and supportive. I am inspired by you every time I spend time with you. You teach me things about the business and about myself. For that, I am eternally grateful. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Cheers to you all!

And finally...remember this: 

No. No we are not New York or Los Angeles. 
But then again, we are not New York or Los Angeles. 
We are Virginia. 
And ain’t that just grand?

Just keeping it reel.

Copyright 2015

All Reserved. 

But wait! Hang on a second!

The answer to that question. The all-important question which was racing through my mind. The question which was probably burning a hole in every one of the brains of every actor sitting in that theater today:

HOW DO I GET AN AGENT?

Ironically I got to ask that very question during the Q&A portion of the last thirty minutes of the discussion. 

There was no golden light coming from above, as a chorus of angels sang in harmony as the answer was revealed. No trumpets blared triumphantly. 

The answer was quite simple really and I will relay it to you as it was said to me:

"Go to our websites and follow the instructions on how to submit."

Well there you go. 
Now that's keeping it reel.