“Should I Send Newsletter Updates To Casting Agencies?”

I think the newsletter on it’s face value is neither here nor there. It sounds good but I think it’s time you could spend doing something far more effective. You want to stop doing anything that you are not 100% convinced is going to lead you where you want to go.

The only way you know if something meets that criteria is if it was part of a plan you drew up that begins with where you are and ends where you want to be.

It’s like asking do you think we should stop in Buffalo on the way to LA? Well, is it on the way or isn’t it?

It’s pretty simple. Is sending out a newsletter a necessity to getting acting jobs?

If it is, do it. If it isn’t stop immediately.

Stop doing anything you are not 100% sure is a necessity to have an acting career. Then when you are left with nothing that you were doing before, you are liberated.

You are now free to choose your goals, then draw up a plan to achieve them. Then you ask yourself, how to enact the plan.

Would you do something random as part of a plan or would you do things directly?

It’s like the job sites like monster.com. You can submit to them but no one on the other end knows who you are so you are buying lottery tickets.

If you know where you want to work, why not spend some time getting to know the company and some of it’s people and work your way in there.

A little focus goes a long way. Lack of focus leads nowhere in particular.

You have to do things that are leading somewhere specific or you won’t get anywhere specific.

Newsletters and such are kind of a substitute from having real relationships with people.

It’s similar to an actor website. Actor websites are another boondoggle. You spend days and days on them and then you realize that no one is going to see it. Then you try to get them to look at it and if they do, what will happen? Is the material there going to make them weep with emotion or laugh hysterically? If the material is not amazing, what’s the point of advertising it?

I think reels are one of the worst things an actor can have. If you have done something, just say you’ve done it. It might be crap. But they don’t know until they see it, so if you have done a lot of weak projects, why put them on display. Just talk about them and let people’s imaginations allow them to believe they were good projects.

What you have done in the past is actually irrelevant. It’s what you can do now that counts so if you know you can do good work now, tell them that and get in front of them. If you can’t say that, then get to the point you can and in the meantime work the relationships by helping out and showing what a great person you are.

But the second you put it up on the web, everyone gets to stop using their imagination and they just start using their eyes and ears and it’s not going to be that impressive, unless you have done amazing work and you are not the one to judge your own work. If others don’t say, “OMG that was amazing,” don’t put it up.

In any case, if you have one single relationship with a real CD, why do you need a site? You just read for them which is a far better way of showing your skills doing something they are casting specifically for, not trying to translate what you have done in the past into what they are casting for now. Always better to get into the room and be judged on what you do that moment. And if you were so amazing you had an amazing reel, what the hell is stopping from you from banging down their doors and asking for a read? You’d be crazy not to for both your sakes! You need a career, and they need talent! It’s a perfect match.

Most actors don’t work on their skills or themselves enough to feel that way about themselves. If you felt like you were very talented, how can you allow yourself not to be seen by people? It would be a crime to everyone, so either get out there and show yourself or get your skills and confidence to the point where you do.

It’s one or the other. There is no middle ground other than working for them and building a relationship while you build your skills.

You remind them you exist but what’s more important is what they think and feel about you personally. If you’re a stranger, you’re a stranger. If you’re a friend and confidant, newsletters can look kind of desperate.

If I got a newsletter from a very talented person I knew well, I would think, “WTF is this? Why don’t they pick up the phone and call me or ask me to lunch? It looks like they have no confidence in themselves.”

I know the feeling because I get all sheepish around CD’s for some stupid reason, especially when I secretly know I’m 10x bigger/stronger/faster than them. Do research on them and find things in common or get involved in events they are involved in. Festivals, conventions, etc. Get involved in their lives.