"How do I get an agent, casting director or a manager's
attention? It seems almost impossible. Very lost and extremely 
frustrated, - Victoria"

Poor Victoria! She's suffering from a common problem in this
business -- frustration. And I wish I could tell her otherwise, but
there is no easy solution. In addition to enormous determination,
talent, and luck, there are a few things she can do to increase her
chances of one day getting an agent. Four of our experts reveals
these secrets below, in this week's article.

Best wishes in your acting career!

- Chad Gracia 
President, ActorTips.com 
 

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1. How to Get an Agent 

Victoria: Unless you graduated from a major college with a degree
in acting, right now you do not need an agent/manager. What you
need is experience. There are very few agents/managers who could
get you seen by casting directors, unless you have the major
school, or MAJOR huge talent, or are major drop dead gorgeous. 

If one of these is true, then send your P/R into the agents. Put a
clear label on the outside of the envelope saying, "Juilliard grad"
or "Winner nat'l singing competition" or "Young Cary Grant" or
whatever. But I truly believe the way to go is the showcase, indie
films, grad school films. For information on making a perfect P/R,
see here:

http://www.actortips.com/products/acting_resume_template.html

Get experience, work up the Off Off ladder. Network. Somewhere in
there you will be seen, or meet someone who will give you a boost.
If you get a review in The New York Times, TV network casting
people will call you in for an interview.

So go to Off Off open calls (see my article on auditioning) or
submit yourself using the format I have described in past articles
(all are available in "Becoming A Successful Actor"). Your
experience and work will get you the agent/manager. 

- Janus 

PS: Learn to cope with frustration. It and rejection are the major
experiences for several years when you are beginning in this
business. 

==============

Be prepared, be practiced, be inquisitive. If you have no
experience, you may not be ready to "catch their attention." You
need to join workshops, take classes and get some real feedback as
to where you stand. Are you good enough (yet) to audition for a
large role? Can you hold a "supporting" role on film? Do you
understand how to deliver lines in a commercial? 

When you are convinced that you are ready, practice. When you are
going for an audition, get the sides in advance and practice.
Rehearse as if you were opening tomorrow! Know the dialogue; know
the "moments before and after." Know your character. Nothing fails
faster than not knowing. 

Finally, ask questions. When you get your sides, you have only a
few pages that do not tell you much about your role. Do we like or
dislike this character? What is this person all about? Never be
afraid to ask as many pertinent questions as you must. If your
choices are too far off base and you never ask, you might never be
told! 

Then, go get any work you can. Small parts, five and under, extra
work, anything. Put it all on your resume and start to build. When
you have something to bite into, start mailings to find an agent.
Be professional at a casting and the casting directors will
remember you. 

Rome wasn't built in a day, and most careers take between six to
ten years to really take off. You can do it, just work at it. Break
a leg, 

- Reed Kalisher

==============

Dear Victoria, "Patience, Grasshopper." You ARE just a beginner,
and you can't fake experience you don't have. No amount of flashy
graphic design is going to make up for the ten professional
productions you haven't been in yet. 

My guess is that you're also operating on unrealistic expectations
regarding how long you think it should take you to get your career
off the ground. Were you thinking maybe a matter of months? A year?
If you really want to be an actor, then you're in this for the long
haul. I've said this before, and I'll say it again. Give yourself
AT LEAST five years before you even think about considering the
possibility of even starting to entertain the idea of [being
frustrated]. 

In the meantime, since you can't control whether or not industry
folks pay attention to you, do what you can to increase the amount
of experience you have: take classes, audition for showcases,
produce your own stuff, go to meet-and-greets. If what you want to
do is act and dance, then find any way you can to act and dance,
and rest lightly with the big picture for a while. Good luck! 

- Kathryn Blume 

==============

...actors with years and years of professional experience have the
same frustration in trying to find representation. There are two
hot spots on a resume that an agent will look at: where you
received your education and where you have performed. 

If you didn't graduate from a leading drama department and you have
never performed at an important venue, you're going to have to beef
up your resume to get attention. Consider taking classes from a
reputable studio. 

I give this recommendation cautiously, as there are plenty of
acting studios that promise showcases for agents when in fact the
agents in question have no relationship with the schools and
really, the only assurance you have is that they will be invited.
Ask around. Call the studio and see if they can name specific
agents who regularly attend showcases. Observe a class or two at
different studios. 

It is also not impossible to be cast without an agent, and you
should also focus on getting some experience outside of academia. 

Identify a reputable, small/mid-size theatre company you'd like to
work with. See their work consistently. Speak briefly to the
actors/director after each show, show real enthusiasm for their
work, and ask if you can submit a headshot for future casting
consideration. 

Developing these relationships will take time, but getting out
there and meeting people will help you a lot more than answering
ads in Backstage. If your resume isn't strong, try making your
impression in person. And even if your credentials won't get you an
agent right now, it's not too early to start building a case for
yourself with them. 

Send a headshot and resume explaining that you're new to the
business and look forward to the possibility of representation in
the future. Then follow up with notes and postcards whenever you
are performing. After you take your class or get cast, send another
headshot with an updated resume, with a letter describing your
progress. You should really never call the agency, but sending
regular mailings is perfectly acceptable. 

And lastly, come to accept your frustration and channel it into
some productive energy that you can use to be aggressive about your
career. Be diligent, try to keep working and learning, and give it
time. Good luck. 

- Anne DeAcetis


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"There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is
a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

- Albert Einstein.

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"Actor Tips" is copyright 2006 by Chad Gracia and ActorTips.com,
Inc. All rights reserved. For more articles on acting, as well as
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