Tonight I attended a seminar at The Network, hosted by an agent from the largest talent agency here in NYC. I am thankful to both The Network as well as this agent for taking the time to come in and speak to actors about the industry. Tonight I learned that an urban representation myth that I heard often before is false. It is often said that in a large, well established agency, a young emerging talent will often fall low on an agent’s client list and be lost in the shuffle. Not so. At least, not with this particular agent at this particular agency. Instead, because this agency is so well established, they only sign talent they believe in and whose career they are willing to nurture. Nurture through the good times and bad. Both are often in any actor’s career. In fact, this agent represents an actress who recently won an Emmy, and he said he believed in her just as strongly the day he signed her years ago to the day she won. That’s a long road of nurturing and I’m pretty sure she never would have gotten to where she is without his help.

This industry is tough. There is no question about that. But with a good agent, it seems to be a little less daunting. (Side note: It doesn’t mean you can skip out on the hard work, though!)