Joining me today is David Doan. David is the Vice President of Young Talent in the Theatrical Department at CESD Talent Agency in NYC. He has been in the industry for over 20 years and been recognized for his work specifically with developing breakout youth talent. When he worked in casting he was nominated for a 2012 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting for an Animated Series or Special for Nick Jr.’s Bubble Guppies.
I have received so many questions about representation and bringing the right people alongside you in your career journey. So I’m thrilled to have David with us today. He is a long time colleague of mine and one of the most trusted agents in the business. He will answer many of your questions. Questions that people are often left to figure out on their own. By the end of this episode you won’t be left wondering about anything. David, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with me today.
Denise: David, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with me today
David: Thank you, Denise. Thank you so much for having me
Denise: First and foremost, people really want to know, what are you looking for in signing talent
David: The answer to that question changes as different time periods go by.
“The main thing that I look for is confidence in young talent. Obviously we want to see a personality. Someone that is comfortable in their skin and not overly nervous. A sense of fearlessness and commitment. And a support system around them.”
David: We want kids that are well rounded. It’s not like we are looking for kids that eat, sleep, and breath only performing. It is a combination and variety of things…So much of it is about personality off the camera and when you aren’t performing.
Denise: That was a great explanation. I hear that term “it” factor quite a bit. I use it myself. I have to imagine that parents know what that means or maybe all parents think their child has the it factor.
David: I think maybe the latter. I don’t know if everyone can actually tell… I have to believe that every parent believes that their child is special and I think that’s great and you need that kind of support to succeed anywhere in life.
Denise: Working with younger talent, obviously you are dealing with the parents… I am wondering if you can speak about how the parent can help or how they sometimes might hurt their child’s career.
David: Yes, I can speak on that. You know there’s this whole mommy board world where people get so much disinformation. And sometimes it makes our job difficult when everyone gets alerted when auditions go out… and sometimes we get the calls like “Why didn’t my daughter didn’t get an audition for this?” “Did you submit so and so for this.” We see the breakdowns, it is in our best interest to procure work for you so anything that your child is right for, we are pitching and trying to get the appoint because this is a business after all and we want to make money and we want to book your child or we wouldn’t represent them if we didn’t think they were competitive. I guess it’s one of the small annoyances I have when there’s all this misinformation out there, wherever it’s coming from, that it makes our job a little bit more difficult and makes us not want to deal with you as much. Depends on the parent as well of course. Another that makes our jobs easier is just following instructions. Everything right now is self tape so there’s a lot of instructions…and it just makes our job a lot easier when you follow them.
Denise: There's so much that goes into it all and I'm not sure everyone understands… you’re working so hard on your end and it’s perhaps silently and people don’t always know and they just have to trust if they’re going to sign with you that if you’re doing your job and they have to do their doing their job and that they have a job.
David: That’s exactly right. There has to be a form of trust as a client and an agent and when you sense that there isn’t that trust then it gives you a little bit more of a pause of do i want to work for this person that i constantly have to answer questions about why you’re not getting an appointment for something when it is sometimes as simple as an age range or ethnicity or hair color.
Denise: Have you had a client that was working and doing well and you had to let them know because the parent wasn’t really a team player?
David: You know I would say yes. You know, rarely. I like to think we are able to put out those fires with early warnings or signals. So I would say rarely, but I would say yes, absolutely. And I would have to say my least favorite part of my job as an agent is parting ways with clients, especially young talent that you have worked with for many years, and in some instances their whole life.
“Having to part ways with a client for whatever reason is never fun or enjoyable. But sometimes it is appropriate to part ways whether it is because the client needs a new set of ears and eyes to see them in a new light…to pitch them in a different way. There’s a plethora of reasons.”
David: But, yeah it is never a fun thing to do.
Denise: It is a relationship like any and if you want it to be healthy and honest and good and it has to work for both parties and if it’s not working then the two of you together might not be the best fit and the client may be better served by someone else.
Denise: So what are some of the best ways that actors can get representation?
David: You know I think the easiest way for me to find talent is through referrals. A lot of the talent we end up meeting are referrals through casting directors and a lot of managers. Referrals through current clients we have… showcases that I attend… as many as I can to see as much different talent as I can from different parts of the country. And I might have opposition to this, but blind email submissions to me, I’ve found a lot of people that way. Not that you should just start emailing everyone out of the blue, but if you have a really good professional email together with a current headshot and a professional looking resume and a link of some work. It doesn't have to be professional, but a self tape or two. And if it is a category we are looking for, I have found lots of talent through blind email submissions…You know having your materials together, and current, and strong, and not trying too hard is either going to capture someone's attention or not.
Denise: How do people know how to email you?
David: You know all of our emails at the agency are on our website. The amount of unsolicited emails we get is pretty large but I scroll through and if there is something that catches my eye then I open it and look further.
Denise: Are you interested in signing newbies?
David: Absolutely, we do sign all levels of experience. Clearly if you are a six year old, we don’t expect you to have a full resume… you know the older you get the more we would like to see on a resume, but we go to college graduating showcases and meet and sign early twenties talent that have no professional experience on their resume. But it’s not a set general rule. Having something for us to see that is current that will make you pop is really what we are looking for.
Denise: Can you speak about how you feel about your clients being trained and kids in general being trained.
David:
“You know I think training is important. I think it helps hone and develop young actors. Whether it’s one on one coaching… or in a class setting… that gives you a place or sanctuary or a place to feel a party of a group. I think that’s why so many young people are attracted to acting in the first place…”
David: The training goes along with starting to understand what this business is about and what it is actually like to be an actor…I think it all starts with training because that’s where you figure it all out and that’s where you figure out if you want to do this for a career…
Denise: I’d love to dive deeper into growing the best relationship with your rep. If a client is lucky enough to be repped, what is the best way to have a long and lasting relationship? Something I hear a lot from parents is they want more done so they think it’s time to add a manager to the team, maybe even without knowing what that is.
David: Correct, I do hear that a lot. And sometimes parents think adding a manager to the team will get you more opportunities, and sometimes that is true… it depends on who that person is…It should be a team.
Denise: What if a client comes to you and tells you that it might be time. Is that something you assist with?
David: Oftentimes, yes. If it is a client we don’t want to lose, we want to make sure that whoever they are adding to their team is someone we can work with or hopefully that we have a previous relationship with, and if not then we want to have that relationship with them prior to entering into this partnership with them.
Denise: Something you said earlier, we were talking about clients not always knowing the work that you are doing. I’m curious, when you are working with clients…how does a client know they are submitted for projects
David: The simple answer is, most of the time they don't know, it has to come down to trusting your representation and trusting that they are trying their hardest to get opportunities for you. I have seen people in the past ask for submission reports and we don’t do that. One, it makes us feel like there is a lack of trust already by asking that question. If you’re not happy with your representation because you feel like they aren’t getting you enough opportunities… then maybe it is time to find other representation…they can certainly ask about specific projects without being too overwhelming about it… but it shouldn't feel like we are defending ourselves every time you are reaching out to us.
Denise: I am so happy to hear you see that it is a wonderful time to be in the business and that there is lots of opportunities for kids… but it is probably more competitive than ever?
David: Yeah, I think it definitely is more competitive now that a kid from Texas can compete for a Law and Order episode. They don’t have to be in town. Previously if you weren’t here for the actual live audition, you couldn’t even compete. And if you’re able to be a local higher, it doesn't matter where you are at the moment.
Denise: The world is changing, it’s always changing, and it’s always going to change. I think for parents to know what was in yesterday might not be in today and it may be different tomorrow. Understanding the market a little bit. I just wonder what your thoughts are on that marketability piece. What is in right now?
David: What makes you marketable is,,, I don't think there is one thing. Obviously having your materials together is extremely important. Social media I think falls into this question… you have to be very careful with what you put out there… does having an instagram page for the 10 year old make a difference? it definitely does start to make a difference when you get more into the teen world and the young adult world. Not only because people are looking at it, but it gives people a sense of who you are. As a young actor, sometimes that can work against you..,so you just have to be careful and specific about what you are putting out into the world. Also, making sure that there aren’t any videos on youtube that you don’t want people to access. You have to make sure that you only have stuff that you want out there, out there because everyone is looking and anyone can.
Denise: David, you have shared so much. I respect you and I think you are one of the best. I appreciate you being my first guest! [David] and I hope that you enjoyed the episode and that it answered some of your questions and perhaps provided some clarity about representation and how to build your team as your grow your career!
