To Young Artists: Once you graduate from school, you’re excited and eager to break into that world of art and start towards achieving your dreams and goals. While each of us take different routes on that path to success the typical road involves picking a location, making connections, finding representation, and eventually, work. And sometimes that passion can make us overzealous and willing to take risks; we’ll do work for free or even pay to do work. Last week I was reading on a bench on one of the main streets of Philadelphia between work shifts when I was approached by man maybe a few years older than me. He stopped, asked for my height and asked if I was interested in acting or modeling. What a coincidence! Here I am, an actor working as a server at a sushi bar and by sheer luck somebody found me and wants to help. YES, OF COURSE. I’m an actor! I’m interested! Pick me! The man took my name and number and handed me a business card for a management company that represented artists in modeling, acting, music, etc. and said I would be called to make an appointment in a few days. Two days later I was called by the agency who emailed me information pertaining to my interview; location, time, materials to bring and the like. I do a little bit of online research. Ooooh, nice website. Flashy, well done. That’s a good sign. Located in Feasterville, PA? That’s…odd. And quite a journey. And so on. Three days ago I dressed in my finest with headshots and resumes packed and boarded the regional rail out to Feasterville. From the station I walked a couple miles to the office building for said management company. The reception room is a like a set piece; lighting that looks natural, a fountain that takes up an entire wall with water flowing down through fake branches, a sleek desk with a giant Mac and the receptionist dressed in a barrage of items which, alone, might have some feasibility in the fashion world but as is she looks like a piece of found-object art. I fill out a few forms asking for name, address, and have a few personality questions (List 10 interesting facts about yourself. Where do you see yourself in 2 years? What would you like to do in the entertainment industry?) Next came a thick pamphlet “detailing” the About Us statement of the company. What? Why? Who? And while this pamphlet should have been giving me information, I was finding every page to be vague or manipulative. One page would give you statistics of success for artists in various fields bringing you down and the next page would talk about how few people are selected for this process and how this company has handpicked these artists and here are their success stories….you get the picture. I wait in the reception room about an hour after my appointment time before I’m called into an office by a skinny 28ish doll-like figure with a loud nasally voice. Clearly she was not an actor if her volume was intended to display enthusiasm or interest because despite how annoying and overbearing her voice was, it was flat and her face betrayed no expressions at all. A Starbuck’s sat on her desk and I wondered if that was her lunch or dinner. Or both. After fulfilling our quota of polite inquiries into personal lives and histories, I was hit with a flurry of loaded questions. “So do you like working at a sushi bar? Do you want to meet celebrities? Do you want to be represented by a company who can find you work often? Would you say that a 95% success rate is a risk?” And I gradually zoned out as I started adding up the minutes that I had spent preparing, traveling, and waiting for this: all a waste. I kept showing doubts and skepticism, arguing on various points of her presentation and her agitation was palpable. “How could I pass up an opportunity like this? Do I enjoy being a nobody? Why would I want to work in Philadelphia instead of New York? Don’t you want to be paid $6,000 per day? Who doesn’t want to be a SAG member?” There were two pitches she was throwing at me. For an initial $800 I could have all of my information posted on their website and submitted to several jobs every week. OR for $1,600, I could attend one of the quarterly networking conventions in New York and meet Billy Madison and other big names, have lunch with them, and pick their brains. She was smelling defeat and started with threats. “I need to fill these positions now, I don’t have time to wait.” “You won’t be able to get this opportunity again.” Regardless, I told her that I needed a week to think about this and talk to a few of your mentors. “Who are your mentors? Are they paid millions of dollars in a year? So why does their opinion matter? How much did you spend on college? Did you know that you could get ahead of any college grad for only $1,600 without paying for school?” I was sent away with her number and email but she gave me a look that said, “I know you’re not going to call. There goes my commission.” Even though I had no doubt that I had made a good call, this “what if” still hung in my head. A dangerous “what if.” What if that’s not a scam? What if I’m passing up a good opportunity? What if this company holds weight or knows the right people to keep me out of work? No, I wasn’t going to call. The next day, back at work, I told a couple of my coworkers my story. My boss admitted that his ex-girlfriend had gone through a different company, had done basically the same thing, and was robbed of $700. A mechanic who was working on one of the refrigerators (not even a fellow employee) overheard the conversation, asked if it was on “X Road” and if it was “Y Company.” Yes, and yes! How did you know? “My son is in a band and was recruited by the same people. We never went in but he was mad at me for it.” Bullet dodged. A couple days ago, I was starting a bank account and the customer service and I are chatting about various theatres and resources in the community and he admits that he used to do voice over classes and work through Mr. Z. No kidding, I say. I actually auditioned for him and audited a few of his classes. I was thinking about signing up pretty soon. And then this banker goes into Mr. Z’s method of praise and assessment of potential at the beginning of your courses and then switches to harsh criticism toward the end, breaking your confidence and ensuring that you sign up for more classes. The banker tells me about various jobs and projects he did through Mr. Z where he wasn’t paid for months if at all. Wow, I thought, another bullet dodged. So here’s my question: How am I supposed to do this? The unfortunate catch-22 that college grads faces involves the paradox of experience. Every professional job requires this much professional experience, but where is the entry level job? How do we get this experience? For artists the answer is this: get an agent. Well, in order to get an agent (or at least 5 minutes to audition with a decent one) you need experience. And even then, it’s difficult to know that you aren’t being exploited. That’s a laugh. Exploiting a starving artist—because I have so much to take in the first place… I’m not seeking an answer. If there were an answer that could so easily be put into words with a good success rate then there wouldn’t be so many people failing or working at sushi bars. What I’m providing to all of you ambitious and eager folks is a warning. Don’t fall for any get-rich-quick or become-a-celeb now schemes. Take the long road, explore and play, do your best work even the pay ends up being a McDonald’s meal during your project break. Don’t run around trying to meet “people that matter.” Meet the most skilled and focused people who haven’t made it, make friends with these people who are so like you, and be ready to help them find work just as soon as they would help you. ***Jacob Barbot is a theatre graduate from Northern Michigan University (grad. May 2013) who is living in Philadelphia and struggling to find work as an actor. — with Jacob Barbot.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 04:54:12 +0000
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