Representation

I got my first agent by auditioning for him in his tiny West LA office. He was a gem. Still is. And to be honest, I probably would have stayed with him forever, but he left the industry for personal reasons. We still have lunches and talk all the time. I was lucky. From the start, I had someone who really believed in me.

Since then.....let's just say it's been a rocky road.

I've had managers who never returned my calls, and didn't stop me when I said I was leaving. I've had a manager who had a client book a spinoff, and put me on the backburner to the point of oblivion. And I had an agent who would call me at 3am for no apparent reason, and ended up going into rehab.

Welcome to LA.

I had romanticized the idea of having the same agent and manager for my entire career, but that's a rarity. It's business, yes. But it's also about personalities meshing. And one thing that I was never afraid of doing was leaving when things were obviously not right. I trusted that I would find a better match, and that I was better served not giving 10% away to someone who wasn't bringing enough to the table.

Which brings me to my current situation. Where I love love love my agent. And I love my manager so much... as a person. See the problem here?

I don't pay my friends 10% of my gross because I like them as people. That's not how this world works. And in the world of representation, we're a team -- and I do my part (learn my material, bring in money, do strong work in the room, etc.)...so if someone else on the team isn't doing their part....well. Ugh, you see where this is going.

The problem is that it's so hard (for me) to not make it personal. Especially after a couple years of working with someone. To just focus on the fact that it's business and money, and that I'm not breaking any hearts by leaving. (Though I fear in this case I would be).

I suppose my point here is that you can't be afraid to make changes. We put everything we have into this dream. And at the end of the day, if we don't take care of our career, who will?

I am undecided on what I'm going to do. I'm all about 2nd, 3rd (4th, 5th chances).

But I'll keep you posted on what I decide.