A&J Management

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AspiringActress
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A&J Management

Post by AspiringActress »

Dear NAPM
A&J Management was recommended to me by a drama teacher so I sent off a few emails and they replied wanting an audition tape, ideally a short monologue to camera
What should I do? Should I add me singing or just a short monologue? What short monologue should I pick?

How many jobs do they give a year? How much do they charge? Is it worth it?

I'm a bit of a novice at this!

AspiringActress
x
If I wasn't an actor, I'd be a secret agent.
~ Thornton Wilder
pg
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Re: A&J Management

Post by pg »

Hi there

Everyone has to start somewhere, so don't worry about being new to it :D

First things first:

1. Agencies don't give jobs
2. If they charge anything, I would recommend not joining them - paying for Spotlight is a different matter and they will probably require you to do that. The agent should get their money by taking commission from any work you get.
3. What works for one actor won't necessarily work for another so one person's notion of "good" won't be the same as another. However, I gather they are a respected and established agency.

The agent will certainly have some influence over the number of opportunities that come your way, but they do not have any jobs to "give". They are not employers. All they can do is use their influence and marketing expertise to try to get you seen by employers/CDs. This will be partly to do with how well they run the agency and how well respected they are. It will have lot more to do with whether what you have to offer as an actor is what the employer/CD wants at the time. Getting in through the door of the CD is difficult enough - there are far more people wanting jobs than the CD has time to see. The agent will submit your details for many, many more jobs than you will ever get called in for. You might fit the casting brief really well, but still not get called in because there are others with more experience who will get called in ahead of you. Once you are in through the door, it's down to you. The agent doesn't get the job - you do.

In terms of the monologue:
If they haven't asked for a song - I wouldn't do one.
The monologue should be modern and as close in character to you as you can find. You need something suitable for your age and accent. If you are peforming a monologue for the camera, here are a few tips:

1. Get the lighting and sound as good as it can possibly be. Try not to have too distracting a background. Have the frame showing you in reasonable/medium close-up, from chest height to the top of your head is probably good to aim for.
2. Keep it as natural as possible. You need to imagine the person you are talking to is quite close to you - so don't project. It can help if you choose a piece that allows you to place the person you are talking to really nearby - don't choose a town cryer!
3. Don't be afraid of pauses. The camera catching you thinking (in character) can be very effective.
4. Keep your eye line up. Experiment with having the person you are talking to (or imagining you are talking to) just slightly to the side of the camera rather than talking directly into the camera lens - this can often be more effective and can help the person assessing the performance. Monologues to camera are pretty rare things on screen, so recreating something which is more like what you would see on TV or film can provide more useful audition material. That's not a hard and fast rule - it does depend a bit on the piece - but it's worth trying out. If they have specified a monologue "to" camera, then perhaps that's what you should give - but they may not mean that you have to look straight at the camera when you deliver it.

I hope that helps! Let me know if you think there is anything else I might be able to add/help with.
AspiringActress
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Re: A&J Management

Post by AspiringActress »

Hi again
Just a question, does A&J Management only do drama (TV, Film, Plays) or Musical Theatre as well?
If I wasn't an actor, I'd be a secret agent.
~ Thornton Wilder
wissymo
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Re: A&J Management

Post by wissymo »

Hiya,
Yeah they do Musical Theatre and commercials as well.
Good luck xx
Ladymuck
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Re: A&J Management

Post by Ladymuck »

I've been looking in depth at agencies, these sound great, It's such a minefield, is anyone represented by them? View please would be great.
AspiringActress
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Re: A&J Management

Post by AspiringActress »

wissymo wrote:Hiya,
Yeah they do Musical Theatre and commercials as well.
Good luck xx
Thanks! From their website, they weren't very clear!
I plan on filming my tape today!
If I wasn't an actor, I'd be a secret agent.
~ Thornton Wilder
wissymo
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Re: A&J Management

Post by wissymo »

Brilliant!
Best of luck xx
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