I'm in warm and cozy parents-house-in-the-middle-of-the-woods with TX-cousins, MA-cousins, LA/Boston-brothers, aunts and uncles and grandparents--yes, all 16 of us are here (no, we didn't all sleep in the house lest you think that I live in some palatial private ski resort in the mountains), and so far it's been a blast.
Although I'm not sure why it's 9:30am and I'm awake (after going to sleep at 3am), I've been doing nothing but relaxing, catching up with family, laughing a lot, and also devising master-plans for my impending takeover of the world...um, I mean, impending beginning of 2nd-business-which-I'm-totally-qualified-for-and-kinda-want-to-try-out-since-it's-"artsy".
My cousin, you see, is now a "New York city actress" (read: coffee server/barista/waitress).
And in THEIR business, you also have to impress some sort of talent agency and get on a roster.
However, here are the things I have found out about trying to "make it" in NY whether in straight theater, print modeling, or TV/film calls.
THEIR agents (casting agents and agencies mostly), burn the candle at both ends--literally.
In addition to attracting the talent and signing it (probably about the same as opera, except they can have endlessly large rosters and send tons of actors out to each casting call), they also have to attract the movie/producer who will want to AUDITION through them.
So you could be with ONE casting agency in NY that has the market cornered on feel-good-hallmark commercials and the casting of the Movie Speed 7 with the robot-like Keanu.
But that casting agency won't touch print work. Or local bway. Of course they'd probably like to, AND could send their people on those auditions, but they are not actually "THE" casting agency for that project, and therefore, your chance of hearing about it or being sent on it go south.
And then of course you subscribe to backstage and playbill and all of those silly things that singers do too to find out what's going on that you can send your own materials into for consideration.
So my masterful idea of somehow being an agent to my singer-friends, is now turning into, and quite realistically, being an agent/manager for HER and her acting friends.
It's not that I want to work in opera admin. (yet!), but between the hours of 11pm and 2am last night I reworked her resumes for theater, print work, and film, wrote her 3 sample cover letters, made her a PDF of her materials, AND applied to 20 auditions via email for her--so I think that MAY be a clue that I enjoy that part of the business and that it's something I'd really love to do on either end- receiving the apps. and finding qualified talent, OR being the manager/careerguide/lifecoach for the talent itself and promoting it to larger and auditioning companies.
There you go.
Now I just need a catchy name for my agency.
AND nothing annoyingly theatrical (such as the following that were thrown around at dinner last night):
Spotlight
Red Carpet
Curtain Up
AND nothing that already sounds like a current fundraising computer program:
Razer's Edge/Edge
(also thrown out there last night to a whole lot of laughing family).
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