I'm a fan of the agent WOW kit. I wrote about it here: http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/001334.html

Of course, this assumes you've already done your homework, you know this is an agent you'd love to sign with, you're the right type for a hole in his roster, you know he has access to the casting offices your type is made to visit... all is good. :)

And that WOW kit is just a backup to what's going to happen in the meeting: You're going to show off who you are, you're going to show them who you can be in the room when they get you out, you have a monologue handy should they ask for one, you are ready to improvise or cold read if you're asked to do so. All is well. :)

Go get 'em! :)

Oooh, honey. Run. Take your checkbook and thank goodness for the Internet. (Pasted the rest of your Q below.) Not saying anything about that particular company, but about the practice you're experiencing.

Please go read this column: http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/001362.html Click the links therein. I promise, you'll see patterns. Your spidey sense is tingling for a reason. GOOD FOR YOU!

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(cont.) start a website. I'm just very wary and not sure if this is common practice to have the talent you want to sign pay upfront fees. What's your advice?

I actually covered something similar to this recently in my weekly column. Have you read this? http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/001354.html

If this doesn't cover your questions, please lemmeknow. :) Keep rockin'!

First, WELCOME BACK! :) Yay, you! Next, you should never have to audition for background roles. Being an extra requires that you look the part. The end! Only if you are a featured extra would you need to have some specific skill or talent you could display in an audition. So, let's be sure you're dealing with people who are on the up-and-up, in terms of cred.

As for AFTRA projects taking the lead, well, yeah. That's happening. But with the SAG/AFTRA merger happening (all will be different by January 2013, folks are predicting), that's not a huge deal right now. Yeah, it's a bummer to only get minimum wage doing what you love, but... you're doing what you LOVE. :) You'd do it for free, right? So, yay! Getting paid the same as what you'd get to flip burgers or run a register AND do what you love is a bonus!

Especially if you're at the stage in your career where you're doing extra work more than anything, you should be thrilled to get to do anything that pays, anything that's union, anything that teaches you the nuts and bolts of the biz. :)

Congrats and enjoy the journey!

There are times when the actual age is important (like, the actor must be old enough to work certain hours on set, or 25+ to appear in ads for alcohol), but usually, producers specify an age (or age range) because that's what the actor will need to PLAY (and it's much less essential that the actor actually *be* that specific age).

So, assuming you have a headshot that shows us how you'll look when you walk in the room (and that look is within the age range we've specified), you absolutely should still submit, even if you're slightly outside of the age range requested. If you could reasonably PLAY the age they're asking for, you should get on their radar with your submission.

They may not choose to call you in, but you should certainly submit!

Good luck to you!

The most appealing thing to an agent is dollar signs, meaning, if an agent believes he could make money off you RIGHT NOW, he's likely to sign you and start getting you out on whatever is out there in the breakdowns right away! So, if you're having trouble getting an agent's attention, be sure your tools are in order (great headshots, properly-formatted resumé, tight reel) and if that's still not cutting it, get yourself out there on as many commercials as you can on your own. See my archived Actors Access column on "Agent-Free Auditioning" for links to various sites that feature casting notices directly from casting directors who don't mind actors self-submitting (without agents).

If you can start getting some traction on your own, you'll be more attractive to agents, for sure. But also consider approaching a manager. Many actors get signed with their first commercial agents AFTER signing with managers who can help get them in front of those people (and an actor looks like a lower risk when someone is already on his or her team).

Keep at it with the classes, knowing your type, and trying to get out there on your own. You WILL meet the right person and start a great partnership when the time is right. Imagine that--if you WERE to get signed right now--it might not be the right fit, long-term. Better to go solo a little bit longer and ultimately find the right agent than to get attached to the WRONG agent now.

Good luck to you! :)

It's not that agents or casting directors want to see MORE, it's that we want to see work that shows us exactly how to cast you, that shows you working at your best, that gives us an opportunity to assess risk, so we know you're a good fit for what we're working on (if we're casting directors) or what we're sending you out to do (if we're agents or managers).

If the scenes you have are REALLY good (not just your work, but also the technical quality of the footage), you're probably fine with just one or two great scenes. The goal is to replace "starter footage" with more professional footage as you go. But everyone was a beginner once, so don't stress about having only two scenes (heck, many folks have less than that, much older than you are).

Read tips about best footage over at my Actors Access columns and lemmeknow if you have specific follow-up questions. But yeah, in general, having a little bit of GREAT footage is fantastic. And if it's not great? It could do more harm than good. So watch out for that!

On average, three. I know. Weird. But I do a big-ass 20-hour hibernation thing about once a month to catch up, and that helps. Answer to "How do you get so much done?" is: I get an extra day per week, due to my sleep schedule. ;)

It's sooo much about you showing us your take on the role, and if the clothing, hairstyle, etc., builds toward that, then great! If you're consumed by the "stuff" so that your acting doesn't show up, that's an issue.

So, let's say that you should do whatever it takes to help you, as an actor, get to the space the character occupies. For some actors, that involves "stuff." For others, the "stuff" is a distraction.

In the end, the ONLY thing we're looking for is whether you can solve our problem. We know the team has hired folks to dress you, make you up, surround you with props. The ONLY thing you're responsible for is the acting.

If you need stuff to get you there, that's okay. Know yourself and what you need to be at your best. Then rock it out! :)

Casting legend Jane Jenkins told me the best story about Vincent D'Onofrio's audition for "Mystic Pizza," back when I interviewed her for "Casting Qs." He had a very physical set of sides (from the scene in which he is being chased by an irate father around the dining room table while his pants are down around his ankles, after being caught fooling around with his girlfriend) and his choice--and the choice I recommend all actors facing similar situations make--was to do the scene as if it were his close-up.

See, every scene is going to be shot multiple times, right? There's the master, there's the close-up, there's the coverage from over your shoulder while your scene partner is doing his or her lines, etc., and the SMART actor treats the physical auditions as if we're shooting his or her close-up. That means the physical actions are minimized, they're SMALL so you don't pop out of frame, and they're not as important to the audition as the ACTING is, which is really what we want to see in your audition.

We trust you can throw a punch. What we want to see in an audition is that the acting matches the energy that would cause someone to be in a moment that leads to a punch. It's not the punch we want to see, it's the "intent to punch" coming from your acting. The physical moment of the punch, in your audition, can be as simple as a "fake out" mini-move toward someone, because that shows the energy but doesn't make the scene about THROWING the punch.

And, if for whatever reason the casting folks NEED to see the punch, they'll ask you to do the scene again with it, once they know your acting is strong enough that you're a good fit for the role. :)

Sorry, no. That's one of those things that would be a full-time job for me, if I said yes to allllll the actors who ask me to do that, EVERY day. I'd never have time to write columns and books, do speaking engagements and scouting, or cast cool indie projects and produce content if I did "typing by email" services or engaged in all of the agent recommendations people ask that I do... daily.

So, to help you start the process of learning your type (which is FAR more powerful than having ME do it for you--especially off a headshot rather than from having met you), I've written several helpful articles. The main one is here: http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/001095.html -- and there are several links within that piece that will help you nail down your type, target shows, target representatives, and create a personal pitch. POWERFUL stuff! :)

Good luck and keep creating!

Ideally, you'll be totally familiar with the lines, the tone of the script, the relationship between characters, and the world in which the scene takes place before a preread. Even if you do happen to memorize the lines (which is great), you should perform your preread with sides in hand, for two major reasons.

1. You have a reference point if you should happen to go up on your lines. We're not nervous about what might happen if you miss a line. You've got a security blanket, should you need it. We don't think LESS of you because you're holding sides at a preread. We can tell whether you're off-book or not, even if you have sides in-hand.

2. You send a message to us (either those of us in the room or those who are reviewing your work on tape, later) that your performance is a work in progress. That you are showing us ONE option for the read, but that you're still directable and not married to your choices in such a way that you can't get better with direction. Yes, many times directors, producers, CDs will say we've cast the person who came in showing us EXACTLY how it should be done, right out of the gate, but far more common is the actor who is talented, right for it, but just slightly off being given a little direction, which is LESS likely to happen if you look as though you are already showing us the finished product in your read.

So, yes, memorize (because it's a skill every actor needs to master), but keep your sides in hand, be directable, be ready to handle a change in the lines if you're given a change, and of course, be a total pro, fun to work with, and let it all go as soon as you leave the room.

Hope that helps!

The best way to build ANY relationship is organically. :) Find out who you know in common and get introduced. Find out what you have in common so you have something about which you can relate, without it always being about how THEY can help YOU get your next gig. Remember, if you're an actor, you're helping filmmakers and casting directors solve a problem, every time you are the right actor for the role.

So, the goal is to get on the radar of the folks whose problems you solve. If you remember that MOST actors "lead with the need" and instead "lead with confidence and an awareness that you help us solve a problem," you'll stand out and stay on our mind when your "answer" lines up with our "problem."

Set up Google Alerts for the top ten folks you're targeting (research will help you get that list of folks down to ten) and find ways to intersect at networking events, panel discussions, workshops, etc. Keep 'em posted on your work in the industry (so they know you're out there makin' it happen) and take a long-haul approach to relationship-building in this industry.

If you look at it as: "We're in this for the next several decades together as collaborators," it becomes a much less daunting task. :) Good luck to you!

Sure. That happens. Some CDs put headshots up on the wall. Others arrange them on conference tables. Some in books. Many are doing it all on their computers these days, with thumbnail headshots arranged in documents that can be included in financing business plans or conceptual pitch meetings, should the projects be at those stages of development.

Casting principals (note correct spelling) is often a balance of name actors and up-and-comers and depending on how much time is available for the casting process, a casting director's office could be covered in "options" (i.e. headshots all over the place, indicating possible combinations). The visuals really help!

It's handy, because we're a visual bunch and if you look different from the headshot that GOT YOU the appointment, you could confuse some folks. But I've never seen it be such a huge deal that it costs the actor a callback he/she would've otherwise earned. Generally, if it's an issue, it's a quick, "Oh, you look more like this shot than that shot in person," or some comment like that, and then we move on. :)

Not wrong at all! I think anytime there's going to be any physical element that's beyond the scope of "standing there, holding sides, and gesturing normally," at an audition, an actor should be given a heads up. If not at the time the audition is scheduled, at the VERY least there should be notice given when you sign in, so you can ask how that's supposed to be handled, seeing as you're dressed totally wrong for "rolling around."

I can't imagine asking actors who I've already asked to "dress up" to do anything like "rolling around." That's just crazy! Were these auditions you're talking about commercial auditions? Or student film-level stuff? Theatre? Gosh, I'm not quite sure what to say other than YES, you should be told what to expect at your audition if it's going to be anything "non-standard" way before you're in the room being asked to do it.

It's not that it's frowned upon, it's just not as highly-valued as you might hope. If your plan is to move to a major market, then the training you'd get in that major market is what's going to be valued in that market. We know what type of work those coaches produce in actors, in our market. We understand the value of any particular coach's name on your resumé. We don't KNOW who the people are, in your local market, and whether their training is of a level we could consider competitive here in our major market or not. So, while the training may be awesome for you, craft-wise, be prepared that your local coach's name--on your resumé--might not make a difference to the casting directors or talent agents you connect with when you get here.

So, if your plan is to be here, I say go ahead and get here, and plan to train HERE while you build up relationships and get opportunities level by level.

Hope that helps! Good luck to you!

Start here: http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/001025.html and if self-typing doesn't give you quite as much focus as you'd like, see one of the experts I referenced in that article on typing yourself. They're all awesome! Good luck!

Certainly, there are some agents that only want SAG or SAG-eligible actors on their roster, but what actually happens much of the time is that an actor is told, "I can't sign you because you're not yet SAG," and then they go and get SAG (or SAG-eligible) and there's some other reason (conflict on the roster, not enough credits, etc.) for not getting signed. So, don't focus on what hoops you can jump through to be more appealing to a particular agent. Instead, pursue the work, build the credits, get SAG-eligible when the time is right, and track the people you most want to work with, so you can pop on their radar when you're at a level they're more likely to be excited about signing you.

Bottom line, most agents want to sign actors whose careers are already starting to happen. Show them your earning power--and what you've been able to do on your own--and that's appealing regardless of your union status. Good luck!

Absolutely! They're *my* A-list. :) Much less to do with them being "the bigs" and much more about how much I adore working with them, how much their clients rock, and how much I trust their taste due to previous WINS when they've said, "Trust me. You've gotta see this actor."