NotaPushyMum.Com

Hi,

dd is now a member of Spotlight, and has an agent. She is sent details of castings through Spotlight. Is she supposed to go through them and then contact her agent, or is the agent supposed to do that. Would agents find it annoying if clients contacted them re castings they have found? Not sure what is the form. Thanks

Hi,

I'm pretty sure if you have an agent, they should be submitting you for anything that you'd be suitable for, although some do give you the option to 'nudge' them if you come across any roles that you are particularly interested in to remind them to submit you for them, although not all agents like or give you the option to do this. I think the only occasion you self-submit for a role is if you haven't got representation at that time.

Hope this helps,

Bebo

Hi there

Your dd definitely needs to ask her agent about this. The "nudge" facility is relatively new - everyone I have spoken to about it has said that their agent finds it very annoying and unnecessary. If a job opportunity comes through via Spotlight then any agent worth his/her salt will submit their suitable clients via the Spotlight link without any kind of prompting from their clients. "nudging" the agent just means they have one more annoying email to deal with.

It is, however a good idea to contact your agent if you see a job on Spotlight and you have a direct relationship with the person casting that your agent may not have twigged or doesn't know about - then you can discuss the best way to approach the submission (adding relevant information that the agent might not have). The other time that an actor should talk to their agent is where they come across opportunities via some other means (i.e. not via Spotlight), then they can check to see whether the agent already knows about it.

An actor should be constantly looking for work, whether they have an agent or not. Although there is a common perception that an agent "finds work" for an actor, the agent is really there to negotiate terms and deal with the paperwork/conditions etc. My agent likes me to email her if I spot something she may not have seen - so far, in 4 years or so, I think there have only been three jobs that I have seen that she has not! Your dd should just check with the agent what sort of communication the agent would prefer.

Thanks for your replies. dd gets a lot of emails from Spotlight regarding castings since she became a member. Is there a place to unsubscribe from these or is it worth looking at them each time they are sent?

I'd not unsubscribe until you have a feel for how your agent works. Don't forget that not all agents are on the ball with new clients - and if they have many clients, they could put their favourite clients forward for these jobs and not you?

With a new agent that you've not really got a relationship going with - why not for the first batch ask them what they'd prefer - a nudge or not, or confirmation they've put you forward. Assuming they put you forward and then finding they didn't is a lost opportunity. You should also check their thoughts on what to do when you see something they're not aware of - as in do you go for it independently telling them a. never, b. when you don't get it c. if you do get it and of course d. telling them when you go for anything. Many agents don't want you doing this, others are happy because your contract probably means they get their fee even if they didn't even get involved. Always best to check these things before they happen to find out what they prefer.

not sure if this is the same casting agent my daughter was with, but had a disappointing time with them, and our stagecoach principal says that we are not the only ones disatisfied with them. In a whole year and having paid over £200 for the pleasure, we had not one thing my child was sent for an audition for!

cazandem wrote:not sure if this is the same casting agent my daughter was with, but had a disappointing time with them, and our stagecoach principal says that we are not the only ones disatisfied with them. In a whole year and having paid over £200 for the pleasure, we had not one thing my child was sent for an audition for!

Spotlight is an actors' directory not an agent, so Spotlight doesn't put you forward for any castings.

JTB mum, you should be able to filter what you get and make sure that you are only alerted to jobs you are suitable for. Even so, the number of emails may be very high. I expect you can unsubscribe from the email alerts if you want to. I tend to give them a very brief look, though I know that my agent will be submitting me for anything suitable. Your dd will only be getting those that go to "all subscribers" - the agent will get even more!! As Paulears says, it's best to check with the agent to see whether they want your dd to get in touch with them about any Spotlight breakdowns. Most agents don't because they always read them all anyway and contacts from their clients about something they've already read will just slow up the process and get in the way of them doing their job.

Hi, realised that dd hadn't set her filter properly so thats why she was getting sent loads. Her agent seems very diligent so Im sure will be getting the same if not more.

My DS is with Spotlight, but we dont received any emails? guess they go straight to the agent. Is there any way of looking at the jobs that are available to see whats going on out there?? thanks

My DS is with Spotlight, but we dont received any emails? guess they go straight to the agent. Is there any way of looking at the jobs that are available to see whats going on out there?? thanks

Only adult subscribers have access to the jobs list, children's castings can only be accessed by their agents I'm afraid.