So, I recently had a conversation with an acquaintance of mine. He too works in the business; and we were discussing, the nuances of navigating the industry successfully.
Being our completely opposite personality types, we had divergent points of view on this.
See, he recently had a meet with a legit agent and felt it went well; agent expressed some general interest in following up down the line and the possibility of working together in the future. So my friend asked if he should call the agents office next week and follow-up to which the agent replied ‘sure’. This meeting, having taken place on Friday... he followed up on Monday, and when the agent didn’t answer his call, he became a bit distressed at the situation; calling me up to get my point of view.
This is where, our views split on this, see he is the type that believes that if the agent said yes, then said agent should ‘naturally’ be available the next business day, when he called. Never mind the fact that, this is a very busy bi-costal agency, in the middle of pretty hectic pilot season. Or, that expressed (what sounded to me) as little more than passing interest, with no real commitment of wanting to, or being ready to start actually working with my friend. In my humble opinion, the mere fact that he had a decent meet, is promising, and that this is the time to follow up in a reasonable manner, submitting postcards or other marketing material; waiting a few days before calling and having patience if you party is unavailable, before following up again. Maybe I am wrong, (and if I am, feel free to leave your feedback) but, while I fully believe in the need to be persistent in our endeavors; much like in love and dating, there is a thin line between persistence and desperation. And, as we should all know… desperation is NOT attractive! This I’ve learned from my own experiences in both life and business; I’ve also gleaned as much, networking with Casting Directors, Agents, Producers and others in the industry, whom have shared and expressed the same.
Now, while I tried sharing this knowledge (mind you, I’m no expert as I too am navigating the industry and still on a path of learning and growing myself), it surprised me to hear him so resistant to hearing it. Surprised at his insistence that ‘this is a business and we do not have time to pussyfoot around’, nor to try and be cordial or personable; and that we need to knock down these doors at any means, to get in! So while I suggested, he wait a bit to call again, at least to the end of the week, or maybe just send a postcard or email links to his demo reel etc, He refused to budge on his point of view and proceeded to call said office again an again, multiple times that same week.
Well, going on two weeks later he is still in shock as to why he hasn’t heard back from that agent’s office. Now it seems, believing that said agent was playing some sort of games; this current disappointment (which may be too soon to call a disappointment) is yet another burden added to that ever growing chip on his shoulder. A chip, that I see far too many actors and people in general carrying. I got me to thinking how easy it can be for some, to become bitter at the world around them. Bitter, and blaming everything (or every/anyone else), without having ever looked at what it is we may have done. Or, rather what it is we can do to change, to adapt, learn and grow from our actions and past experiences. It’s a reminder to myself, to remain open; open to change, open to growth, open to learning, and to remember that desperation is never cute!
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