Letter to an agent (to work there)

[xebonykissesx]

I was just wondering if anybody has any experience of actually working at any model or talent agencies and might be able to help me?
I am currently at university, but really keen to gain some experience working as some sort of runner or intern in a model or acting agency. Whilst i love acting, i have always been really interested by the whole process, including castings, bookings, and behind the scenes on set etc. Therefore i was thinking of sending off some letters to nearby agencies asking if they had any opportunities for a runner.
I have no idea what to write to be honest, do i ask about opportunities to work there as a runner (is this more of a media industry term?) or as an unpaid intern? and i'm not even sure if i should include a CV or not and if i should include any acting and modelling work like a resume or just keep it as a normal cv or perhaps both!
There are very few agencies near my university so i don't want to get it wrong! If anybody could give me some pointers then i would really appreciate it.

[Hecouldshine]

Someone on here did something similar, I think, xebonykissesx It could have been whateverlife ??

I hope someone can help anyway...

[xebonykissesx]

Thankyou hecouldshine, i do very vaguely remember someone saying they did work experience in a casting agents, which is why i thought there was a chance somebody might be able to help, but i couldn't remember who it was as it was a while back!

[Irishdancer]

I think it was for Nash studios think most agents use there own clients when,it comes to work experience the men who used to run it do not work there any more but are involved with The Casting Net Works. You could try and get in touch with casting Net works and see if they you could do work experience there.

[pg]

I honestly think it is worth just writing to all the nearby agents. Find out a name rather than writing a generic "dear sirs" type letter and try to make each letter personal to the specific agency if you possibly can.

I think you need to offer your services as an adminstrative assistant rather than a runner and give examples of any other office/telephone work you have done. You could also try writing to casting directors, as they often need capable assistants to help to run sessions and might consider a willing volunteer (though I think it's the sort of thing for which there is a fair amount of competition). Let them know of any relevant experience, especially with databases etc and present yourself as a possible solution to a problem, stressing your willingness to learn and run errands and your genuine interest in the casting process. You can also mention that you make great tea .

Try some co-operative agencies if there are any within reach - these are run on a rota basis by the membership of actors (some have lead agents) and might have more time - and be better set up - to explain/teach you the ropes. Just make it clear that you are not angling to be taken on as an actor!

Good luck!

[xebonykissesx]

Thankyou Irishdancer and pg for your very helpful responses. And thankyou PG for the advice on offering to be an administrative assistant, I really wasn't sure what to term the role that I was applying for, so thankyou very much, and for the tip on writing to casting directors in the area, I actually hadn't thought of that

Sorry to sound a little dim but what are 'co-operative agencies'? I actually doubt that there are any here, as I can only find about 3 talent/model agencies that look legitimate that are based here, but of course I can't be sure as i'm not certain what they are.

Also when looking for agencies in the area 'models direct' cropped up. From what I can remember and from threads on here, it is a scam agency that runs under a few different names? I'm actually quite surprised that its still running after all these years, and if I hadn't known any better I would have written to them! They are surprisingly convincing it did remind me of just how little knowledge I would have, and how many scams I would have run into when I was younger (and even perhaps now ) if it wasn't for napm.

[pg]

Cooperative agencies run along different lines from "traditional" agencies. They are run by the membership for the membership and sometimes require an initial investment (the only time I would consider it acceptable for actors to pay money up front to an agency). Actors become the agents in effect.

Here's an amusing take on them: http://www.actorsactingtips.co.uk/2010/ ... ors-co-op/

Here's an example of one: http://www.westcentralmanagement.co.uk/index.html

Here's how Actorum (a co-op) works: http://www.actorum.com/aboutus/

I don't think Spotlight's "Contacts" differentiate between co-ops and non co-ops in their lists (which is just how the co-ops would prefer it, as they want to be regarded in the same light as other agencies), you'd probably have to research each one - it's just that they will be used to splitting up the jobs in the office and it might therefore be more practical (and easier) for them to take on an administrative assistant for work experience. It was just a thought! Good luck.

It's probably not worth contacting CDs unless you could easily get to where castings take place (usually London, sometimes Manchester, only occasionally elsewhere unless it's for one of the regionally based soaps - and even then they're still often cast in London).

[begolina]

This is an agent looking for an assistant. If this is not right for you, use the requirements in the job offer to propose yourself to an agent nearer to you

http://bit.ly/XgYjzK

In general www.ideastap.com is good website with lots of ideas/opportunities

[xebonykissesx]

Thankyou pg, it's interesting reading about how they work, it feels strange that i've never even heard of agencies that work like that, just goes to show a little I know! Yes, I suppose contacting cd's is probably not a viable option at the moment but something maybe to think about when I get back home to London if I manage to gain any experience in the coming months.

And thankyou Begolina for those links, they are very helpful.

[geordiegirl]

Independent Talent agency have a branding dept which invites applications for interns annually. My daughter applied but they offered no pay and a tentative "maybe" job at the end of it. We were already living abroad and she was in no position to support herself in London but perhaps a good opportunity for others?