What does a manager do anyway? I’ve been out in LA just under two months and got a commercial agent. Yeah! Got a manager. Yeah?

Okay, so I didn’t sign any paperwork with him and he has not done anything for me. I gave him my headshots, reel, one sheet, everything I read about from your columns and Helenna’s vlogs. I even wrote a letter introducing him to my agent back in Michigan. I would go to casting director workshops, audit different classes, and then email him telling him who I met and what scene I read in the workshop so he could do a follow up. He sent me some sides to read for The Whole Truth, so I had one of my actor friends tape me and emailed it to him so he submitted to casting, but I had to basically text, email, and call to find out the outcome.

Recently, I had to go back to Detroit for a couple days and my agent in MI put me on tape for 187 for a recurring role. I just wrote my LA manager just telling him what I was doing and he got back to me with quickness asking me all sorts of questions, about the breakdowns and “What is EcoCast?” and “Who’s casting?” and “Why didn’t I tell him?”

Girl, I had to bite my tongue. He didn’t even know what EcoCast was and who the casting director for 187 was and in the same breath, he would say that he has a relationship with the LA Casting directors. Really?

I’m new here and I don’t know, but I know when to trust my gut. What on Earth do managers do and how do I go about building a healthy relationship with one?

Phew! Okay, this is a tough one because basically, I want you to go back in time and choose a better business partner. I know, I know, you can’t do that. But I looked up your manager and, honestly, if you had asked about him on Hollywood Happy Hour before meeting with him, I’m willing to bet you would’ve gotten some very useful feedback from actors who have been signed with him or hip-pocketed by him, probably along the lines of, “Well-meaning guy, doesn’t have a lot of pull, doesn’t really cultivate or build relationships in the industry, pretty much just clicks ‘submit’ and waits for the phone to ring.”

Just a guess.

Since you can’t go back in time and make a better choice for researching your first LA-based manager, let’s come up with the best course of action for where you are with him.

He doesn’t know what EcoCast is. Okay, well, it’s new, but it has been very well advertised by Breakdown Services, especially to the company’s subscribing agents and managers. Casting directors have been invited in for free demos to be sure we understand how the system works and agents and managers have been told to expect more and more casting directors to invite their clients to submit via EcoCast, through the representative’s interface.

Best-case scenario, EcoCast is new enough that it just hasn’t popped on his radar yet. Worst-case scenario, he’s not a Breakdown Services subscriber, which means he’s basically not a talent manager, no matter what his business card says.

Giving him the benefit of the doubt on not knowing who the casting director is on 187, well, there are a lot of casting directors out there, and a lot of projects actively casting. Part of having a team (agent, plus manager, plus doing your own relationship-building, of course) is all about maximizing your coverage in this business. You want your manager and agent to have different relationships with a tiny bit of overlap, because they can each use their pull to get you into offices the other might not be able to access. So, once you told him who the casting director was, it’s his reaction — and next move — that becomes more important. Either he knows Sharon Bialy and/or Sherry Thomas and can pick up the phone, or he doesn’t, and that’s okay (although he could pick up the phone even if there’s no existing relationship with the casting directors. That’s part of what a manger’s job is: pitching clients).

As for the rest of what a manager’s job is, I recommend you check out a column in the archives here at The Actors Voice called “The Difference Between Agents and Managers.” In fact, you should read that whole five or six week series about agents and managers, taking meetings, and when to fire a member of your team. I think you’ll find some great perspective there.

Sounds to me like you’re not really clicking with this manager and that you’re not trusting his level of understanding of the “hustle” with which you tend to run your acting business, nor finding confidence in his level of connection to your potential buyers and the tools you need to get in front of these folks. So, if he’s pushing you to sign a contract and you somehow think things will get better once that deal is in place, let me assure you that you’re seeing this manager at his BEST right now, while he’s “courting” you for a long-term relationship. If you’re not impressed now, thank him for the time he’s put into your career thus far and head on out in search of a better fit.

But I think you already knew I was going to advise that, huh? Good luck! And keep hustling! In the end, most of your work is in your hands. A good team can help you tier jump, but they can’t create opportunities any more than you can. Oh, but wait — you can! And I know you’re already doing that. Keep at it. And keep me posted!

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/001260.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.