I just set up an appointment with my agent for tomorrow at 1pm. I want to propose to him my willingness to come in a few hours a day (for free) to be there to answer phones, etc. I hope he says yes. I am thinking that by doing that, I will be “closer to the action” and maybe see some submission requests I would be right for (that maybe he overlooks). He has not called me in months. Maybe I have been too “outta sight.”
I am a big fan of interning. I wish more actors would do it! One suggestion re: mindset, though. I’d really like to suggest that you banish from your mind ANY notion of “maybe see some submission requests I would be right for (that maybe he overlooks)” AT ALL.
Since we’ve worked together, I can even hit this nail on the head a little harder than I would if you were a stranger, emailing me. Here goes:
Clean that out of your brain. Tie that overworked “need based” muscle down and let it atrophy. This is POISON and you need to stop feeding it.
The BETTER attitude for going in is:
“I look forward to learning about which headshots really POP, which demo reels WORK, how my agent SEES his clients — in terms of brand — and how he pitches them, what excites him, and what’s WORKING for *anyone* because that’s something I can apply to my research. I can be inspired by what I learn.”
But if you go in there with ANY inch of an agenda of micromanaging his process, not only is it almost certain he won’t want you there (it’s like inviting a guy you do NOT want to date over to watch you pick out clothes for a date with another guy), if he DOES agree to have you there, he will resent your vibe (and it IS a vibe, even if you never say you’re looking for roles FOR YOU) and you can bet that’s “casting repellant.”
Think of it this way: You wouldn’t want your agent to come sit in on your acting class so that he could observe your work and make note of beats you missed or places you could’ve made “better choices” or when you could’ve been funnier, right? You’d hate that. You’d want your agent to come sit in on your acting class to watch you work because it’s exciting for him to learn what you do and grow from the experience.
🙂
Mindset, babe. Clean it up. 🙂 It makes ALL the difference!
Lemmeknow how it goes!
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/001457.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.