If you stick with professional acting, sooner or later you're going to have the unpleasant experience of being dropped by your agent or manager. It can happen for all kinds of reasons, and you may never know what the reason is. It feels as horrible as getting dumped by someone you're dating, plus the extra suckage of panicking that no one is sending you out professionally anymore. And it happened to me a few weeks ago.
Out of the blue, I got an email from my voice over agency informing me that my agent was no longer with the company, and they were dropping some of her clients, including me. I was immediately flooded with a bunch of feelings… Hurt, embarrassment, surprise, fear, confusion. And questions… What happened? Did they keep some of her clients but not me? Why not me? What was I going to do? I spent the rest of the day just reeling from the news.
The next day, my networking brain kicked in. I emailed a few friends who were with the same agency to see if they'd heard anything. I reached out to friends in the VO community who knew my agent, to see if they had any insights or suggestions. I emailed my former agent and told her how sorry I am, that I've loved working with her, and that I'm sure she's going to end up at a great agency and hope she'll let me know when she does. Then I swallowed my pride and posted on Facebook about losing my VO representation.
A bunch of people commented with condolences, a few offered words of encouragement, and one friend offered to introduce me to his VO agent. I gave him a call, thanked him for the offer, and asked him about the agency. What was it like working with them? Why did he think we'd be a good fit? I liked what I heard, and said I'd love to take him up on his kind offer. He emailed the agent to explain who I am, why he was referring me, and to ask if it would be ok for me to contact her. She said yes, so I put together a pitch email, detailing my VO and related experience and including my demo.
Nothing happened. But I'd set a reminder to follow up in a week if I hadn't heard anything, so that's what I did. She got back to me right away and asked if I could come in the next day. We set the appointment, I did some additional research on the agency's background and client list, we had a great meeting, and she said she'd love to work with me. It was a Thursday, so I took the weekend to do a last round of research, call some friends who knew her to get their thoughts, and just see if there were any questions or concerns nagging at me before making a decision. There weren't, so I let her know on Monday that I'd love to work with her, and by Thursday she was sending me out.
It all sounds too easy, and potentially not very helpful in terms of applying what I did to other situations… So let's break it down into actionable "takeaways":
- I gave myself a day to be sad, and then brushed myself off and got active. When the potential new agent didn't get back to me, I followed up. No moping, no being passive.
- I didn't let it change my perception of my value as an actor. I resisted the urge to make assumptions about why I was dropped, or compare myself to those who were not dropped. It's not about me, it's just something that happened.
- While I was tempted to wait for my former agent to find a new home… What if that new agency wasn't a good fit for me, or she couldn't bring me over? I didn't put all my eggs in one basket. (I also know it won't hurt our relationship. It's business, we'll stay in touch, and may have a chance to work together again down the road.)
- I turned to my relationships for help. In this case, a friend offered to make an introduction. But if that hadn't happened, I could have: Asked casting directors who know and like me if there are agencies they think I'd be right for; Asked my manager and commercial/theatrical agents if they have relationships with VO agents they would refer me to; Looked up friends and colleagues at a similar career level to see who they're with; Asked friends and colleagues at a higher career level if they'd recommend any of their former agents. And of course, stayed in touch with my former agent to see what her next move is.
It's important to note that finding a new agent is usually a lot easier than finding a first agent. That's because it's scary to be the first person to take a chance on someone… It's like buying a car you've never driven. Once you have some credits and representation relationships under your belt, you're a safe bet. You've passed the test drive. This is why I encourage my clients to focus on casting director relationships early in their careers. The risk involved in giving a new actor an audition is way smaller than the risk involved in signing a new actor to a year-long contract. Casting relationships will get you called in and help you build your credits. Then, instead of pitching agents by saying, "I'm cute and talented and I bet I'll work a ton", you can say, "I'm getting work all by myself. Want to get in on this action?" Suddenly signing you doesn't feel risky at all.
So take heart if (or when) you get dropped. You're not starting from scratch. You have more to offer than you did before. Just like thinking about quitting, it's part of the roller coaster of being a professional actor. Give yourself a little time to reel from the shock… Then get up and start hustling. You'll be back in action before you know it.
Got a story, comment, or question about losing or finding representation? I want to hear it!