The Future Of The Agenting Business?

Irving "Swifty" Lazar.  Agent extraordinaire.

Fast-talking, cigar-chomping, Swifty is the picture that many of us have when envisioning the archetypal talent agent.  The bombastic ten-percenter, to use Variety-speak.  Back in the day, there were hundreds of them, often occupying offices cheek-by-jowl in edifices along The Rialto; working the phones - later fax machines and email - and hustling to book their clients and collect however many ten-percent commissions were possible.

Nowadays, agents are consolidating, diversifying and integrating vertically.  Congloms like CAA, William Morris and ICM have become powerhouses that not only rep performers, but other creatives - below and above the line - and market whole packages which include almost every element in an entertainment project, from the script and stars on down to the day-players.  The specter of these behemoths getting too big and crushing the rank-and-file actor is one reason that (legacy) SAG voted not to approve their long-standing ATA agreement.  Equity and (legacy) AFTRA both have franchise agreements, but the actor's relationship with agencies has changed and we will never go back to the old model.

There used to be an ant hill-like traffic throughout New York City.  As breakdowns came over the wires, assistants would assemble packages of headshots; messengers would pick up and deliver same to the myriad casting directors and auditions would be appointed.  My mother was an actress.  In her day - the 1950s - one would "make the rounds" of agents and producers.  It was a personal, face-to-face business, and casting directors were the receptionists who pulled photos from a file cabinet drawer.

Today, with the advent of the daily Breakdown Services casting is almost exclusively via the web, and the movement of physical client materials is less now that the digital age is here. More and more, electronic submissions are becoming the norm - even for theatre jobs.  In Los Angeles it is now extremely rare for hard copy photo/resumes to make their way from agent to casting director.  More middlemen stand between the actor and his or her job.

There are exceptions, of course. Breakdown Services has a service called Actors' Access.  When casting directors are willing to have unrepresented actors submit themselves, they might post a breakdown on AA.  Usually these are postings for off-types, or for low-paying gigs, but every now and again an actor has an opportunity to self-submit for a choice job and the playing field is an equal one for represented and non-represented alike.

I always say, "my picture won't get me called in, but let me into your office and I will charm the pants off you." There is far less face-to-face in our business. Starting in the 1970s, especially with the advent of solitary women running offices as well as the decaying safety situation in cities like New York, office doors started staying locked.  ("Please place photos in mail slot," and the like.)  I was with one agency for three years before I actually met my agent!

I know what my capabilities and - dare I say - "type" are better than anyone else.  Perhaps it's time to introduce what has been a common practice in the UK for may years - that of the collective agency.  Collective agencies are registered with British Equity, which is analogous to the franchise agreements that American agencies have with the performers' unions.  They are run by actors, for actors.  Commissions go into a pot to run the agency and what is left over is shared.

This approach would not be for every American actor, but there certainly are a great many of us who would prefer repping ourselves and keeping the commissions.  Many of us want more of a control of our careers, and this would be one way to achieve that.  Actors' Equity has a robust franchise agreement and good relationship with its franchisees.  SAG-AFTRA, though, currently has no agreement with agencies who negotiate the extant SAG contracts.  Perhaps a good place to start?

Here a few websites for collective agencies in the UK: Performance Actors, Denmark Street Management, 1984 Personal Management.

Freelance

I have worked quite extensively in Europe and just returned from a tour in Germany.  We did 23 different cities in 6 weeks and put in over 4000  miles (6400 km). We had one stretch where we played a matinee in one town, did an evening performance in another, then back the following day to the first city and then the evening in the second city.  Only those who negotiated for it got any extra money, and no one got enough sleep.

One does not have to work long in another country before realizing that American actors have the best working standards in the world.  A few years ago, in partnership with Fédération Internationale des Acteurs or FIA, Equity hosted Sankwe Michael Nkambole, who was then the president of the National Arts Association of Zambia (NATAAZ).  We showed Michael around New York, took him to see a few shows and had him as a guest at one of our monthly Council meetings.  He let us in on the state of the theatre in his country. Many of our actors snicker at seemingly frivolous requirements like the "Equity cot," while in Michael's country, when a production there got a bit controversial, and angered faction burned the theatre down.

In Germany, the arts are state-supported.  Most medium to large city have a Stadtheater or city theatre, and each of Germany's 16 states or Länder have their own Staatsheater.  These facilities are as good or better than anything we have on Broadway.  Most have full staffs of stagehands, stage management, front of house personnel, actors, dancers, orchestra, ballet corps, etc.  Actors get a 2-year contract and are therefore civil servants.  The idea of a freelance actor for the most part, does not exist in the consciousness of those in the lively arts.  Though the romance of words like "Broadway," and "Hollywood" resonate with German actors, when I explain the day-to-day life of auditions, meetings, agents, staged readings and the realities of the 90/10 ratio of unemployed/working, they are horrified and grateful that they are where they are.

They still long for America, though.

Though my tour did not involve anyone blowing up the theatre, I was still wanting many of the standards and protections afforded me as an Equity member in the States.  Though the GDBA Genossenschaft Deutsche Bühnen-Angehöriger (the German theatrical union) certainly has its standards and practices, it is nowhere near ours.

American actors have the idea that they are out battling the elements all alone.  So many long for a greater feeling of community.  Do you remember before you had your Equity card?  Having the card seemed like an unattainable goal; one that was prized and coveted.  How long did it take for some of us to lose that sense of accomplishment and fall into the jaded, been-there-done-that feeling that being an Equity member is now but a veritable tax which one is subjected to.

I got involved in things Equity like many, in that I was angry and "wanted to tell those clowns down there" a thing or two.  Very quickly did I find that I could not only affect change for the greater good, (as well as my own) but that I was part of a very vital community of artists and business people.  Yes, I am a free lance - roaming the countryside plying my trade - but I am also surrounded by a collective populace heading in the same direction.  It's a voluble, passionate, gregarious and talented group.  And I am one of them.

You can be, too.  Go to a quarterly membership meeting; join a committee (there is a committee for just about any facet of life in the theatre; attend a Council or regional board meeting as an observer (any member in good standing has this right) or run for Council.  You will get back much more than you give.