Going For Gold - The Process

I wanted to explain what it was like, in a nutshell, to do what I am doing for a career now.  Succinctly speaking, my job as an actor or model is to market my look, voice and acting abilities.  Through pictures, voice demos and acting reels you approach an agent (person), or an agent (talent agency).  If they like your look, feel you have potential and are marketable, and actually have talent, they will sign you on with their agency.

From there the agency is contacted by clients for any variety of jobs including but not limited to; television commercials, radio commercials, print advertising, web advertising, a product industrial, trade shows, fashion shows, theater, television pilots and film roles.  The client asks the agency for specific characteristics they are looking for and the agency provides a pool of actors or actresses (talent) that fit those characteristics.  Then from the pool of talent submitted, sometimes as many as fifty, the client makes its choices.  Now depending on the product, the client will select a talent for that job and fees are negotiated by the agency.  These assignments are cool to me, because it means you 'have been chosen' for a job and barring weather or cancellations, you 'will' have the work and 'will' get paid for it.  While anything is possible, there is a comforting feeling of security in those jobs.

Then there are the intangible selections.  A client may like your characteristics, your look, your demo and you are requested for an audition.  There are no guarantees with auditions and it is up to me as the talent to impress when my opportunity arises.  If...you are fortunate enough to make a positive impression, you can then receive a call-back.  This means the client liked your initial audition and wants a second look or listen to make a final decision.  Therefore, out of a large pool of talent you are now in a pool of talent (competition) with maybe three to five others.  It is now my job again to impress, stand out, knock their socks off so-to-speak, in front of the client.  I try with all I've got to bring my best performance, so they remember me and want to hire me.

Here is where the intangible becomes your adversary.  You can have your best performance or audition, do everything you wanted to do, do every gesture, every mannerism you rehearsed...and it may not be the right fit for the client.  You just don't know.  Then there are the times when an audition may not have gone as you hoped and suddenly you get a call that a client wants you to come for a call-back.  You try 'not' to understand and just go back to relying on a tremendous amount of faith and confidence that you did your best.

But wait, the emotional roller coaster gets even better.  Sometimes there are more 'unexplainable circumstances' that can happen.  Something unusual like that happened to me earlier in the year.  I auditioned for a client and got a call-back.  The call-back also went very well.  I was even told by one of the other talents auditioning, "They really liked you."  Of course I felt great about that, and upon receiving a call from my agent twenty minutes later, that the client offered me first right of refusal, I was euphoric to say the least. 

First right of refusal means that the client has 'iced' you, is holding you for a select number of days, and has chosen you and usually two other actors for the spot.  It was to be my first national commercial.  A very lucrative one.  Well...don't get too happy for me, because the next day I was released.  That simply means they decided to go with another talent, i.e. not me.  I was disheartened, but knew I needed to check my ego at the door and remembered it is how this business operates.  You can always be sure of a few things, risk - rejection - and a lot of subjectivity.  I knew it going in and I recognize that challenge everyday.   The auditions can go well, the call-backs go well and then...no further news or contact from my agents.  Translation, I got the silver or the bronze.  Compound the unknown with countless, round trip, two-hour-plus drives to auditions in a variety of cities that last no more than five minutes.  Unfortunately in this business, no news is bad news, so you want your phone to ring and ring often.

What does this have to do with the price of eggs or...going for gold?  I've now had several big opportunities similar to that above and just recently - got my first two golds.  Two national commercials filmed in Appleton, Wisconsin and another in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  Patience and persistence are two must-have virtues.  It's an incredible feeling that is hard to put into words.  However, there are no proverbial podiums you get up on for a gold in this business and you 'always' have to keep your humility. Just getting the job and opportunity is reward enough for me, but the greatest reward comes when a friend or family member tells you that they saw you in a commercial.  That's pretty cool!

The risks are big and the payoffs are equally as big, and sometimes a simple job can lead to a bigger opportunity, so I'm always hopeful.  You meet new people each time - producers, directors, crew and other actors who you talk to, get to know, and network with.  I simply take each experience, write down how things went and what I can do to improve, and give my very best with each new opportunity that comes my way.  You have to dig deep, believe in and love what you're doing...and I do!  So I am going for gold.  Every time I audition...I'm going for gold.  Silver and bronze are just reminders to keep trying, make myself better and never, ever give up!