Hi all—someone in another lounge asked if I would start a thread here, so here goes…I’m a former talent agent at one of the largest union-franchised agencies in our region (Ohio/Pennsylvania/Indiana-I live in Cleveland). They thought I could provide a little insight into the industry, which I’m happy to do.I thought the easiest way to do that would be for people to post questions on this thread. Some important things to note: *things work slightly differently in a market like this than they do in larger markets like LA, Atlanta, or New York *it’s been over a decade since I worked as an agent (SAG-AFTRA were still two separate unions back then) *we didn’t rep writers or filmmakers, nor have I at any point in my career *much of the work I was booking talent on was for commercials, industrials, voiceovers, and print work…some film/TV, a little runway and live events (no theatre) If you have specific questions, post them here and I’ll be happy to answer them when I have time. I don’t spend a to. of time on Stage32 but do check in periodically, so if you don’t har anything right away please don’t get discouraged. I’m getting ready for the horror film festival that I created called Cleveland Horror Fest, our inaugural event is Oct 1st - 3rd here in Cleveland, so I’m super tied up with that at the moment. But happy to answer some questions when I hae a little bit of time.
Acting : Former talent agent by Brian Jeffery Bowers
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This is fantastic, thank you, Brian Jeffery Bowers! And congrats on the Cleveland Horror Fest!
Since you created a fest (congrats!), can you speak to the importance of actors to create their own work? Especially in smaller markets?
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Congrats on the Cleveland Horror Fest, Brian! I'm a Board Member for the Burbank International Film Festival, so I know how much work it takes to organize. Kudos to you! I'm a Talent Manager in Los Angeles, so if anyone has a question for the L.A. market, please refer them to me. Look forward to reading your insights.
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Matthew Cornwell Absolutely, actors should be creating their own work. But it's not a substitute for getting out there and going to auditions and doing the work for other people (clients). Think of your own work as an additional stream of income...not your main one, but one that can be there to support you when your main income stream is running dry. This is especially important in smaller markets--you need to be able to jump back and forth between working on your projects and working on other peoples' projects.
And Kurt Patino absolutely, happy to send folks your way. My knowledge and experience is pretty specific to my market, I know for a fact that there's plenty of really big differences between the markets in LA and Ohio. The basics are the same, but there's much that's different.