Theatre. Rendering #4.

The headline of the article is 5 Reasons You Don't Need An Agent which was published on  http://www.backstage.com  by David Patrick Green  on April 25, 2013. The article deals with some advice for actors.

Firstly, the author notes that if there’s one thing actors obsess over – even more than their headshots – it's getting an agent. From the moment they get the acting itch to the day they hop off the bus in La-La-Land, visions of agents are buzzing around their heads like Sugar Plum fairies at Christmas time. They don’t know why they need one or how to get one, but they are pretty sure they are going to be on easy street once that box is filled in. Agents can come in pretty handy.

Secondly, David Patrick Green points out that agents aren’t for everyone, however. The vast majority of newer actors and even some more experienced ones don’t really need to be in the market for an agent. Here are five reasons having an agent might not be for you…yet.

Thirdly, the author tells about the first reason. An actor can't act.  Sad thing is probably 90 percent of actors reading this article not only aren't good enough to be in front of professional casting directors but even worse, they don't know they are not good enough. Why aren't they good enough? Primarily it's because they aren't willing or used to putting themselves on the line, or they don't know how to connect with the material and memorize the lines very quickly. Why don't they know they're not good enough? First, in class, they get a lot of feedback but it's either not tough enough or it's not clear enough. Most actors have never seen a professional audition so they have no idea how high the bar is set. They go to audition classes but since everyone else in the class is not that good either, they are not learning from their peers and their teacher may not have seen a professional audition either, at least in the last 10 years.

Then David Green describes the second reason. An actor has no credits. Before actors drop that bundle of headshots into the mailbox, do they ever wonder why exactly an agent would be interested in them? Most of them just do it and pray that something will spark their interest, but why don't we even know what might ignite that spark? How can they possibly be sold, when we don't know what we have to offer? If an actor doesn't know what he has to offer, he has nothing to offer.

Also the author stresses the other reasons such as having no relationships, money and  the fact that an agent can't change who an actor is.

To crown it all, David Green writes that while it's great to have someone in the business trying to get an actor work, he doesn't  need them anymore than they need him until he reaches a few key milestones.

I find this article very interesting and useful for actors, especially young ones. Many of them in attempt of becoming popular as fast as they can hire agents and pay them a lot of money. So, I hope that this article will help many people.