I think I'd better think it out again...

In 1999 I lived in a Germany.  At the time there was one major producer of musicals with one casting director and one musical director. They all knew me. They knew what I could do. They knew what show I was currently performing in and how valuable I was (or wasn’t ) to that production. Feeling a bit frustrated and under used I left the country. I moved to New York City seeking out more opportunities.

No one knew who the hell I was here. No one knew what I was capable of, talent wise.  I wanted to find classes and teachers. I wanted desperately to meet  hundreds, no thousands of industry folk and generally get my name out there. In other words network. Naturally the first place to start is at auditions.

When I’m not acquainted with people I can be a bit shy, so networking doesn’t come easily to me. Unless someone speaks to me first I generally keep to myself. Kind of the anti-thesis of networking.

Anyway, I was so concentrated on trying to make my name the household kind, the things I truly needed slipped my mind. When I left Germany I was in the middle of orthodontia. In NYC I didn’t know any doctors, much less an orthodontist. One day I was standing in line waiting to sign up for a time slot (it was an EPA). The guy in front of me who was my type almost exactly turns to me and says “Hey I have braces too. Who’s your orthodontist?”

We chatted for a bit and I told him my situation. He loved his orthodontist and recommended him. After I had gotten my audition time slot I called the doctor and made a consultation appointment.

My doppelganger and I also talked about classes. He had been in the city for a while and had what I thought was an insider’s scoop on what was going on. He spoke of something called “Actor’s Connection”, a very unique class experience for the time.

Actor’s Connection was one of the very first “pay to play” groups in New York. An actor would join the group. He or she would then be sent a listing of all the classes they were offering. The list included who was teaching the class or seminar, where they were from be it a casting agency or a talent agency, and what to prepare in advance. And how much each class cost.

In these “classes” Actors were given an opportunity to meet with, talk with and audition for industry personal for a price: “Pay to play”. Each class had a different vibe depending on who was moderating it and what they were looking for. This sounded exactly like what I was looking for: a no pressure situation to introduce myself to the people behind the tables.

So I joined Actor’s Connection. I paid my money and started searching for an agent, convinced that was what I needed. Back then an agent was something only the elite of the show business world had. If you had an agent you had access to a world of things no common actor did. You had someone who believed in you and your career. An agent was someone in your corner, a show business wing man so to speak, who helped promote you and your talent.

Most of the seminars I attended at Actor’s Connection were formatted the same.

There would be a group question and answer session. During this any actor could ask the agent anything they wanted to know. It was during one session I learned that there are three things to never ask an agent:

How big is your agency?

How big is your client list?

Do you have someone like me on your roster?

If you’re seeking representation from an agency you should already know its size. That information is listed in publications an actor can buy, along with the address of the agency, the agents and their divisions (stage, screen, commercial, voice over, literary) and whom each division represents age wise.

An actor who asks an agent any information that is easily found is an actor who is unprepared to meet with and/or be represented by that agent.

Each client an agent represents holds the potential to make the agent a 10-15% commission off the actor’s salary. Asking an agent how big is their client roster is almost the same as asking a lay person “how much money do you make. Don’t do it. Talking about money to someone other than your intimate friends is still considered impolite.

Asking if an agency already represents clients like you is unnecessary. As one agent put it “If I had clients like you I wouldn't be talking to you right now”. That’s not necessarily true. If there is a type of actor that is currently hot, an agency will stock its roster with that type of actor providing all of their current “type du jour” are out working. It's all about making money and the more people an agent has out working the more money the agency is making.

The classes for Casting Directors ran the same format but the important questions changed:

What do you look for in an actor?

What can an actor do to increase his chances of getting cast?

What makes you not want to hire an actor?

Again these questions aren't quite right. The scope is too broad. In essence most of the casting directors had the same answer for all three questions...

What do you look for in an actor? Someone who is prepared and knows what he’s doing.

What can an actor do to increase his chances of getting cast? Be prepared with not only the material but for anything that may be thrown your way.

What makes you not want to hire an actor? The actor not being prepared, not making choices and making excuses.

Not very helpful. That’s because the questions need to be more specific and pointed to what casting directors actually do. They cast shows based on their personal preferences.

Do you prefer and Actor dress up for the audition?

Should an Actor stick to the guide lines of audition material or should he think outside the box?

Do you prefer an Actor to be animated or still while auditioning?

I continued with the ‘Pay to Play” scenarios and with making acquaintance with other actors. One actor I met told me of this fantastic class he took with an agent. This class was a 6 week audition class meant to get you ready for, well, auditions.

The actor couldn't speak more highly of this class and this agent. He just gushed on and on. Finally I was resolved to take her next session. In terms of Theatrical instruction most actors are looking for someone to help them to the next level. Something new something different and something wonderfully life changing.

As was the case with Henrik.

Henrik was a guy a class ahead of me at University. He was an American of German descent. He would go around singing “Deutschland, Deutschland uber alles”, which as I understand it now was in the German national anthem until after the war (yes that war). Henrik was blessed with typical Aryan good looks. He had height and talent. More striking was the fact that he had a gorgeous Irish tenor voice. His rendition of “Danny Boy” made everyone cry and his singing of “Come to Me, Bend to Me” was effortless and soaring.

Henrik felt the voice teachers at University had taught him all they knew. So he went in search of outside instruction. Through word of mouth he found a new voice teacher. He would now have to pay out of his own pocket for lessons.

After his first couple of lessons he was walking on cloud nine. The things the teacher promised him were exactly what he wanted to learn, in terms of technique and repertoire. So Henrik stopped taking voice lessons at school and started studying with this new outside teacher exclusively.

Most classes here in New York City are limited in how many students can attend. Sometimes it’s dictated by law. You find this happens with dance classes: the room can only accommodate so many bodies. And sometimes it’s by design. The teachers or studios want to give individual attention to each of their students so they cap the number of attendees based on the curriculum and what the class requires. It was the same with this fantastic class I had heard about from the Pay to Play colleague.

When the class was offered again I immediately signed up. I didn't want to be closed out of the class. I wanted to benefit from this agent’s knowledge and teaching. And of course I wanted to make a good impression in hopes of being represented by her.

The first class we were asked to prepare a song of our choice and provide our picture and resume, which I did. One by one each student got up and sang their choice of song. The agent discussed the actor’s song choice and resume. She even went so far as to say what roles and shows she saw each actor in.

When my turn came I sang my song, which was “On the Street Where You Live”. At the time I was perfect for the role of “Freddy”, the misused love interest in My Fair Lady. When I finished the agent said nothing about my song choice right away. She went to my resume and named three shows she could see me in. She named the only three ethnic shows I had on my resume.

The agent then moved on to discussing music with me:

Do you sing any R & B?

No.

Do you sing any Gospel?

No.

Well you really need to decide if you want to be in this business or not.

And that was the end of my first of six weeks with this agent. It never got any better than that first day. In fact it got worse.

Every week I would learn a new song. Every week she would give me nothing to go on but the fact that I wasn't giving her what she wanted. And what she wanted was for me to “be black” and all the stereotypical aspects that are associated with it.

Every week I would leave more and more frustrated because this “teacher” wasn't teaching me anything. She had nothing of valuable to contribute to my growth as an actor.

One week one of my classmates got up and sang a song perfect for him. The guy was 6’2” with thick wavy jet black hair, olive skin and a muscular build. He looked like “Gaston” from Beauty and the Beast and he sang Gaston’s song. The agent gushed over him and I thought rightly so. It was a great choice for him and he sounded amazing with his deep full manly baritone. The agent then went on to say, based on him singing Gaston, that the guy was right for “Curly” in Oklahoma. He looked a little puzzled but went with it.

It was at this point I knew the chick was a charlatan who had stolen my $400, at a time when $400 was like $4,000 dollars to me.

Then I just didn't care anymore. The check was cashed. There were no refunds. So I went into class and did my thing and she did her thing and never the two did meet. By then end of the six weeks, even the class accompanist was wise to the abuse the agent was giving me. He apologized for the class and her behaviour. He then gave me the name and number of a teacher who could actually teach me something and contribute to the betterment of my career.

I called that teacher up and luckily he was starting a new four week session. I joined over the phone sight unseen. Two days later I walked into another class just as eager to learn and willing to spend money to do it.

Henrik went on studying with his outside voice teacher. He was so enamored of the prospects the teacher promised that he didn't notice his voice being ruined. He would come into University classes and rehearsals hoarse and tired. According to this new “teacher” this was part of the process in building Henrik’s new voice.

And ladies and gentlemen that’s bullshit. At this point in your life you know the difference between when something hurts from working outside your normal scope of action and when something’s just physically hurting. 

No matter what anyone says, do NOT do things that physically hurt you. If there’s ever a question in your mind as to which pain you’re feeling stop doing whatever is causing the pain immediately. You need to assess the situation and address the cause of the pain. Because by the time he graduated from University, Henrik had lost half an octave of range and the clarity of his Irish tenor sound. Not to mention almost all of that “ping” a true tenor has. His voice was destroyed by the very teacher he went to for help in fostering his talent..

He literally works as a salesman in Florida now.

After my first class, the new one that was recommended by the accompanist, the teacher pulled me aside and gave me some advice that I had never heard before. He said “You should have audited my class first, before paying out your hard earned money. It may not have been a good class for you”.

Auditing a class prior to taking the class to see if it's a good fit was a new and radical idea. Before this I had only taken the classes that I was told to take by people I trusted. Unfortunately trust and integrity are rare commodities in New York City

I knew I had found something real and helpful. This new teacher had integrity. He was teaching not for the money but for the passing on of knowledge. He was earning money doing it, sure. But don’t we all want to earn money doing something meaningful, something we love, something connected to our Art?

I studied with this guy for six years.

As for the agent/teacher from the hell seminar at Actors Connection, she’s since retired from being an agent. I wasted my money on her because I took the advice of someone without doing my part to investigate. I suffered through six weeks of mental anguish because I couldn’t wait. Had I audited the class I would’ve seen some red flags. That would have caused me to stop and take stock of what was happening and being said, helping me to determine whether I should take the class. Or not.

This former agent is now a casting director. Whenever I see her name associated with a project I stop and really think about what could happen. I weigh what I went through against what I could gain. I always come to the same conclusion: I won’t go near her. I won’t audition for anything she’s associated with, and that includes a recent pre-Broadway show.

Am I shooting myself in the foot? Not really. Sure I may not get a chance to audition for a potential Broadway show. But as far as she’s concerned I would never have a real chance at being cast anyway. She doesn't understand who I am and what I do. So why should I subject myself to more torture and abuse? If there was something I was dying to do, a part that screamed my name and she was the casting director for it, I would make it happen.

There are ways around Casting Directors...

My quest for name recognition in 1999 missed the mark. However I did gain a lot. I gained an awesome teacher with a vast knowledge of music and musical theatre. I gained a great orthodontist. One whom I investigated prior to him doing anything to my teeth. An orthodontist who knows show business and what its demands are. And I gained knowledge that I can impart to other actors, both aspiring and professional. The biggest of which is this:

It takes time to make good proper connections that can advance your career. It takes time to locate good teachers who will help you and not hurt you physically or psychologically. And that time is spent investigating every detail of the connections and of the classes. Otherwise you end up wasting time and hard earned cash like I did.

I learned my lesson the hard way. Now with every new and possible advancement in show Business, whether it's a new class, a new connection or a new show...

...I’m reviewing the situation.