Hello!

I've been a long time lurker and I LOVE this forum. I read it obsessively and now I'm trying to get some advice.

I signed with an agency a couple months ago and since then I've only gone on 1 audition from them. I didn't really mind, since I kept submitting myself on LAcasting and Actor's Access and I got myself quite a few auditions.

Well I got called in for something I self submitted for and I ran it by my agent and he informed me that I was only supposed to be submitting myself for unpaid jobs, so he wouldn't double submit me.

Now this is really beginning to bother me, since I don't know if he is submitting me for things (if so, why did I only get 1 audition from him, while I got about a dozen for myself?). And now out of habit I keep looking for at castings and I'm very frustrated I can't submit myself.

So some questions. Is this normal? Do your agents request you don't submit yourself for paying jobs? Is there any way to tell if he IS submitting me for jobs? Is this normal or should I start looking for a new agent? Would it be bad if I kept submitting myself anyway?

I feel incredibly useless just waiting around for him to call me on auditions. Yes in the meantime I am continuing to take new classes and I am networking, but this no submission is still incredibly frustrating. Any advice?

It all depends on who this agent is, but the double submissions is not that big a deal. CDs expect it. And besides, you the actor only have access to about 25% of the actual BDs that the agents get, and a lot of that 25% is non-pay or low-pay stuff that your agent wouldn't be submitting you on anyway. How often do you submit yourself on full-scale SAG work on Actor's Access?(Answer: Never, since there is never any on there unless you speak Farsi or are a one-armed midget albino and they are looking for one) If they are going to call you in, they'll call you in-whether through your agent or directly through you. It seems that this agent can't get you out on his own and is paranoid that you won't cut him 10% of the things you get on your own.

Every actor not getting out wonders exactly what their agent is or isn't doing for them. If the agency is a good, reputable one I would be inclined to listen to the advice, as I don't think "Secret Agent Man" has to worry too much about double submissions from his clients on LACasting or AA. But if you are with some clunker agent like Jerry Pace or Doug Bennett, forget them, submit yourself until you book something and then drop their sorry behind for a better agent.

I have to agree with LA Delight. My list is fairly established and my clients don't submit themselves for jobs through second tier services. If I caught any of my younger clients doing it, I would reprimand them.

But if you're with what I call "a starter agency", I don't really think it's that big a deal. And quite frankly, the stuff you find on Actors Access is nothing compared to the real breakdowns. So assuming you're with a small agency, I don't really see the problem.

Thank you LA Delight and SAM for your advice! I am with a starter agency so perhaps I'll continue submitting myself anyway (it certainly makes me feel better) and if there continues to be a problem I'll try to find a better agency.

Artistlove, I once had an agent who said the very same thing. She felt that my submitting myself showed a lack of trust in her, and was actually quite adamant on the subject--but you know what? I ignored her, and kept self-submitting. I did trust her, but I couldn't just sit around waiting for the phone to ring... I felt like I should be doing SOMETHING for my own career, especially during weeks or months when I just wasn't getting out through her.

She eventually stopped mentioning it because at the end of the day, an audition is an audition. Of course, I still paid her her cut regardless of who got the audition. Once she realized that, it stopped being an issue.

PS: Of course, I am referring to a starter agency. I definitely wouldn't (and hopefully wouldn't have to!) behave the same with a more prestigious agency.

If I see a project I really want to submit to on ActorsAccess, then I ask my agent to submit me. No problem.

Any agent worth their weight is not threatened by their clients being proactive. In fact, most good agents I know encourage it. If an agent is good, then they realize that it doesn't matter if an appointment comes because of their submission, a manager submission, an actor submission, the actor knowing the director, etc. As long as the actor gets the appointment and books the job, it is good for everybody.