Coffee Chats: Being ProActive vs Being a PROBLEM

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leahcevoliIn this day and age, self-promotion, networking, and over-all being proactive about your entertainment career, is pivotal for success and longevity. It’s a fine line, and there’s a balance that I’ve talked about before when it comes to online promotion and contests. But what about out in the real world? How does one network or more importantly CONNECT with folks in the industry at higher tiers, folks that have the power to hire you without seeming desperate or worse yet, like you have a few screws loose? I think the key is to be authentic, to be yourself, and to RELAX. Easier said then done, I understand, but let me share a recent story with you about an actor who may have talked himself out of an audition for a lead role in a feature film that he had previously been guaranteed.

I’m a producer on a feature film that is gearing up for pre-production. The lead role is still open, and our focus is scoring an A-List Director. An Actor- a working actor, with a 10,000 IMDb score has been hitting us HARD for about 9 months now for the lead role, he alternates between emails to the general movie account and facebook messages to the Film’s Fan Page. Each time, I/we politely answer him that we’re not casting yet. (He met our EP/Writer at a networking event and our EP guaranteed him an audition.) Recently he began a twitter assault, tweeting how he was perfect for the film and how much value he would add (*ahem*). Our Executive Producer got wind of this and sent the following in an email, with all producers cc’d.

“We haven’t forgotten about you. But we are right in the middle of picking a director, and this is not the best of times, frankly, for you to be trumpeting your interest in XXXXXX. I’m the exec producer on this film. NO ONE gets cast without my sign-off, and I was the one who noticed you first. I haven’t forgotten you. But please BACK OFF; keep bugging my producers and I’m liable to have a memory lapse. Just RELAX. You’re in a good position right now. You will get a chance to read. Don’t f**k it up. Okay? ”

RELAX!!!! You will either get to audition or you won’t, but if you consistently for 9 months bother the producing team, after they have repeatedly told you they weren’t casting yet, you are turning from Pro-Active to a PROBLEM!

In a situation like this, where you are 100% sure the team knows who you are, and the Executive Producer has already expressed interest, the best thing to do is to stay in their minds via a presence on their social media pages. And by that I mean, clicking like on things the production posts, retweeting and sharing, and participating in the conversation.   Not only, will that keep you fresh in their minds, but it also shows you care about the project, you’re engaged, you’re participating, and you’re sharing with your own network.   Popping up every couple of weeks with private messages asking when your audition is, shows us that you’re not interested in anything but your own gain.

Here’s another example, but this time we’re not talking about a desperate actor, but rather a “few screws loose” writer.

A few years back, I was attending a convention in support of a television show that I had been acting on.   The show creators were in attendance and I was still very new to the show and their circle of friends.   I felt honored to be their guests at the convention, and like a kid in the candy store to be able to hang out with them at their signing table and back in the green room. Enter crazy lady.

A few weeks prior a woman I had met years earlier at a nightclub, contacted me to say she was no longer working in music, she had left her job at MTV, and was looking to represent/manage actors.   She remembered me, and noticed that the tv show I was working at was going to be appearing at the convention, and hoped we could meet up there.  She invited me to drive to the convention with her, and thank heavens, I declined, and drove myself there.

From the moment I met up with her, her husband, and daughter, ALL she wanted to do was talk about this script she wrote, and how she thinks the Creator of the show I’m on would love it, and could I help her get it to him.   I explained that this was my first time at the convention, and I was really trying to walk around and enjoy it, it was loud, it was crowded, she was blocking traffic trying to show me her script and could we meet up for coffee some other time.

I managed to get away from her for a bit and spend time with the folks from the show. And then she shows back up, just as announcements are coming on announcing it was time to leave. At this point, I’ve been invited to the green room to hang out for a bit before leaving, and this lady is trying to follow us, and invite herself, her husband and daughter too. Finally security realizes she’s not exactly with us, and escorts her and her family outside.

A little while later I’m sitting in the green room with one of the show creators, when one of the crew comes in and says, “Man, this crazy chick in the parking lot, followed (other show creator), all the way to his car and kept asking him to look at her script!”   I kid you not. My mouth dropped open, I looked at the friend I was sitting with , (who knew this lady was stalking me), and he just shook his head telling me to just act like I had no idea who or what they were talking about.   I was mortified though. And made sure to call my friend the next day to apologize.

So, what’s the lesson here?

Don’t BE a persistent problem, BUT also be very wary that you’re not hanging out or associating with problem folk or in this case, screws-loose.

At the end of the day, your reputation and your resume are all that you’ve got. You can get by with a shaky resume, but you can’t get by with a shaky reputation.   There’s a familiar quote, “People won’t always remember what you did, but they will remember how you made them feel.”

Be smart about networking. Be authentic. And realize that strong relationships are built over years, it takes time, don’t try to rush it.