Situation Two: you meet someone online who works with a Well-Meaning Non-Profit that’s producing an evening of new works. The new works are all plays, and need actors… the plays are written by non-playwrights as part of a community out-reach program. The shows will require rehearsals, go up for one night only, and will involve mostly non-professional actors (and some who are professionals). Should you do the show?

Situation Three: your college friend, Earnest McGee, wrote a play that’s been accepted into a Play Festival. The play is very serious in nature, contains very controversial material, and is mostly stage movement and very few lines. There is a role you could play, with a lot of emotional vulnerability, and room for expression. And there’s nudity. Should you do the show?

Nothing is Ever Free

At one point or another, every actor is confronted with one of the situations above (or a close variation). If it isn’t performing live, it’s working on a student film, or an internet short, or some other performance venue… and it’s always “free”.

But is it really free?

Every time you commit to performing something, you’re committing your Time, your Energy, and your Personal Resources (especially if you’re also expected to donate costuming or props). That doesn’t sound free to me–it sounds like the actor is paying to perform. And that’s exactly what’s being asked… you are being asked to make a donation: your Time, your Energy, your Personal Resources.

And that gets expensive very quickly.

Exposure, Experience, and Getting Ahead

Most actors do free work because they’ll Get Exposure, Gain Experience, or in some undefined way Get Ahead. At least, that’s why we think we work for free.

The truth of the matter is that most of us perform for free because someone liked us enough to ask us to perform.

Part of being an actor is dealing with constant rejection (submissions for auditions, the audition itself, the callback, the lack of a callback, the reviews, the applause, etc). We put ourselves out there a lot, and most of the time, we get nothing for our efforts. So when someone asks us to work–even for free–we get a sense of reward and accomplishment, and we didn’t even have to do anything yet!

And that feeling is nice!

But a feeling is not enough reason to work “for free”.

Exposure

Most of the time, working for free gets you absolutely Zero Exposure. When anyone brings up Exposure as a reason for spending your Time, Energy, and Personal Resources, ask yourself: What kind of Exposure can I really expect?

Here’s the good kinds of Exposure:

• Press
• Agents
• Casting Directors, Producers, or Other Industry
• Professional Content Creators (writers/directors with established careers)

If none of those people attend your unpaid event, you got Zero Exposure. You might have performed for an audience, and that’s nice, but you were working for free in exchange for Exposure. If you got no Exposure, you got nothing for your Time, Energy, and Personal Resources.

Experience

Experience is a tough one… we all need to work in our craft to hone our skills. But Experience is a funny thing… it’s only worthwhile and helpful when it’s–well–worthwhile and helpful. Otherwise it isn’t Experience, it’s Repeating Yourself, which is another word for Practice. And while Practice Makes Perfect, it doesn’t require you to do something you don’t want to do, or to invest in a project that will not result in Growth, Knowledge, or new Relationships.

The good kinds of Experience:

• Stepping Into a New Format (Stage –> Film, Film –> Stage, etc)
• Resume Building (working with respected institutions or individuals)
• Reel Building
• New Works (short or preliminary projects that have a future paid possibility)

If you are new to acting, then there really is plenty of room for donating your Time, Energy, and Personal Resources in exchange for Experience. But if you are a somewhat established actor, with a good resume, a reel, and relationships with other professionals, then the opportunity for truly worthwhile Experience requires a bit more judgement. Is that project really offering Experience, or is it just another thing to do?

Getting Ahead

It’s impossible to determine which projects are going to result in a major success. Who could have predicted that the Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity would be the huge hits that they are? Or that the musical version of Debby Does Dallas would move to Broadway?

But it’s no stretch to say that most of the movies and plays that are created every day, all over the world, are going to be flops. They’re going nowhere. They just are… because it takes a lot of work to create these projects, and they aren’t all going to be successful. Even the really good ones.

With this in mind, it’s impossible to predict which projects are going to see success, and which will not.

Which means you can never, ever do a project for free in exchange for Getting Ahead.

Because no-one can ensure that will happen.

And if you’re doing a project for free in exchange for the possibility of Getting Ahead, you might as well stand on the corner of Broadway and 42nd Street with a sign that says “Sign Me to a Lead Role in your Paying Project”.

After all, it’s possible that it could work!

Professional Actors Should Work for Free… Sometimes

There are times when you should work for free (or, rather, donate your Time, Energy, and Personal Resources). And those times are different for everyone… but you can figure out which to accept and which to turn down by running the opportunity through your b*ll$h*t filter.

1. Ask about the realities of Exposure, and how whoever is offering the opportunity is going to ensure you’ll get it.
   If they can’t ensure you’ll get Exposure, assume you won’t.
2. Ask yourself about the true extent of the Experience you will gain.
   If you have to struggle to determine what Experience you might gain, assume it’s none.
3. Forget about Getting Ahead.
   It’s possible no matter what it is you’re doing.

If you’ve evaluated those three things, and you can come up with a solid answer, then the project might deserve your Time, Energy, and Personal Resources.

If you’ve evaluated those three things, and the answer is “Nothing in Return for my Time, Energy, and Personal Resources”, then I ask you:

“Why on Earth would you do the project?”

• “Because the group/project/event is something I care about, and would support with a paid donation.”
  Great! Donate away… that’s a fine reason.
• “Because I want to help out my friend/colleague/whomever.”
  Do they help you out? Is this a reciprocal relationship? Great! Donate away!
• “Because I think it might be fun!”
  We all do things for fun. And that’s okay. But knowing you’re doing something just for the good feeling it gives you is very different than doing something because you expect to get something out of it.

The Real Cost of Free

You should know that when you work for free, you are establishing your price: free. Anyone who hires you for free is going to expect you to work for free in the future. Why wouldn’t they? You’ve done it before!

Additionally, any free project you’ve committed to performing with is a possible conflict for some other paid opportunity that can come up in the future. And since a responsible, caring performer doesn’t ditch on a show, it can lead to some very emotionally turbulent decisions. Talk to any performer who’s been in the business for some time and they can share a moment of having to choose between taking a paying gig, and hurting the feelings (or finances) of someone to whom they’ve promised a free gig.

So choose wisely.

When you expect Exposure, Experience, or to Get Ahead and what you get it Bupkis, it leads to feelings of frustration, anger, depression, and more.

But knowing what you will truly get out of donating your very valuable self to a project is not only empowering, it allows you to spend your Time, Energy, and Personal Resources on the things you want to see benefit from them.

An additional, personal rule of thumb: never work for free.

Even if you’re getting Exposure, Experience, or (God forbid) Getting Ahead, always request some kind of payment of value… even if it’s $5 that you turn right around to donate back.

You’re establishing that you do not work “for free”, but that you are willing to work at a discounted rate for the right project.

And who can’t respect that?

* This post was inspired by a similar post by David Hahn regarding Unpaid Gigs for Musicians.

I had the great pleasure of appearing on a recent episode of HGTV’s new show Home Rules with Fran Harris, taking family portraits for the Boomer Family.

As part of the episode’s “rules”, the family needed organization… and Fran decided to make that happen in a fun way through a family calendar featuring seasonal themed photos featuring the Boomer family!

The shoot was a lot of fun (though hectic), and the pictures turned out great!

Check out the episode on HGTV, or watch online here.

More photos after the jump!

It’s tough to be an actor.

Spend any time at all pursuing an acting career, and you’ll realize very quickly just how tough this job can really be.

First you have to find training, then you need a good resume, then you need an amazing headshot, and that’s before you even start looking for auditions!

And once you actually have an audition, the really tough part starts.

Enter the documentary movie Showing Up by Riad Galayini. Featuring interviews with well-know actors like Kristin Chenoweth, Eli Wallach, and Bill Irwin, and cast by Jim Carnahan, this film really exposes the fear, uncertainty, and courage that actors experience on a day-to-day basis while auditioning.

The movie isn’t out yet, but if the clips online now are any indication, it should be a very powerful and moving film for actors, and anyone who knows an actor and the struggles of being a performing artist.

Check out the clips section and be inspired!

You know the ones I’m talking about, the headshots with four different poses, in four different costumes?

We’ve all seen them… especially in out-of-date “business of acting” books. And we’ve all laughed at how ridiculous that template now looks in today’s sleek, modern world.

But those old comp cards were on to something!

Seeing is Believing (Headshots Too!)

It’s always easier for a casting director to see the character they’re casting than it is to imagine the character being cast. So those comp cards make a weird kind of sense… but how can an actor take advantage of that “seeing is believing” mentality, without dressing up in silly costumes?

This is exactly why actors shoot multiple “looks” (usually 3 or 5) in a headshot session. They do this to establish different shots that hint at a particular character type. And while you won’t print an 8×10 headshot with all those looks on it, you should upload multiple looks to online profiles so you can submit an appropriate shot for an appropriate role.

The Right Headshot for the Role

Submitting for a felon? How about the grumpier looking headshot with the stubble.

Submitting for a doctor? The headshot with the button-up and the trusting eyes.

A day-laborer? The headshot  with the t-shirt and the bulging biceps.

Backstage has an excellent article on exactly this kind of thing… check it out, and get more auditions using multiple headshot looks!

Do These Questions Sound Familiar?

• Why is being an actor so tough?
• Why is it so impossible to get an agent?
• Why do other actors get called instead of me?

Of course they do! If you haven’t asked them yourself a thousand times, you’ve probably heard them from a friend, or a cast-member, or a dozen other people you know.

There are better questions you can ask… questions that lead to personal accountability, and progress.

Ask the Question Behind the Question

I just finished an excellent book, QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability at Work and in Life, and I have to say it’s one of the most compelling things I’ve read in quite a while.

It’s a quick read (probably about half an hour), and it really points out the negative, whiny quality of questions we pose as business people, actors, and just in everyday life.

Instead of the questions above, isn’t it much for helpful to ask the following:

• What can I do to better enjoy being an actor?
• How can I get an agent’s attention?
• What can I change to compete with other actors?

Same fundamental questions, but phrased in a way that allows personal action, and ownership of getting past obstacles.

Pick up the book!

It was a recommendation, and I’m loving the challenge of using it in my own life…

For more information about the chosen charity, Partners in Health, visit http://act.pih.org/page/group/HeadshotsforHaiti

On Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Headshots-for-Haiti/255183729628

On Twitter: http://twitter.com/headshots4haiti

It’s “How do I get an agent?”

I hear this question from young actors, older actors new to the business, and from parents who have a child just getting started.

The short answer? Hard work and patience… like everything else in an actor’s life.

The long answer is a little more complicated, and involves asking yourself a lot of questions. Questions like “Why do I want an agent? Why would an agent want me? What do I think an agent will do for me? Am I ready for an agent at all?”

The reality is that most actors are not ready to be represented by an agent… and until you are, it’s a waste of time to pursue one. It’s hard to explain how to know when you’re ready, but a big part of it is: are you already booking a lot of things on your own? If the answer is no, then honestly, you should worry more about getting into open call auditions, and getting cast instead of worrying about an agent.

If the answer is yes I’m getting cast all the time, then maybe you should start looking!

But how do you find an agent, and which agencies should you pursue?

LA Casting Director Mark Sikes has two recent posts up on his blog that I really like, addressing this topic. The first post, Kiss a Lot of Frogs, reminds actors that landing a good agent is a process… and it can take time, work, and patience. The second post, Agencies A-Z, outlines the tiers of agencies out there in the Entertainment World (yes, some agents are better than others).

Both posts are worth reading, and give a little more insight into the murky world of finding an agent.

Another good place to start is at your bookstore. K. Callan has a series of books that give valuable insight into specific agent offices–and while they aren’t a definitive guide, they do allow a savvy actor to have a jumping-off point for searching out a good agent.

How many fans can a beginning actor have?

I don’t mean someone who is on TV right now, or on stage in NYC, or even in a commercial somewhere on the internet. I’m talking about a beginning actor, new to the business, and just getting started.

During the recent NYC headshots contest I sponsored, I found out… the overwhelming winner of the contest, Tahir Register, received 426 votes–and this is from an actor who is still in college! Tahir is just on the threshold of his career, and yet he already has a web presence, has active fans on Facebook, and runs his own record label. And he has 426 people who believe in him enough to not only support him, but to follow through with action on his behalf. Did I mention he’s 19?

Here’s a young actor with his head on straight… as I mentioned yesterday in my post about Lucas Cruikshank, becoming succesful as an actor is almost entirely dependent on hard work. Yes, talent is a major factor, but agents, casting directors, producers, and everyone in between take for granted that an actor has talent. There are millions of talented performers out there… but very few who are willing to put in hard work.

How do you find talent?

Have you ever wondered how new talent is discovered?

Without fail it’s almost always through relationships. Personal relationships, accidental relationships, work relationships… in business (and entertainment is a business), we tend to trust our colleagues and personal contacts more than anything else. So when an actor comes recommended by a personal contact, entertainment professionals are more likely to listen up.

So how does having 426 friends make this happen?

Simple math, folks!

Why your acting career depends on math

You’ve heard of six degrees of separation, right? This is the idea that if a person is one step away from each person they know and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people they know, then everyone is at most six steps away from any other person on Earth.

If you have two “fans” (let’s say your best friend and your cousin), don’t you think those people would do anything they could to support you? See the play you’re in, vote for you in a contest, watch you in a small role on TV? And don’t you think they would probably tell their friends and family about your next performance? If your two fans each know four people, then that’s a total of ten people who could somehow end up supporting your career.

Now do the math on 426 fans.

If each of those people only knows two people, that’s 1,278 people! Now it’s hard to believe that Tahir’s 426 fans only know two people each, so I think it’s safe to say that number is about ten times lower than reality. So the real number is upwards of 10,000 people.

What do you think the odds are that out of that many people, someone is in the entertainment industry?

The odds are pretty high!

Promote your acting career, encourage your fans

With Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites, when you promote your acting career, your friends see that information, and pass it along to their friends. With each interaction, there’s a possibility that someone you don’t even know could see your info, check out your website, online demo reel, video clip, song, or whatever it is you do.

But it’s only possible if you have fans.

Our other contest winner, Calvin Winbush, told me that when he was encouraging people to vote for him in the contest, he realized that somehow, many of his friends and connections didn’t even know he was an actor. What a realization! You can bet they know now!

Your connections, your friends, family, work colleagues, your fans are what push you forward in this business. These are the people who will see your plays, watch you on TV, vote for you on American Idol… whatever you are doing as a performer, you can only be successful if people are in the audience. And producers, directors and industry people care first and foremost about butts in seats–audience members.

If you already have an audience, you’re already well on your way to a successful career.

So ask yourself:

• Do you know who your fans are?
• Is it easy for them to find out what you’re up to?
• Do you look like an actor (headshot, resume, photos or demos of performances)?

Your fans are your life-blood… know who they are, and give them a reason to follow you. And be sure to thank them, often, for caring enough to support you. They’re responsible for your success just as much as you are.

Hollywood is full of stories about instant success… actors who were discovered sitting in Soda Parlors or Diners, overnight sensations… and understandably, actors are obsessed with those stories.

But all too often, we miss the important details.

Take for instance, the recent success of Youtube phenomenon Lucas Cruikshank. Here’s a kid who at 16 years old has a website with over 1 million subscribers (the first for Youtube), a development deal with Nickeldeon, and a feature film in the works, all based on the character he created (Fred) and uploaded when he was 13.

Did you get all that?

It’s quick to judge him as another “overnight success”–he just got lucky right?

Come on! This kid has spent how much time at home shooting these videos? Editing? Processing the audio? Uploading? Promoting?

Lucas isn’t an overnight success… he’s a hard worker, and a great role model, even for adults.

An acting career is hard to pursue… but Lucas created his own. Through hard work, dedication, and ingenuity.

And while Fred may make me grind my teeth when I hear his voice, I have a lot of respect for Lucas Cruickshank.