The Agent Advantage...

A friend who recently moved to NYC ask me whether or not an agent was a necessity in the city. Since she is a more of a singer/actor who moves well, I told her that on the acting end of things, an agent would definitely be something to look into. An agent, in and of itself, is not going to guarantee work. Many times, you will still be required to put in the footwork, hustle around town, and attend open calls. The bigger the gig, or more high-profile the job is, the less of an effect agent representation might actually have. When Beyonce auditioned in NYC for her world tour last year, there were close to 800 people at the open calls. And yet the agent call wasn't much better, probably around 300 or so. My point is, for a job that big, having your agent get you into a closed audition isn't much of an advantage. YOU are still the one who has to step up and out dance hundreds of other dancers.(and at that stage in the game, 300 looks pretty much like 800 or 1000) It is still a whole lot of people. The idea of agent representation, is that you are going to auditions that have been tailored to your type. So if anything, it can be a time-saving mechanism(nobody who is blond, blue-eyed needs to wait three hours to be seen, if the producers are only looking for one dark, African dancer) But many times, the producers themselves are unsure as to exactly what they are looking for. So your agent might submit you, the casting agent passes on it, and you should still go to the open call. So many times, I have gone into an agent call, only to be cut right off the bat. But then, I will go to the open call the very next day and make it all the way to the end. In the end, an agent/client relationship should be beneficial to both. They get you into smaller audition situations, you book the job, and everyone gets paid. But all this agent talk should reaffirm another point, if you do not currently have an agent, or have gotten cut at an agent audition...don't freak out. In many ways, you will be in the exact same boat as the people who have agents...everyone has to audition, everyone has to impress the producers. Just remember, there are many different routes to the same destination, you might get cast in a video because your favorite teacher has just been asked to choreograph something...that is the crazy thing about New York, your next big adventure could literally be waiting for you around the corner.