Expert: Peter Messaline - 12/2/2008

Question
Hi Peter, my name is Alex and I'm 15.  My parents and I are looking at getting me an agent and I just have few questions.  I know that one needs a headshot, resume and cover letter.  First of all, when you go to a photographer, do they take multiple photos and then let you choose one to go with?  And afterward, is it normal to just get one 8x10 print from that photographer and have it duplicated by Argentum or a company like that?  Secondly, since I am 15, should my cover letter be written by one of my parents on behalf of me?  Third of all, as far as acting classes go, should we really invest a lot in them before getting an agent (I already have lots of stage experience and have taken several acting workshops)?  And at what point should I join ACTRA?  I know that some previous experience is necessary to join so it makes sense that one would get an agent first to get that experience.
Thank you very much for your time,
Alex

Answer
I am delighted that your parents are working with you on this, and I'm glad to see you've started to puzzle things out for yourself. I fear, though, that you are all jumping the gun a bit, in various ways:

Fifteen is a rotten age to be starting out, unless you look MUCH younger. Most teenage characters on TV and Film, are played by twenty-plus-ers. The reasons are simple -- the unions and local laws protect minors on set by restricting their hours, which makes for scheduling problems, and the older actors generally have more experience and so are less likely to suddenly turn flakey.

Film and TV work for Canadians in Canada is at an all-time low. The competition for the smallest parts is horrifying, as everybody moves down the food chain looking for work, and the least experienced can get pushed off completely.

Which brings us to agents. Reputable agents live from the percentage they take from their artists' fees. If there's little work about, and lots of dissatisfied actors, an agent wants to cut his list down and bring in only proven money-makers. There will always be a range of ages and types, but see the note above about minors.

My advice would be to get as much acting as you can on your résumé. School is ok, community theatre involvement is good if it keeps going, but working for a professional theatre in any job would look good, and perhaps give you a glimpse into an actor's life. A college course is pretty much a given for beginning actors nowadays, and colleges like to see that your interest in acting isn't just because you flunked all the grades that would have got you into medicine.

Find out all you can about the job of being an actor (790 in the Dewey Decimal system at the library will have books by actors about the real-life career of acting). Don't read star biographies, which are often only lies written down by a hired hand and published by the star's publicity team.
Look at our "The Actor's Survival Kit", which goes into detail about everything in a Canadian actor's life except how to act.

Don't let your dreams die, but start building the foundations under your castles in the sky.