Edie Falco:
“Just make sure you’re always working on something. Representation or not.”
(arranged by Carmichael Phillips)
(Edie Falco in Nurse Jackie)
“Just make sure you’re always working on something. Representation or not.”
Gaining meaningful representation is usually one of the most difficult and frustrating tasks that an actor undertakes. While you don’t need a talent agent to work as an actor, you certainly need an agent to compete for the best jobs and roles.
The most sought-after, highest-paying gigs are very much exclusive. It takes the right agent to get you in the room. And yet, if you’ve never been in some of those rooms, it can be very difficult to get an agent.
“The ‘getting representation’ thing is so complicated. It took me a long time. Because, for the most part, people (agents) don’t necessarily want to work with you unless you have some credits to your name. And you can’t get credits to your name without representation. You know, one of those catch-22 things,” said Edie Falco (Sopranos, Nurse Jackie), in an interview with Vanity Fair.
So, what should an actor do when you don’t have the right agent who can get you into the right audition rooms? According to the Emmy Award winning actress, the answer is to not focus exclusively on what you do not have – an agent – and, instead, focus on what you do have control over: your work.
“I just say work. Work! Work! Work!”
“I just say work. Work! Work! Work! Get a magazine. Do plays with friends. Do student films. Just make sure you’re always working on something. Representation or not,” said Falco, emphatically.
The challenge of gaining (and keeping) good representation is a challenge every actor faces at various times. The fact that you have this challenge is only the opening chapter of your acting story, and that of the countless actors who have come before you.
How you respond to the challenge – by focusing on improving the quality of your acting product while you patiently seek a proper agent – is what leads to a storybook ending.
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