There are so many places for actors to spend their money. While supplies like headshots are essential, there are many other expenses that are purely optional for the working actor, and the volume of folks out there pitching for your spending money is ever-growing. It is vitally important that you know, for sure, where you do NOT need to be spending money.

Never pay for representation. Agents and managers get paid when you get paid. Period. Their belief in you as a performer is their initial investment in the returns the relationship will provide. Sure, they’ll spend money up front submitting your materials and they’ll spend time up front pitching you on the phone. They will do this because they know they will earn a commission on the work you end up booking as a result of your combined efforts. It’s a relationship. And relationships require investment.

Publicists and promoters do get paid up front, as they do NOT take a commission on your earnings. You are hiring them to provide a service: getting you “out there” and seen, in accordance with the publicity plan you’ve put in place upon retaining their services. Attorneys and business managers also often work for an up-front fee and do not take commission. It’s an either-or situation. Never both.

Watch out for agents or managers that insist you will be perfect for their roster… if you just go get: classes with THIS instructor, photos from THIS photographer, etc. Agents and managers can certainly suggest and recommend a few instructors and photographers, and agents and managers definitely share input into the way you are preparing yourself (through training) and marketing yourself (through photos), but when they dictate which instructor and/or which photographer you are to consult, that’s usually the sign of a kick-back agreement. The agent or manager has no intention of representing you in order to get a commission. The percentage of the class or photography fee they get is all they need… and they’ll continue to recruit new talent for their “roster,” simply to keep those kick-backs coming.

Have you been scouted in a mall? Had someone approach you from across a crowd and say that you are made for Hollywood and that he or she has the recipe for your success? Don’t buy it. If you do decide to follow up with a meeting or orientation session or “assessment” consultation, do NOT take your checkbook or credit cards with you. Period. Do not sign anything. Take the time to do a thorough search of the company online (one great Google search includes the company name “+ scam” to see whether there is news of that nature “out there”) and know who you’re dealing with before you plunk down hard-earned cash in pursuit of a dream.

“But they’re telling me everything I want to hear!”

Yes. Of course they are. That’s how they get you.

And recently, I’ve become aware of a growing (shady) practice in Hollywood theatre. Actors hear that becoming involved in membership companies is a good practice. They will perform on stage and get seen in regular work, benefit from workshop and lab performances, staged readings, the community they are a part of, and the relationships they are building. True. So what is that worth?

Well, when I heard about a theatre company charging an “initiation fee” of $100 to new members, I wanted to know a little more about the terms of membership. Turns out that, once you’re a member, yes, you are guaranteed that all future shows will be cast from within the company. That’s great! Right? Well, yes… if there is no need to go outside the company to recruit new members of your type. This particular theatre company charged no monthly membership (which is very odd) yet promised to cast from within the company. Yet, after tracking a few seasons of shows, I saw a trend: the actors I knew to be members of this company were always in that first big show after their initiation period and somehow conspicuously absent from future shows. But they remained company members. Hm. What’s going on here?

Aha! The company will always find the need to recruit from outside the company — even when there are existing company members who could fill the roles for the next play in the season — because it earns its money from initiation fees. Why would the leaders of this group ever cast from within the company, if they stand to gain $100 a pop for each new recruit? Oh, and did I mention that every play is one with a very large cast and that each major role is double-cast?!? Yeah… seems VERY clear to me.

But when you’re a working actor looking to get more exposure, build a community, and exercise your acting skills with regular work, you will somehow blind yourself to the truths that are evident from the outside of all the hype.

I’ll advise you to trust your instincts. Remember, you are an artist and you’ve honed your “gut reaction” in such a way that it guides you properly in choosing projects, creating characters, and avoiding the “mind-taffy” pitfalls out there. Use that same intuitive guide to help you invest wisely in your career. Your goal is to enrich your experience, not make a scam artist richer.

Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!

Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/000048.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.