Half-pipe skills from back in the day - No helmet? Ha! It was the 80's.
I got some great news today. Last year an actress friend of mine had been urging me to move forward in my plans to consult actors on the business of the acting business for a fee. In reality, I'd been doing it for years, but I wanted to step it up a notch.
This young lady and I would often talk about the business in a general sense, but she wanted to have a sit-down and focus on her career. So she called and said in a very direct manner, "let me know what your fee is and when we can get together". She was right; I needed to move to the next level with it. She was the first person to actually pay me a fee for my time.
Even now we discuss every facet of her career; more because we're friends than client/consultant. During a consultation I'm very straight-forward and specific in my questions about exactly what a client is trying to accomplish. There were obvious areas in her business approach that I knew she could improve on. Her talent wasn't an issue; plus I'm not an acting teacher/coach.
One of the many things we discussed was the utilization of CD workshops. I didn't convince her to attend them; she was already attending them. Matter of fact I met her at years ago.
We also discussed her current agent/manager situation. In my opinion, she was spinning her wheels; it just wasn't working. She asked why I didn't have a manager; I told her I was managing myself. I don't have anything against managers; it's just that I largely feel that if I need a manager at my stage in my career I may really need a better agent. I have great agents through and through and haven't met a manager that I felt would bring more to the table than I already have. There are a lot of great managers out there but I'm not ready for that step just yet. Often times I find that actors give the power to someone else - I encourage actors to drive their careers and not wait to be driven.
Anyway, back to the actress, several months ago a certain great situation arose from one of the workshops she attended. I immediately knew how I felt it should be handled, but I can’t make anyone do anything. Every now and then the situation would come up and I would offer the same advice. Well, on this certain day I was a little “less nice” about what I thought should happen. I think it really clicked for her.
Within 3 days she had a meeting scheduled with a great agent and that agent got her an appointment for a film with a casting director. I didn’t get her the meeting with the agent. What I did was to consult her through the situation and prevent her from letting a great opportunity slip through her hands. This all came about from a CD workshop with a casting associate from a different office.
The film appointment, through no fault of her own, was cancelled; but the agent signed her about 3 weeks ago. She called me today to inform me that she booked an episode of “Criminal Minds”. I am completely thrilled for her! It’s her first job in two years and I must admit, I feel like my professional guidance made a difference.
This young lady and I would often talk about the business in a general sense, but she wanted to have a sit-down and focus on her career. So she called and said in a very direct manner, "let me know what your fee is and when we can get together". She was right; I needed to move to the next level with it. She was the first person to actually pay me a fee for my time.
Even now we discuss every facet of her career; more because we're friends than client/consultant. During a consultation I'm very straight-forward and specific in my questions about exactly what a client is trying to accomplish. There were obvious areas in her business approach that I knew she could improve on. Her talent wasn't an issue; plus I'm not an acting teacher/coach.
One of the many things we discussed was the utilization of CD workshops. I didn't convince her to attend them; she was already attending them. Matter of fact I met her at years ago.
We also discussed her current agent/manager situation. In my opinion, she was spinning her wheels; it just wasn't working. She asked why I didn't have a manager; I told her I was managing myself. I don't have anything against managers; it's just that I largely feel that if I need a manager at my stage in my career I may really need a better agent. I have great agents through and through and haven't met a manager that I felt would bring more to the table than I already have. There are a lot of great managers out there but I'm not ready for that step just yet. Often times I find that actors give the power to someone else - I encourage actors to drive their careers and not wait to be driven.
Anyway, back to the actress, several months ago a certain great situation arose from one of the workshops she attended. I immediately knew how I felt it should be handled, but I can’t make anyone do anything. Every now and then the situation would come up and I would offer the same advice. Well, on this certain day I was a little “less nice” about what I thought should happen. I think it really clicked for her.
Within 3 days she had a meeting scheduled with a great agent and that agent got her an appointment for a film with a casting director. I didn’t get her the meeting with the agent. What I did was to consult her through the situation and prevent her from letting a great opportunity slip through her hands. This all came about from a CD workshop with a casting associate from a different office.
The film appointment, through no fault of her own, was cancelled; but the agent signed her about 3 weeks ago. She called me today to inform me that she booked an episode of “Criminal Minds”. I am completely thrilled for her! It’s her first job in two years and I must admit, I feel like my professional guidance made a difference.
http://www.stephonfuller.com/consultations.html
2 comments:
Please post more pics from "back in the day" I love it!
Love the former 80s skateboarder...
Mr. Heitz.
Ha! I knew you'd appreciate that shot.
Post a Comment