“Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do.” – Jeff Olson
I got my headshots.
I look over Backstage weekly. I check and submit to the online casting sites numerous times a day.
I am at Equity calls at 6am and wait all day to audition.
I am rehearsing for an Equity showcase play.
I am taking an acting class.
…a dance class.
…an on camera class.
…a casting director workshop (apparently called seminars in New York)
While all those things are necessary, and you should be doing them, the problem is the rest of the actors are doing the exact same thing. I was in a low-budget feature film and during the cast party I was sitting with the producer asking him about his process from start to finish in creating the film. There were two leads in the film and about six major supporting actors. He said for each role he had about 2000 headshots. Television casting directors say that they get between 1500-1900 headshots for a one-line co-star role. So you say you submit online for roles, well so are the other 1999 actors that fit that role.
The question becomes, what are you doing that those other 1999 actors are not doing? What are some things actors do not do regularly?
Send a thank you card after every audition.
Have a regular mailing schedule to industry professionals.Mail something other than an 8x10 headshot and resume.
Maintain a master industry contact list.
Be of service without expecting anything in return.
Commit to the profession longer than a few years.
Create Target lists.
Build relationships with producers and directors.
Consistently read the trade papers (not Backstage)
Commit industry professional names to memory (and I don’t mean the big names)
Do Drop-offs.
Have a long-term plan of attack.
Do you notice something about this list? None of these activities will directly get you a job. What they will do is help you build long-term professional relationships. And relationships are worth more…in the long run. That is the key…the long run. If you can’t see your career past the end of the year, then you will never get to the second list. If you have goals for your career 5 years or 10 years from now, you might some of those things to your daily actor to-do list. This mind shift change automatically takes your craft into a career. And once you are in a career mind set you can look at other people and how long it took them to get where they are at. As other small business owners that are successful. How long did it take them to get where they are? My guess is 10-15 years. But they were hustling the whole time and thinking long term.
So you want to know how social media marketers and actors are the same? Watch the below video from Gary Vaynerchuck and every time he says social media marketer, replace it with actor. Here is a hint: Don't act like a nineteen-year-old dude and try to close too early.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/Wovzuy7Jxgw
Dennis Baker is an actor, teacher and web developer based out of Los Angeles. He is also the owner of Website for Actors, where he writes about the business at WFA’s Biz for Actors Blog. You can find him on twitter, @dennisbaker.
