Not Getting It. A Public Service Announcement in defense of Background Casting Agencies
I'm a novitiate, a beginning actor, and I've been putting more time into learning about the business side of acting, and I want to comment on how important is to recognize your true opportunities, and to be grateful for them.
A while ago, this empty-headed post appeared on the BackStage.com community message board:
For all of you newbies here are some names for you to stay away from. These people have scammed and scammed over and over again. They will not pay you, or they will charge you to be part of their company or they will tell you that your pay is one amount and pocket the difference. They will always tell you to make sure your vouchers are filled out to their companies: {names and casting agencies removed}. There are some more. Keep these names on an index card with you at all times. Do not get caught up in their scams. NO JOB IS WORTH it!!! Believe me then you are known as one of their people!! (oh your one of their people) Go ahead next time your on a set mention any one of their names and see what type of feed back you get, YOU will BE surprised!!! Good luck to all of you. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!
I was shocked to see this -- First: it's NOT TRUE. It's simply not true. Period.
Second -- The Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre, and Broadcasting tax credits has made the film and television industry the fastest-growing employment source in New York City, creating 10,000 jobs over the last year pressuring California to consider similar incentives.
There is right now, today, more opportunity for New York City actors to make a living then ever before, and Actors Reps, Extra Mile, Divine Management, Dorothy Palmer, Desiree Agudo, Stanley Kaplan provide a critical, necessary, and invaluable service to the New York City acting community.
I was so angry when I saw this posting, that I replied on the community message board, and I'd like to give my reply a wider audience here:
To poster [handle name removed] I'm not sure what your problem is, but you might want to look up the definitions
of libel and slander. All of these people are casting directors and talent managers. Producers hire them to find, select, and contact actors that are appropriate for their projects. This is a lot of work for them, and THEY DON'T WORK FOR FREE. I know and I've work with Divine Management, Desiree Agudo, Stanley Kaplan, Dorothy Palmer, Actors Reps, Extra Mile. THEY FIND ME WORK. They must put in NOT an insignificant amount of time and effort to do this for me. When they are able to book me for work, they ask for 10%. I agree to this. We are consenting adults engaged in a transaction that is of mutual economic benefit. IT IS NOT A SCAM. It is called FREE CHOICE. I don't know who you are or who you think you are, but you can't just post unsubstantiated damaging claims like this -- this is their livelihood you're screwing with. Do you understand that? You have no right to do that. If I were you, I would get this post removed from the message board ASAP.
Background Casting Agencies are necessary and critical middlemen.
Further Reading About Acting, Theatre & Film . . .
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