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Iii Class

June 27th, 2010 admin No comments

Iii Class

Acting Part: III

Acting Scams: Part 3: The Hidden fees Send us your headshot-along with $49.95 for internet fees

By Acting Magazine Staff

(More information found on www.actingmagazine.com/theatre-ActingScams3.html)

In Part 3 of our series on Acting Scams, we explore your new "agent" and their hidden fees. We must place the term "agent" in quotation marks because the word "agent" can be used (and abused) in many different ways. All agents do not operate the same way. Reputable agents charge nothing up front, make money only from commissions from their working actors, and offer valuable career guidance and advice.

Then, you have the other "agents" who will gladly represent you-for the right price. Those prices come in different ways and at different amounts. Some come in the form of an expensive product or service. For example, an agent may force an actor into taking mandatory in-house acting classes prior to representation. Some agents accept actors into an agency, only to charge them for expensive, unnecessary photo sessions and portfolios. And then there are the hidden fees....

Here's the set-up. You submit your acting headshot and resume to an agent. You perhaps have been passed over by other local agents in the past and you hope that this time you will finally achieve representation.

A few weeks after submission, you receive a letter. You've been accepted! This new "agent" agrees to represent you. The agent then raises your hopes by claiming that many of his/her actors have been working steadily, and you can too! He just needs a small monetary investment from you in order to get you started. He may, for example, ask for $49.95 upfront to put your headshot on a website. With that "investment" he claims, the agency will be able to market you more effectively to casting directors in town.

The $49.95 seems a small investment for you, especially since you now believe you have an agent. Believing you are on your way to becoming a full-time working actor, you gladly pay the small fee.

With money in hand, you never hear from your "agent" again.

While the $49.95 they scammed from you may not seem like much, just imagine if 5,000 other hopeful actors were snookered the same way. Dead Giveaways

Reputable agents almost never ask for money up front. A general rule of thumb is that if any agent asks for money up front, immediately turn them down until you've had a chance to thoroughly investigate and ask other actors who may have used the same service. There are many phony talent agents who make money by using your insatiable desire to become a working actor against you. Legitimate talent agents make money on commission, not bogus fees. Any reputable agent will bend over backwards to promote you, rather than bend over backwards to take money out of your pockets. Any expense from an "agent" that is not directly tied to your performance as an actor, is most likely a scam!

About the Author

Charles Todd is a staff writer for Audition Central. Charles has written numerous articles on the art and craft of acting. In addition to being a writer, Charles is also an actor and director.