When you are trying to get somewhere, do you look for the easiest and fastest way to get there or do you try to find the most confusing, turned around and slowest way to get there?
You would be crazy to do it the latter way.
Have you ever been in a hurry and tried to take a shortcut, only to end up getting lost and having it turn into a route that took longer than if you would have just done it the “normal” way?
We all have!
Honestly, our days are numbered and that makes it human nature to look ways to do things better, faster and more efficiently.
Sometimes, this works great and we get big innovations and make giant leaps forward. Other times, things don’t go as planned.
So, if you are wanting to become a full time, working actor and you want to do it the easiest, fastest way possible there are some things you will need to look out for.
The two kinds of shortcuts when it comes to the industry. One of them will get you noticed and in touch the people that matter. The other way is a complete waste of time and money at best and could have devastating consequence at worst.
Let’s talk about the second one first, because it’s unfortunately what most actors choose.
It’s also the reason that workshops and showcases were such a big deal until just a couple of years ago.
The opportunity to pay a couple hundred dollars and be seen by a leading Casting Director or other industry decision makers was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
In theory, this would be a fantastic strategy, if the CDs had a ton of roles to fill and then put on the workshops and showcases themselves to find the talent to do fill them with.
However, since they were basically being paid an appearance fee to sit in the chair and show some kind of interest every now and then this left everyone attending the events with basically a zero chance of being booked or having what they hoped would be a new relationship with industry decision makers, go nowhere.
I’m not saying that workshops and showcases are all bad and that you shouldn’t do them. Not at all! In fact I know a few actors that successfully got their careers off the ground this way.
On the flipside I know many, many, many more for whom this was a complete waste of time, at best.
See, when you do an event like this, there is an opportunity cost and there may be things going on behind the scenes that you are completely unaware of but may still affect you.
Just a few years ago, one of the showcase organizers was prosecuted on racketeering charges because he was paying the CDs an extra kickback to guarantee a couple of the event attendees would be cast in something.
It seems like a kind of shady thing to do but at least a few actors benefitted, right?
Well, it would seem like it at first, but they faced charges in the scheme and had to lawyer up and fight the charges, and most importantly they also had to fight for their good names to be cleared.
Not only that, the studios completely blackballed the CDs involved in the scandal along with the actors.
They didn’t want anything to do with the negative publicity.
Granted this is an extreme case and things don’t typically get that far out of control.
But, when you take the wrong kind of shortcut you almost guarantee failure because it’s like trying to hit a target that doesn’t exist. No matter how many shots you take, and no matter how good you are, you can never hit a target that isn’t there.
And that’s what most actors do . They aim to hit a target that isn’t there, thinking it will eventually show up.
Here’s what I mean. Actors, and just about everyone else in the industry has an imaginary picture of someone that holds the keys to their future.
They imagine someone with the power to wave a magic wand and manifest a career for them.
Even when you are highly connected, this just doesn’t happen.
The ultimate decision maker is not an industry insider at all. It’s the public! The people that will turn up for you at the box office, or tune in to watch you are the ones that will ultimately determine whether or not you have a career.
When I mention this, I always hear “but I need to have the chance to get in front of the public first.”
That used to be the hard part, but now you can do it in literally the next 5 seconds.
Step 1, pull out your phone. Step 2 Open the Instagram App. Step 3 Post.
Done!
You have unbridled access to the ultimate decision makers and the industry knows it. It’s why the power dynamics have changed.
You no longer need to impress and schmooze CDs and industry people, if you have the public on your side. Influencers know this and many of them are making the cross over to the mainstream because of it.
So if you are looking for the easiest and fastest way to build your acting career, that is where you should start. That is the right kind of shortcut.
The Veronica Mars movie was completely greenlit and crowd funded by fans. The studio came later.
This doesn’t mean that you should ignore the industry decision makers. To make yourself completely irresistible to the industry, you have to make yourself visible to them simultaneously. This means actively marketing yourself to the industry.
That’s an area where I know exactly how to help you.
See, when making a casting decision, CDs are eager to find the next big thing but they also have to look out for the interests of the studios and the networks.
So, it’s not just about having a big public persona or social following. You also need to have an impeccable industry reputation. Here’s a quick fix for that too.
The truth is that CDs want to book you for big roles, even if you are completely unknown, but what keeps them from it is the fear of casting someone that isn’t ready for the task at hand.
If they cast someone that is unknown and unproven and they ultimately tank, it’s an early retirement for the CD.
This is why you have to make sure that your industry reputation matches your goals and where you want to go. With your reputation in order, CDs will give you a shot at roles that are bigger than what you would normally read for.
That’s what makes this the right shortcut to take. If you take that route, I’m sure that before long I will…
See you at the top,
Scott