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Dear LCA,
My daughter is represented by a good agency across the board in LA, but they’re not getting her out for any theatrical auditions and she rarely gets any calls for commercials either. I never signed a contract with them so do I have any commitment to the agency? We did one of those agency days at JRP, she got the agent nine months ago, but still no results. Half the time the agent doesn’t return my calls so I scheduled an appointment to meet the agent, drove all the way to LA and just happened to get on the elevator as the agent was leaving. He forgot he was meeting with us. My daughter doesn’t have a manager so I’m not sure what to do.
~Feeling Ignored

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Dear Feeling Ignored,
No one wants to feel ignored in a professional or personal relationship. The fact that you did not sign a contract with the agency is not a good sign. Agents will sometimes “hip pocket” a client. This means that the agent does not have enough room to fully service this new client or perhaps the agent could not get all the members of the agency to agree to sign the new client. The agent still takes on the new client without a formal contract and will submit the client on auditions but will do none of the leg work to push for this client. Basically the agent and new client roll the dice to see if the new client gets some bites from casting directors who call them in from the submissions. The goal for the client would be to get lucky, book a job, and then have the agency interested in keeping them. If after 3-6 months, an actor is not seeing results in a situation like this, finding new representation should be the new goal.

Even if you did have a contract with the agent, after 90 days of unemployment, any actor can choose to terminate a contract with their agency. Since you do not have a contract and the agent isn’t returning your calls you need to change the situation immediately.

First I would try to get theatrical representation. Do a mailing to see if you can get some meetings with theatrical agents. If you like one, go for it. Next, I would write a letter to your current agent thanking them for the work they have done over the past year. I would let them know of your daughter’s recent accomplishments she has been getting on her own—perhaps a play or student film. And that because of her accomplishments a theatrical agency wants to sign her. Let the agent know that you realize there is no formal contract but wanted to keep him abreast of her career. I would then request to have a meeting to finalize her position with the agency commercially. This way the agent may realize the valuable client they may have ignored and hopefully will want to sign your daughter commercially and will see her in a new light and work for her. If this letter goes ignored, time to find a new commercial agent too!
~j. robin miller

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