This is a re-post of something I brought up a year ago. These businesses continue to prey on the faith hopes and dreams of performers. It needs to stop.  Education is the key.  Please re-tweet and share!

As a performer it kills me to see my fellow actors and performers getting duped. It’s usually by the same kinds of people every time. You know the ones. ‘Do you want to be the next Hannah Montana or Ashton Kutcher? Has the Lord called you to use your talent to build his kingdom? (that’s an actual quote) Then you need to come down to the SnakeNavel Convention Center and audition for our top agents and managers this Saturday from 10am to blahblahblah.‘  Actors For Christ. Singers For Buddha.  You name it, they’re out there.  Ads in the paper or on a website promising casting info or introductions to casting directors, agents or producers for a fee.   This is a multi-BILLION dollar criminal industry.

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I get it.  These ‘trade shows’ or ‘talent conventions’ give you a chance to meet lots of agents and managers at one time.  But it’s not the agents and managers who get you the work.  Don’t believe me?  Read this.

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Like a slimy used car salesman these businesses promise you the stars and deliver zero.

Question: How do you know if you’re being taken advantage of?
Answer:  Below are the most common scams and how to spot them. (thanks to the Better Business Bureau for their help on this)

Beware of any person, company, ‘talent convention’ or organization who:

1. Asks for up-front money, which may be called “registration,” “consultation,” or “administrative” fees.  Or they require you to ‘audition’ first and then if you’re selected they ask you to pay thousands of dollars for ‘training’ and ‘photo shoots’ with ‘their accredited professionals’ before you meet agents and managers. Legitimate agents work on a commission. They don’t get any money until you get paid for doing the work they have obtained for you.

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2. Pressures you to leave a check or cash deposit or sign a contract immediately. (I’ve been repped by William Morris and ICM and never had to sign a contract.) The agent may insist that you take acting lessons at a particular school or from a particular teacher; or may try to get you to buy expensive photographs, audition tapes, or other services or materials sold by someone he or she suggests. An agent’s time should be spent finding work for his or her client, not selling products and services. One of the biggest complaints from casting people? Actors spend WAY too much money on photos that don’t even look like the person who walks in the door. Money doesn’t make you photogenic.

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3. Displays pictures of famous models or celebrities on the walls to make you believe they are represented by that agency, although they’re not.

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4. Uses names which sound similar to well-known agencies. Fraudulent companies will sometimes do this to give the incorrect impression that they are connected to a legitimate entity.

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5. Places phony ads in the help wanted section of newspapers that say something like, “new faces wanted” for commercials, movies or modeling or claim that “no experience is necessary.”

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6. Charges you money to speak with agents over the phone. There are several websites who do this. Agents and managers are busy people but they won’t charge you to speak to them. They may not return your calls right away but that’s part of the game. No one should charge you on their behalf.

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Problems or complaints about an agent or an agency may be referred to the Better Business Bureau, state Department of Licensing and Regulation or consumer protection agency in the city where the company is located. To obtain helpful consumer information on a particular agency, you will need to contact the local BBB that serves that particular city.  Keep in mind that the Better Business Bureau recommends that you do your OWN homework, their accreditation is not an endorsement of any business or entity, they are simply the first step.  There’s no substitute for common sense.

There is no magic formula for success. Following your heart will take you to greater heights than following your wallet.   If it sounds too good to be true…well, you know the rest.  Here’s to your success!

-Kahlil (at) GigSmacked (dot) com

How bad do you want to ‘make it’?

From Dave Chappelle’s appearance on Inside The Actor’s Studio:

“My dad says, ‘to be an actor is a lonely life. Everybody wants to make it and you might not make it’. Then I said to my dad, it depends on what ‘making it’ is. He says, ‘what do you mean?’ I said, well you’re a teacher. If I can make a teacher’s salary doing comedy I think that’s better than being a teacher. And he started laughing.”   His father’s advice, though, grows in significance when considered alongside the backdrop of Chappelle’s latter successes:

“He said ‘Name your price in the beginning. If it ever gets more expensive than the price you named, get out of there’.

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In 2002 I landed an audition for a well funded independent film.  It was being helmed by a director you’ve heard of (I had to sign a confidentiality  agreement) and had already been accepted to Sundance.  The script was making waves in Hollywood and they hadn’t shot a single frame.  It was one of the best scripts I had ever read and I just knew it was going to be my big break.  The role was inspirational and the story was timeless.

My role was that of a homeless man, not a lead, but a character with a significant amount of influence in the story and  a decent amount of screen time.  It was one of those rare occasions where the producers were actually looking for a new face, an unknown.

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My audition was at 10am.  I dressed the part, arrived at 7am, parked a few blocks away and slept behind the dumpster in the corner of the casting office parking lot until the assistants arrived to open the office for the day.  They glanced at me with disgust, snickering and rolling their eyes as they emptied the garbage and sipped their Starbucks.  When the producers’ Bentleys and Benz’s started arriving the treatment continued, but I kept my composure.

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At 9:50am I walked into the office and placed my head-shot and resume on the desk and signed in.  The look of horror on the faces of the casting assistants was priceless.  ’This can’t possibly be the guy in the headshot’.   I was unshaven, unshowered, disheveled and I smelled like piss.  The other guys sitting in the waiting room who were also auditioning for the role had plucked eyebrows, bleached teeth, tight shirts with bulging muscles and dirty jeans on.  They were speechless.

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When it was my turn the producers immediately recognized me from the parking lot.  We went through the motions and did the lines and they offered me the role on the spot.  Not only was I the only actor who was off-book, they also feared that the level of commitment I showed didn’t exist anymore.  They offered me a handshake (and a shower) and told me I was a breath of fresh air.

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A week after that audition I got a phone call saying that due to a disagreement between the creative team and the financiers, the gig fell through.  It had literally vanished into thin air and they didn’t know when/if it would be filming in the future but they thanked me for being willing to ‘pay the price’.

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I hate ‘almost stories’ and I try very hard to forget them because ‘almost’ doesn’t count.  But the lesson I learned that day still gets me out of the bed in the morning.

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Whatever challenges lie ahead, I still take comfort in knowing that I don’t have any competition.  Because I believe that I’m the only one who’s willing to pay the price, and sleep behind the dumpster.

How about you?

-Kahlil (at) gigsmacked (dot) com