I meet a lot of people who are aspiring. Not per-spiring (well, that too), but mostly aspiring. Like an aspiring actor, an aspiring writer, an aspiring singer. I’m going to have to stop now and see how many words I can find using the letters a-s-p-i-r-i-n-g. Sorry, I’m a Boggle fanatic.
Okay, here goes…
sap, sir, sing, sings, ring, rings, ping, pings, pairing, pairings, sparing, siring, spring, grip, grips, grin, grins, air, airing, airings, sprain, grain, pain, pains, raising, praising
All right, I won’t bore you any more. I think it’s interesting that most of them relate to the arts in some way. Especially “pain.” Just kidding! Sort of.
To me, someone who is aspiring is a dreamer. Not the bad kind of dreamer, the good kind. One who sees themselves doing something that hardly anyone else can see them doing. But when I meet these people, and they introduce themselves as an aspiring whatever, I always tell them the same thing. That word doesn’t exist in the arts because if they are serious about their dreams then they already are the writer, the singer, the actor, the whatever. What they mean to say is they want to get paid for it.
So one of the first steps in the entertainment industry for most people who want to get paid is to first get an agent. The “Catch-22” has often been described and I’ll repeat it here just in case you haven’t heard it. To get a job, you need an agent. To get an agent, you need a job.
It’s brutal, I know. But I’ve often thought about agents and their roles. The legit ones get paid when you work, not before. Many take 10% of your gross pay. So let’s say you’re an actor. Would your agent rather see you get a role that pays $9500 an episode on a long-running series rather than a four month run at a 100-seat theater doing “Our Town” with the cast splitting the door 50/50 with the house? Of course! I’m sure you would, too. But would that same agent rather see you get a mindless, long-running series at $9500 an episode rather than a smart independent movie that could catapult your career but pays scale? That’s a tough one. Some agents are in for the long haul, others aren’t.
It’s even more complicated when we look at agents who have nothing to do with the entertainment business. I’m talking, of course, about real estate and insurance agents. Now, those people usually get paid by commission. So if you’re a buyer, does your real estate agent want to negotiate the lowest price or just get you into the house as fast as possible? And if you’re looking for life insurance, does the agent really care how long you live or die?
I hope I’m wrong, but the cynic in me says you have to always be on the lookout. Agents are usually necessary, but they can be a friend or foe depending on the situation. The bottom line, for me: Never stop being your own advocate.