Five Tips I Learned for Auditions and Talent Agencies

The entertainment field is a wild ride. It has ups and downs with so much reward and rejection. I am learning through the process, the etiquette for auditions and how to find work for yourself. There have been many who have helped me along the way and I would like to help a little by giving back a little knowledge from my recent audition with a local talent agency here in Washington State. I am not the most experienced person in the acting world and these will not apply to everyone. These five tips are what I have observed and learned doing my own research.

1. Agencies will not require money upfront for taking you on as a client.

This is pretty straight forward. Agents make money when they find performing roles for you as the client. The general fee is about 10-20% of what you will make from the project, but that can vary based on where you live. Please, read the terms and conditions of the contract. Read the fine print. Know what you are signing at the end of the day. If you don’t understand anything, you are allowed to ask questions or have someone there to help you through the paperwork.

2. Go with your gut instinct.

It is easy to get caught up in the glamour of possibly having your chance at the big time. It’s easy to look at an agent and wonder if your time has finally come for stardom with your creativity. Put it down. Stay humble. Listen to the environment. I am not saying all agents or managers are bad people or sneaky; I am saying that the profession does give “Pimps and Hoes” vibe. They are there to get you roles for acting parts. You are there to get roles for acting. However, agents will play the games; looking like they have the upper hand, negotiation techniques, reverse psychology, and behavior science.

It was quite amazing to watch to the “show” put on during my recent audition from the agent. I am not knocking it or saying it was wrong; just merely an interesting phenomenon to watch. I was lucky enough to catch onto it or I might have been prey to such games as pretending to talk to someone off camera, being busy with the phone, talking with someone. They asked if I had seen their recent talent, I said yes on their website. I inquired if I was right for them since they had several younger actors. They told me I had the wrong website!!! That they had multiple actors that were older and I had missed them. Ok (insert eye roll). I researched them again post audition. I was correct; they have younger talent. The whole audition gave me a weird feeling in my body. Listen to that feeling. It is telling you this is not your space.

3. Research the company before your auditions.

When I am looking into a company, I like to search reviews, social media, prior and current talent, and just get a general sense of the agency. I ask questions such as “Do the staff like working there?” “How many people work here?” “What talent do you currently represent?”

I will check the social media pages for reviews from employees and prior/current talent. Sometimes people will leave terrible reviews because they were not accepted or feel they should have been given more, so reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt. Someone can establish a pattern if reviews start to seem similar and often. If multiple people are saying an agency is a scam, on multiple different sites, it might be true.

Story time, the agency I auditioned with recently does have some bad press when you research them on the internet. I directly ask the agent about it during the audition. Maybe this hurt my chances since I like to ask questions, but it just tells me it wasn’t the right fit. Anyways, I asked the agent if they required money upfront based on what I had read on the website. They had explained that courses and headshots were required for “newer” actors who were not prepared for the field. Sounds like they can try and require money upfront from people who might not have the experience. Did the fact that I do not need courses or headshots contribute to the decision to not accept me? Hmm.

4. Follow all the instructions and be polite.

This is probably the most important rule I have learned so far in my journey in the entertainment field. It is one that is stressed in my coaching and acting sessions. Be sure to FOLLOW ANY AND ALL instructions given with an audition. Casting directors do not have time to waste on silly mistakes; I had the pleasure of helping as a volunteer for a comedy festival recently for booking the performers. I was one of the people choosing the entries, which meant I had to watch 70+ videos of comedians doing sets. The ones I liked had good lighting, nice audio, presentation, facial expressions, etc. It wasn’t just about the funny, but following the instructions of sending a 5-7 minute set of current material, recorded, to us, easily accessible.

Regardless, if you think you want to stay with the agency or not, it is always best to be polite. I will not say which agency I auditioned with recently, but the experience was…. Interesting. I did not get a good feeling and during the audition, they even told me “don’t be mad at me if we don’t call you.” Ok (insert eye roll). I already know from my psychology training that this likely means I am being rejected. I spent the rest of the audition screaming inside, but I kept my cool outside. It was important to show that I respected them, have polite conversation, and say goodbye. You never know what might happen in the future, right? Best masking and acting I have done in a while. They should have hired me based on that alone.

5. Agencies do not require you to make a decision quickly or pressure you.

Agencies will have their process for choosing a client, but that doesn’t happen within a few hours. You and the agency have to agree on the contract terms, understand the expectations of each other, and (most importantly) get to know each other to see if it’s a match for both of you. You, as the client, get to choose the agency that fits your needs as a performer. Don’t be pressured by anyone to make a decision.

-Polite Kitty (2/1/2023)