Keeping Your Team Working for You
Managing agent and manager relationships. Communication expectations, when to push back, when to trust them, and when it is time to move on.
Keeping Your Team Working for You
You signed with an agent. Congratulations. Now here is the part nobody explains: your agent is not your employee. They are not your therapist. They are not your career coach. They are your business partner, and the sooner you treat the relationship that way, the better your results will be.
A typical agent reps 30 or more working actors. Some of them make the agent's job easy. Some of them make it nearly impossible. The difference has never been about talent level. It has always been about professionalism, communication, and mutual effort.
Your Agent Has 30 to 100 Other Clients
A typical theatrical agent at a mid-size agency represents between 30 and 100 actors. Some of those actors book regularly. Some are in a dry spell. Some are highly submittable with a clear type. Some are harder to place.
Your agent wants you to book. Every booking earns them commission and strengthens their reputation with casting directors. They are not ignoring you on purpose. But they are making triage decisions every single day about where to spend their limited time and energy.
The actors who make their agent's job easier get more of their agent's attention. That is not cynical. That is how any professional relationship works.
✅ Key Point: Agents prioritize the clients who make their lives easier. Not because they play favorites — because when an actor's materials are current, their availability is clear, and they respond fast, the agent can actually get them in rooms. The actor whose headshot is two years old and who takes 8 hours to confirm an audition is someone the agent physically cannot advocate for as effectively.
How to Be the Client Your Agent Prioritizes
Keep Your Materials Current
When your headshot is two years old or your reel does not represent your current work, your agent has less to work with.
Maintain on an ongoing basis:
- Headshots — update every 18-24 months or after any significant look change
- Demo reel — add new footage within 2 weeks of receiving it
- Casting profiles — refresh with new skills, credits, and training on Actors Access and Casting Networks
- Resume — update immediately after every booking or significant credit
- IMDbPro — keep your IMDbPro page current; many casting directors check it
Do not wait for your agent to ask. Update proactively and send them a quick note: "Just updated my reel with the new footage from [project]. Link is live on all profiles."
Book Out Religiously
If you are going on vacation, have a scheduling conflict, are sick, or are unavailable for any reason — tell your agent immediately. Nothing damages a relationship faster than your agent pitching you for an audition and then finding out you are unavailable.
How to book out properly:
- Email your agent the specific dates you are unavailable
- Give as much advance notice as possible
- When you return, send a quick "I'm back and available" confirmation
- If your plans change and you become available again, update them right away
An agent who gets burned by a client's availability issues stops prioritizing that client. It happens all the time. It is that simple.
Communicate Clearly and Professionally
Respond to emails and texts promptly. Confirm audition appointments as soon as you receive them. If you have a question, ask it directly.
Good communication:
- "Got the audition for Thursday at 2pm — confirmed."
- "Quick question: should I prepare both scenes or just the first?"
- "Booked a self-submission for [project] — just FYI."
Bad communication:
- Paragraph-long texts with vague anxieties
- Multiple unanswered messages followed by a frantic call
- Passive-aggressive messages about not getting enough auditions
🎯 Industry Insight: The fastest way to lose your agent's enthusiasm is to make every interaction feel heavy. Your agent is juggling dozens of clients, casting offices, and deadlines. The client who communicates in short, clear, actionable messages is the client whose name they are happy to see in their inbox.
Self-Submit and Keep Them Informed
Your agent should not be your only source of auditions. When you self-submit through Actors Access or Backstage and get an audition or booking, let your agent know.
Have a clear conversation upfront: "What is your preference on self-submissions?" Then follow their guidance.
| Agent Preference | Your Approach |
|---|---|
| "Check with me first" | Send a quick text before each self-submission |
| "Go ahead, just keep me posted" | Submit freely, send a weekly summary |
| "Only self-submit below [budget level]" | Handle smaller projects yourself, leave larger ones to them |
| "Don't self-submit at all" | Rare, but respect it — or discuss why you disagree |
Say Thank You
This sounds basic, but you would be surprised how few actors do it. When your agent gets you an audition — especially a good one — a quick "thanks for this, excited about it" goes a long way. When you book, acknowledge their part.
Agents are human beings. Gratitude reinforces the behavior you want more of.
Do Not Blame Them for Slow Periods
Every actor goes through slow stretches. It is the nature of the business. If you are not getting auditions, the answer is rarely that your agent is failing you. More often:
- The current casting cycle does not have many roles matching your type
- Your materials need updating
- The market is generally slow (pilot season ebbs, summer slows down)
- Your type is temporarily oversaturated
Sending frustrated emails during a dry spell does not motivate your agent. It makes them dread hearing from you.
💡 Pro Tip: During slow periods, send your agent useful information instead of complaints. "Saw this breakdown that looks right for me — any chance we can get a submission in?" is infinitely more productive than "Why haven't I been going out?" One is a partnership move. The other is blame.
Building a Communication Cadence
The best agent-actor relationships have a rhythm.
| Frequency | Communication |
|---|---|
| Same day | Confirm auditions, report bookings, flag availability issues |
| Weekly | Brief check-in if actively auditioning; self-submission update |
| Monthly | Quick career pulse if it has been quiet — materials updates, training news |
| Quarterly | Substantive career strategy conversation (in person or by phone) |
| Annually | Full career review — what worked, what to adjust, goals for next year |
This cadence keeps you visible without being a burden. The quarterly conversation is especially important — it is where you discuss type shifts, market changes, and strategic direction.
When to Have a Hard Conversation
There is a difference between a normal slow period and a genuine problem with your representation. If you have gone several months with very few submissions and you have done everything on your end — materials are current, you are in class, you are self-submitting — it might be time for an honest conversation.
How to Frame It
This is not a confrontation. Frame it as a collaboration:
"I want to check in about where we are. I have been doing X, Y, and Z on my end. I am wondering if there is something else I should be doing, or if there is a shift we should make in how I am being submitted."
A good agent will welcome this conversation. They will tell you honestly what they are seeing. Maybe your type is oversaturated. Maybe you need a specific skill to expand your submissions. Maybe your headshots are the issue. Maybe the market is genuinely slow for everyone.
If the conversation goes poorly — if they get defensive, dismissive, or cannot articulate any strategy — that tells you something important.
Ask for Submission Numbers
You have every right to ask: "How many submissions have you sent for me in the past month?" On most platforms, agents can pull this data easily.
Reasonable benchmarks (these vary by market and type):
- Active major market (LA, NYC): 15-30+ submissions per month for a submittable type
- Active secondary market (Atlanta, Chicago, Vancouver): 8-20 submissions per month
- Smaller market or narrow type: 5-10 submissions per month
Numbers well below these ranges warrant a direct conversation.
⚠️ Warning: If your agent cannot tell you how many submissions they have sent for you, or if the number is drastically lower than the benchmarks above with no clear explanation, that is a serious red flag. You deserve an agent who is actively working your profile, not one who signed you and forgot.
Signs Your Representation Is Not Working
Not every agent-actor relationship works out. Here are clear warning signs:
Red Flags
- Consistent lack of communication. You email and it takes a week to hear back, repeatedly.
- You are not being submitted. Low submission numbers with no clear explanation.
- Your agent does not know your work. They have never watched your reel, attended your show, or reviewed your self-tapes.
- They are not honest with you. A good agent tells you hard truths. If they only tell you what you want to hear, they are managing your feelings, not your career.
- You have outgrown them. The agent who was perfect when you were starting out may not have the connections to service your career as you move up. This is not a failure. It is growth.
- They are disorganized. Wrong audition times, missed submissions, confusion about your availability — these mistakes cost you opportunities.
The 90-Day Test
If you are questioning your representation, give it a structured 90-day evaluation:
- Ensure all your materials are fully updated
- Track every submission and audition you receive
- Self-submit consistently and track those results separately
- Have the career strategy conversation
- At 90 days, evaluate: did anything change?
If nothing improved after a good-faith 90 days, it is probably time to move on.
How to Switch Agents Professionally
This industry is small. How you handle transitions defines your reputation.
Step 1: Secure New Representation First
Having a gap in representation means missed opportunities. Start taking general meetings and let people know you are considering a change. Have a new home lined up before you leave.
Where to find new representation:
- IMDbPro — research agencies, check client rosters
- Referrals from casting directors, teachers, and fellow actors
- Showcases and industry events
- Your own network — the relationships you have built
Step 2: Tell Your Current Agent Directly
Not by email if you can help it — by phone or in person. Be honest but not brutal:
"I have been thinking about my career direction and I have decided to make a change in representation. I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you have done for me."
You do not need to list grievances. A simple, professional conversation is enough.
Step 3: Handle the Paperwork
- Send a formal termination letter as required by your contract
- Honor any notice period — typically 30 to 90 days
- Clarify the commission tail — commissions owed on work negotiated during the contract term
- Get confirmation in writing that the termination is acknowledged
Step 4: Never Badmouth
Do not trash-talk your former agent to your new one, to casting directors, or to anyone. Casting directors hear everything. The actor who badmouths their former representation is not the actor anyone wants to work with.
The Partnership Mindset
The best agent-actor relationships are the ones where both sides are actively invested.
| Your Job | Your Agent's Job |
|---|---|
| Stay in class | Submit consistently |
| Keep materials updated | Pitch enthusiastically |
| Self-submit proactively | Negotiate fairly |
| Book out properly | Give honest feedback |
| Communicate professionally | Communicate regularly |
| Generate your own opportunities | Leverage their relationships |
When both sides do their part, results follow. Not always immediately. Not always how you expect. But they follow.
Your agent works hardest for the actors who make their job easiest. Be that actor.
Next Steps
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Audit your current materials this week. Are your headshots, reel, and profiles on Actors Access and Casting Networks fully up to date? If anything is older than 18 months, schedule updates by end of month.
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Set up the communication cadence with your agent starting this week. Send them a brief email establishing the rhythm — confirm how they prefer to receive self-submission updates, and schedule your first quarterly strategy conversation within the next 30 days.
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Track your submission numbers for the next 30 days to establish a baseline. Ask your agent for the current count, then monitor. If the numbers are below the benchmarks for your market, prepare for the hard conversation using the collaborative framing above.