I have spent the past year helping people cast projects here in Nashville.
Fortunately, most of these were paying gigs, so I had legitimate cause to send out my notices to our talent agent community.
In the course of doing this, I have discovered three Nashville agents who express appreciation for the legitimate theatre in so far as they have sent their clients to these auditions. And to non paying gigs as well.
They are - Sharon Smith, Mark Block and Gina Vickery.
I know this because, in addition to meeting their actors, I have also had lovely conversations with all three of these guys. They get it. Actors who like to do stage and need representation that understands them should probably sign with one of these guys.
I'm very excited to be doing an internship with Sharon Smith (www.sharonsmithtalent.com) As we have begun our relationship, Sharon has explained to me this:
She doesn't make money unless actors get jobs.
The question I have right now is - what can we actors do to see that those career making roles get cast out of Nashville?
Sharon has spent a significant portion of her life building a business which is devoted to getting actors work. But the glamorous world of the William Morris agent in LA is not the life of a talent agent in Nashville. Out there it's stars: here it's extra work and local commercials and whether or not your butt crack looks right for the dumb plumber role.
Sharon would much rather be sending her actors to call backs for Spielberg, but whenever one of her clients takes off from here to LA, they dump Sharon for someone in LA, and the bottom line is that that may be their biggest mistake.
Actors, if you want your agent to empower you, you need to empower your agent. We are not living in the dark ages of Broadway and Hollywood. Those energies are awesome and they do define what America has brought to the world history of the acting industries, but that energy is now erupting into cyberspace. Talent is not a geographical phenomenon. It never was, but it really isn't now.
And there's no way that Nashville is going to settle for any kind of "Second City" status.
Come to Nashville and Go to the Theatre
Jaz Dorsey
Director of Education
SOAPIFF
www.soapiff.com
Fortunately, most of these were paying gigs, so I had legitimate cause to send out my notices to our talent agent community.
In the course of doing this, I have discovered three Nashville agents who express appreciation for the legitimate theatre in so far as they have sent their clients to these auditions. And to non paying gigs as well.
They are - Sharon Smith, Mark Block and Gina Vickery.
I know this because, in addition to meeting their actors, I have also had lovely conversations with all three of these guys. They get it. Actors who like to do stage and need representation that understands them should probably sign with one of these guys.
I'm very excited to be doing an internship with Sharon Smith (www.sharonsmithtalent.com) As we have begun our relationship, Sharon has explained to me this:
She doesn't make money unless actors get jobs.
The question I have right now is - what can we actors do to see that those career making roles get cast out of Nashville?
Sharon has spent a significant portion of her life building a business which is devoted to getting actors work. But the glamorous world of the William Morris agent in LA is not the life of a talent agent in Nashville. Out there it's stars: here it's extra work and local commercials and whether or not your butt crack looks right for the dumb plumber role.
Sharon would much rather be sending her actors to call backs for Spielberg, but whenever one of her clients takes off from here to LA, they dump Sharon for someone in LA, and the bottom line is that that may be their biggest mistake.
Actors, if you want your agent to empower you, you need to empower your agent. We are not living in the dark ages of Broadway and Hollywood. Those energies are awesome and they do define what America has brought to the world history of the acting industries, but that energy is now erupting into cyberspace. Talent is not a geographical phenomenon. It never was, but it really isn't now.
And there's no way that Nashville is going to settle for any kind of "Second City" status.
Come to Nashville and Go to the Theatre
Jaz Dorsey
Director of Education
SOAPIFF
www.soapiff.com
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