Thursday, June 10, 2004
My First Career Step
So I did it. I went to my first big networking party in NYC. It wasn’t as much of an audition as I had hoped, but it was definitely a good chance for me to meet a few agents in this city and to start building my list of contacts.
There were hundreds of people at the event and because I attended by myself, I started to feel a bit uncomfortable, having no one to bullshit with while I was waiting in line. I mean, not kidding. Hundreds of people.
I stayed for about an hour and in that time, I connected with five agents, three of whom took my name and info and gave me their’s in return. Initially, I was nervous that I wasn’t going to be able to handle myself in this type of situation. But, everyone was very nice and helpful.
I explained that I was currently working for a non-profit theater company in NYC. They asked which one and when they said they hadn’t heard of it, I told them all about the mission statement and what we have done over the last year. The majority of the agents seemed pretty impressed with my desire to work, regardless of not getting paid or accumulating points to enter into the union.
The hightlight of the experience was when a producer for the agency walked up to me and asked if I would be interested in reading for a role for an upcoming independent film. I immediately said yes and we sat down and talked for a few minutes. He (Frank) explained that he liked my look and resume and that, in a couple of weeks, he was doing an audition for the lead roles of his low budget movie.
My excitement burned in my stomach as I listend to Frank describe the movie and the parts available. Then the clincher, they will be filming the movie during the first three weeks of August. NOOOOOO!
Not that its’ set in stone, but my brother is supposed to come home during the first week of August. I explained my situation to him and he told me that I should still call him in a couple of weeks about the reading and if I found that I was available, we should definitely get together again and talk.
Overall the party was too much for me. I felt out of place having no one to talk to during the down time. But on the flip side, I felt so proud of myself for taking the risk and going…all by myself. I definitely believe I was one of the best looking guys there. And although I saw hundreds of gay men, I was one of the few masculine ones.
So, we’ll see. I submitted my headshot and resume to two more producers for other upcoming roles that I found through Backstage. And next week I’m planning on hitting up another agency for an audition. At this rate, I’ll be on a soap opera in no time!
Thanks for all the emails with well wishes. You are all so supportive. When I make it to the big time, I will make sure to tell you who I am, so you can say, “I remember when he was cutting the shit five days a week for 2 years!”
It’s all very wonderful and surreal.
So I did it. I went to my first big networking party in NYC. It wasn’t as much of an audition as I had hoped, but it was definitely a good chance for me to meet a few agents in this city and to start building my list of contacts.
There were hundreds of people at the event and because I attended by myself, I started to feel a bit uncomfortable, having no one to bullshit with while I was waiting in line. I mean, not kidding. Hundreds of people.
I stayed for about an hour and in that time, I connected with five agents, three of whom took my name and info and gave me their’s in return. Initially, I was nervous that I wasn’t going to be able to handle myself in this type of situation. But, everyone was very nice and helpful.
I explained that I was currently working for a non-profit theater company in NYC. They asked which one and when they said they hadn’t heard of it, I told them all about the mission statement and what we have done over the last year. The majority of the agents seemed pretty impressed with my desire to work, regardless of not getting paid or accumulating points to enter into the union.
The hightlight of the experience was when a producer for the agency walked up to me and asked if I would be interested in reading for a role for an upcoming independent film. I immediately said yes and we sat down and talked for a few minutes. He (Frank) explained that he liked my look and resume and that, in a couple of weeks, he was doing an audition for the lead roles of his low budget movie.
My excitement burned in my stomach as I listend to Frank describe the movie and the parts available. Then the clincher, they will be filming the movie during the first three weeks of August. NOOOOOO!
Not that its’ set in stone, but my brother is supposed to come home during the first week of August. I explained my situation to him and he told me that I should still call him in a couple of weeks about the reading and if I found that I was available, we should definitely get together again and talk.
Overall the party was too much for me. I felt out of place having no one to talk to during the down time. But on the flip side, I felt so proud of myself for taking the risk and going…all by myself. I definitely believe I was one of the best looking guys there. And although I saw hundreds of gay men, I was one of the few masculine ones.
So, we’ll see. I submitted my headshot and resume to two more producers for other upcoming roles that I found through Backstage. And next week I’m planning on hitting up another agency for an audition. At this rate, I’ll be on a soap opera in no time!
Thanks for all the emails with well wishes. You are all so supportive. When I make it to the big time, I will make sure to tell you who I am, so you can say, “I remember when he was cutting the shit five days a week for 2 years!”
It’s all very wonderful and surreal.
