I have a question about walking in agents office. I know agents recieve 100's pic/resumes a week, would it be wrong to walk in an agent office, and ask them about representation??? You hear lots of establish artist say, when they were seeking an agent,they walk in and got one. How true is that??? Or they kelp making trips back/forth, until they pick them up, does this still works??? I truely feels at some point you have to do some things different, do you agree??? Thank you again for yor words of wisdom.

Noooooo!!! no no no no no no no no no!!!!

Don't EVER do this unless it's open call. TOTALLY unacceptable. The only time this is OK is drop offs with CD offices in which case you walk in, hand over your materials, and leave. Tony Martinez actually talks about this in SAM's favorite book "An Agent Tells All".

If you want to meet agents in an acceptable setting, come off of 30 buck and do a pay to meet seminar.

quote:

Originally posted by JADE:
I have a question about walking in agents office. I know agents recieve 100's pic/resumes a week, would it be wrong to walk in an agent office, and ask them about representation??? You hear lots of establish artist say, when they were seeking an agent,they walk in and got one. How true is that??? Or they kelp making trips back/forth, until they pick them up, does this still works??? I truely feels at some point you have to do some things different, do you agree??? Thank you again for yor words of wisdom.

NO! Almost every agency in LA does NOT accept drop offs.

Whoever said that they got representation by walking in was a total liar.

Agents are busy submitting and pitching their clients.

The only person you'll probably ever see walking in is the assistant who probably will tell you to go away for he or she is busy looking at headshots and resumes and calling potential clients to come in and meet.

The mailing is probably not working for you because your headshots are not very great.

Just dropping by an agent's office, hoping to get some attention, will mark you as an unprofessional actor. No one will take you seriously. It's ok to drop off a picture and resume but don't expect more than a quick thank you.

quote:

Originally posted by JADE:
I have a question about walking in agents office. I know agents recieve 100's pic/resumes a week, would it be wrong to walk in an agent office, and ask them about representation??? You hear lots of establish artist say, when they were seeking an agent,they walk in and got one. How true is that??? Or they kelp making trips back/forth, until they pick them up, does this still works??? I truely feels at some point you have to do some things different, do you agree??? Thank you again for yor words of wisdom.

Yes, it would absolutely be considered "wrong to walk in an agent office and ask them about representation". It wouldn't be nearly as wrong as walking in and asking them to hand over all their money. But seriously, it's best not to blindly walk in and ask them anything at all.

Now here's where I'm going to disagree with the majority. This is going to be one of my long answers. (First, I don't know what your photo looks like, but I suspect your resume and cover letter might have as many typos as your note here. Hopefully you proofread those business tools. I won't make as big a deal about it, as I did on another message thread. Still, agents, and everyone else in any business, want to work with intelligent people. As actors, words and language are major tools. If we demonstrate that we're not capable of using those tools, our intelligence and other skills are questionable. Now... comprehending the rest of this answer is dependent on having basic intelligence and the common sense to not do anything outrageously inappropriate. There are some obvious rules of business and social behavior, but in this business I wholeheartedly agree that "at some point you have to do some things different" --- except I'd go further, and say, "at many points you have to do some things different." (or "differently", if we're gonna be picky.)

Truth be told, I DID indeed get my first agent in L.A. by walking into the agency. (If they have a nice office, they usually have a receptionist. Regardless of the prevailing opinion, there's absolutely nothing wrong with walking in, handing them a photo/resume - with cover letter, just like any other messenger might, and leaving. Many smaller agencies have drop-off boxes outside their door. If they have a sign on the door saying "no actor drop-offs", don't ignore their request.) I researched and selected a handful of agencies I wanted to work with, and showed up, with photo/resume in hand. I'd dressed very nicely, like I was going to an important business meeting (in a suit & tie -- I play those kinds of roles a lot). I walked up to the desk, said a brief "Hi, I just moved from New York and am looking for representation," handed my material, said "could you see that the agents have a look at this" and left. (Sometimes there was no one at the desk, and I just put it there and left.) When I arrived at one of the agencies and handed my material, the woman immediately had a quick look at it. (I hadn't put it in an envelope. Anyone who had it in their hand had to take even a cursory look at it.) I didn't know it at the time, but she was one of the agents, who happened to be in the lobby talking to the receptionist. As I turned to leave, she struck up a conversation with me, asking how long I'd been in town, who my rep in New York was, if I planned on staying, and within a few minutes she said, "Let's set up an appointment." And a couple weeks later, I signed with that agency and stayed successfully for years.

NOTE: The crucial component of this story is that I didn't walk in to have a conversation, ask questions, or do anything but make a delivery. While I did have great success from 'walking in' that one time, there were only rare instances where the person in the office did not at least take the material from my hand. And usually they were very nice. No one ever said "go away", even if that might have been what they were thinking. Often my stuff probably went on the "To Be Considered at a Future Date" pile. Maybe it went right into the trash after I left. But I've frequently heard the phrase "we consider all submissions", and I have to believe that's true for most agencies, even if "consider" means to just have a quick glance at the material.

BIG NOTE: Some of my story involves coincidence. The agent happened to be there and there was something about me that was immediately interesting to her. For you, it could be that one of the clients that is similar to you just left the agency and they're open to filling the slot. Or perhaps they'd just seen an important role in the breakdowns and none of their clients suited it as perfectly as you do. It could be that you just look like you mean business. (The very least best thing that could happen is that the receptionist says to themselves or the agent, "this photo looks just like the actor" --- which, of course, you've made certain it does.) And yes, don't expect more than a quick 'thank you', if you even get that.

REALLY BIG NOTE: All agencies want to work with professional actors. If you handle your business professionally, they will respond accordingly. (Read my second paragraph again.) Granted, I happened to have three Broadway credits on my resume, which the agent saw when she had her quick look at it. It was undoubtedly among the reasons that I got a call from one of the other agencies even before I returned home that day. But the point is, I dropped it off, they looked at it, and called. They didn't care if it arrived via mail, messenger, or carrier pigeon. And they obviously didn't care that the majority of the time actors tell other actors not to do something. Whoever said that no actors ever got representation from walking in has not talked to the actors that actually did.

I would like to Thank You all for your replies, especially "Broadway2Hollywood" with your encouraging words and words of wisdom.To Truthteller,Thank you as well,I must make a comment about the pictures I've posted, they may not be to your liking and that's probably because I've only post two of my recent shots enstead of the 400 remaining that I have. Now my question to the board is, where can I go to have your pictures critique,before sending them out? Is there such a place?? Thank you again ALL

I have done walk-ins. I have never been big on "rules" and it has served me well.

First time was at a B level agency during the writer's strike. I got to sit down with an agent for ten minutes and we had an informal chat. He was SO very helpful and I made a contact. He has since quit the business but the point remains the same.

Another time I got a meeting with a top manager by cold-calling on the phone. Also a big no-no but there you have it.

A THIRD time I cold-called an agency and the very nice assistant I spoke to got me a meeting.

However, for the sake of not making all of us look bad as an entirety, if you so desire to take such a ballsy approach, for God's sake be READY and professional. It's all the nutjobs out there that make procuring meetings and such so very difficult. Every time a person acts like a wacko, it hurts all actors.


My two cents.

If you want to get your pictures critiqued on the headshot and resume board, make sure you get rid of the photog's watermark. They will go crazy if you put an untouched photo with their name on it. It seems like a very practical way to do things, though. You don't have to go through the process of finding out your h/s is terrible after you've paid, then going back and asking for a refund or re-shoot. It happened with my d's shots and it was a sticky situation.

I don't think I would walk into an agency, but my boyfriend did. To a top 5 commercial agency and landed representation right on the spot. Confidence and a look.

so I believe there are exceptions to all the rules.

Living your life based on "exceptions to the rule" is a tough way to go...

quote:

Originally posted by Secret Agent Man:
Living your life based on "exceptions to the rule" is a tough way to go...

It sure is! Being an actor is a tough way to go.

Most actors don't work. The ones that do are the exceptions to the rule. Most actors aren't successful. The successful ones are the exceptions. They are "exceptional".

Of all the actors in Hollywood (or the world), only a small percentage of them have worked professionally. Only a smaller percentage work regularly. They are the exceptions to the rule. (Only a percentage of those actors have agents. Only a percentage of those agents' clients work all the time.) My agent wants to represent exceptional actors. I've chosen to be an actor. I've chosen to live my life "based on exceptions to the rule". My goal is to be the exception. And I have been for many years. And yes, it's a tough tough way to go, but it's the one I've chosen. I want to be exceptional, and I bet you do too.

Originally posted by JADE:
I have a question about walking in agents office. I know agents recieve 100's pic/resumes a week, would it be wrong to walk in an agent office, and ask them about representation??? You hear lots of establish artist say, when they were seeking an agent,they walk in and got one. How true is that??? Or they kelp making trips back/forth, until they pick them up, does this still works??? I truely feels at some point you have to do some things different, do you agree??? Thank you again for yor words of wisdom.
_____________________________________________________________________

Hey,

Is that just for theatrical agents or for commercial as well because I walked into my agents office before I signed with them and asked about representation. Here's what I did....

I made sure I dressed professional. Sport coat and a nice pair of pants. (I usually wear soccer gear I showed up around 8:30 am with Starbucks coffee for the entire office. I found out how many would be there before I did this. There were a total of 5 people including the girl at the front desk. The cost was only about 11 bucks. I had a five dollar starbucks card too so I only ended up spending 6 Then I introduced myself and said, "I apologize for just dropping by like this but I thought I would take a shot. Can I please come back on a day when you're not busy and audition for you. I promise not to waste your time?" He took my headshot and called me a week later. I read, I signed and I'm currently with them. I've booked 2 nationals so far. One for Target and the other for Jeep. I also recently booked a Career Builder.com commercial that paid as a buyout.

Now, I haven't done this for a theatrical agent but if I didn't take the initiative and walk into that commercial agents office, I wouldn't be in SAG and I sure as heck wouldn't have an agent. I really think that if you're a professional person, honest, friendly and you know how to carry yourself, you can walk into any room and simply ask for what you want. That's just my opinion and it worked for me.

But....I'm just a "Commercial actor" and I'm waiting until a have a decent reel because all I've done are student shorts and a one line in a very low low low budget indy film that came out really bad.

Well a friend of mine did a "Walk in" today and a decent theatrical agency. They told him they don't like it when actors just walk in off the streets. I guess I won't be doing that to a theatrical agency. Not a good one that is.

quote:

Originally posted by Secret Agent Man:
Living your life based on "exceptions to the rule" is a tough way to go...

Living life refusing to break rules is a tough way to go too. Especially when those rules aren't exactly written in stone.

Use your judgement but be flexible in your thinking is my point.

Peace.

Walking in and dropping off your picture is fine. They just say no drop offs because otherwise their office would get mobbed.

If you ask for a meeting they are going to say no 99% of the time. Who knows though. They are human beings just like the rest of us, and you might happen to catch them on a good day and they might say yes. Anything is possible. Personally though I wouldn't waste my time with it.

Either way, the bottom line is you're not going to get repped by a GOOD agent who will go to bat for you by dropping off your headshot. You may get a small-time agent that way, but you won't get the one you want. The way to get a good agent is either from a well-respected referral, or from having them come see your work and blowing them away when they do.