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Aaron Marcus, an actor with 40+ years in the business, says to ask your agent one question: "It's been X months since I've had any auditions; what can I do to get more?" His answer tells you whether to stay or leave.
Aaron Marcus, an actor with 40+ years in the business, says to ask your agent one question: "It's been X months since I've had any auditions; what can I do to get more?" His answer tells you whether to stay or leave.
Is your agent ghosting you and you, you feel like you're just another name on a roster and not getting the auditions that you want and expect? Look, before you decide to leave your agent, you've got to watch this video first because you have to know exactly if and when is the right time to leave your agent and also how to do this. So that you don't ruin your reputation and your career. So in today's quick tip video, I'm going to be sharing with you the one question you absolutely need to ask your agent so you can clearly figure out if it's time to stay or go. Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, and I've been a full-time actor for over 40 years, and I can tell you I am very loyal to my agents. I have a bunch of agents in different markets, and some of them I've been with for 40 years, ever since I started. Having said that, I have left some agents and there were very good reasons for me to leave. So here is something that took me years and years and years to learn, to figure out. And this is what I always do with an agent when I'm just not hearing from them. So I will contact the agent and I don't do this by email, I don't do this by text. I set up a time where either I can go to their office or if they're too far away at least have a phone conversation about this. And here's a sample idea of what I will say. Look, it's been 3 months, 6 months since I've gotten any auditions. with you, or if you're starting with an agent, you've been with an agent for a while, you know, you can say something similar. And I just haven't gotten any auditions, you know, in a long time. Now, the next part is really crucial. I never blame an agent. I never accuse the agent of not doing their job or backing them into a corner by saying, you know, I've been with you for 6 months, I haven't heard anything, you know, are you just forgetting about me? Don't go in that direction. What I do instead is I ask for their advice. So here's the full conversation. Hey, I just wanted to check in with you. It's been 3 months since I've had any auditions. I wanted to ask you, is there anything that you can recommend that I do to try to get more auditions? And by saying, what can I do, instead of blaming the agent, It is incredibly helpful, and I've heard a number of different responses. It might be something like, Aaron, I've been submitting you, and for whatever reason, casting directors just aren't requesting you. Okay, in that case, I'm staying with that agent because they're doing their job, and it's not their fault that casting directors aren't asking for me to come in and read. Another response might be, there just hasn't been anything going on in your category for a while. Okay, well, I understand that too. Sometimes an agent might say, you know what, let's take a look at your headshot. Let's take a look at your resume. Let's take a look at your reel. Maybe it needs updating. Maybe there's something else that you can do that will grab people's attention, you know, in a better way. Those are the kinds of things That I want to hear from an agent. And I would definitely stay with an agent if we're having those kinds of conversations. Now, I would love to hear if you have ever left an agent. Let us know why you decided to leave, how you decided to leave, what that conversation was like, how did it go? And in hindsight, Did you find that it was really helpful? Or, and please be honest with us, did you feel like maybe it was a mistake? So share your comments below. And by the way, I look at every single one of them and will respond. But by sharing your experience with us, that way we can learn from you as well. If you haven't done this yet, don't forget to subscribe, click the notification bell. That way you'll know every time a new video has been uploaded. The, the very, very last thing is if you want to get more information from me, just go to my website, howtoactamodel.com. I'll leave it in the description as well. And if you go to the bottom of the page, you can sign up. You'll get a bonus video. It's 6 Secrets for Mastering Home Auditions. Just my way of saying, uh, welcome to my acting family, and I will send that out to you right away. I am Aaron Marcus, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya. See ya.
