Hi Bonnie —
Love to read your columns, always so spot on. Can’t read ’em all so I don’t know if you’ve ever addressed these issues. It would be helpful to us on the receiving end of the mail.
Some submission envelopes are sealed so tightly you need scissors to open them. Why? And some envelopes can’t be sliced with an opener. Hate to say this, but when I’m really busy, guess what happens to those submissions.
Also have an opinion about see-thru envelopes. It’s not in the actors’ best interest. Why, you ask? Sometimes the picture is not great but what’s on the resumé or in the cover letter could make a difference, and all that’s needed for representation is a better picture. So, need I say that too many submissions probably get tossed prematurely?
Just sayin’…
Right there with you, Bonnie. Regarding the see-thru envelopes, I’ve long said it’s a horrible idea, if you’re showing us you’re “an actor we have in our files already” and hiding the amazing cover letter or resumé. So, the see-thru envelope is really only for the actor who is so very special that we’re instantly seeing something we can’t live without. And then we’ll open the envelope to see the rest of the submission.
But if your strength is in your cover letter and your credits are good, those see-thru envelopes are actually quite a bad idea.
As for the over-sealed envelopes, the far greater pet peeve, for us here at Cricket Feet, would be the envelopes with stiffening boards or cards inserted, to try and keep the enclosed photo from being bent. We use a PO Box for all of our mail, and that means those mailers with “bend protection” cause us to receive a little yellow slip in the box, at which time someone must stand in line (sometimes for up to an hour) to have a postal employee retrieve the “package.” Not cool.
That extra work involved does not put anyone in a good mood about the sender. And really, it doesn’t matter if your headshot gets all rumpled in the mail. Why? Because we can still tell if it’s a good photo, if you’re a type who isn’t already in our files (or who fulfills a casting need we have right this moment), and that your credits are good, regardless of the state the documents are in!
What is it that voiceover casting director and coach Nancy Wolfson says? “Never give an opportunity provider homework.” Amen! And that means keeping yourself as low-maintenance as possible, in case the person you’re approaching may use ANY work you give them as one of those ever-popular reasons not to work with you. Make it easy!
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/001365.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.