2014: A Season of Newness

Happy new year blogosphere! I hope you all had a lovely holiday season and are off to a productive start this year.

So much has happened since I last took time to write. For starters, I signed with a manager a few months ago. She's gotten me out on a couple major TV auditions for series regular roles, which is a new thing for me! Unfortunately after being with her for 3 months, she closed up shop and joined forces with a larger management company and had to leave me behind. No love loss though. I appreciate the auditions she got me and will move forward from there.

In much more important and life-changing news, Baby Daniel is here!! I'm a new mom again and yes I'm in love. :-)


He arrived the day after Christmas, almost a full 2 months before he was due, since my body decided to develop pre-eclampsia. :-( Thankfully both he and I were fine after his delivery but since he was 3 lbs, 14 oz he had to stay in the NICU to get his weight up before he was able to come home. Leaving the hospital without a baby was the most surreal experience I've ever had, but I am very thankful that he has no health problems and is now home and happy!







And his big brothers are my very big helpers! Looking at the 3 of them reminds me of how abundantly blessed I am and how much responsibility I've been given as their mother. Daniel's arrival has definitely shaken some things inside of me and changed my perspective on some areas that I never thought I'd budge on, but more on that in a later post.



On the acting/writing/producing front, I'm very excited for the possibilities this year holds! My main goals are to book a commercial, book a role on TV, get Muted into major film festivals and get Muted the feature in tip-top shape to make it attractive to production companies. Since the first 2 months of the new year are practically over, I've got a lot of work to do! I plan to share more of my journey with you this year since I miss blogging regularly. I will try to blog more consistently, though with a newborn I'm not making any promises. :-)

Day 233: Manager Correspondence

Day 233: Emailed manager who offered me rep to move forward but would like to amend or remove some items in her contract before signing. This is what I wrote...

Hi xxxx,


I would love for us to move forward! I did look over the contract and there were a few items that I'd like to amend or remove before doing so.


Would you be willing to start off with a 1 year term with the option to renew for 3 upon completion? I know that agents have a 90 day clause where either party can walk away if they feel it's not a good fit. I also know that as a manager you may need longer than that to see the results of your hard work so are you willing to have a trial term for less than 3 years?


Section V.a-  I have a pretty good commercial & print agent who are sending me out on a regular basis and have a good rapport with commercial cd's so I think they have this area covered. That said, I'd like to change the commission section to reflect 15% for theatrical work only and remove anything regarding commercials, print or publishing since I'm a writer as well. 


Section XVII-    I'd like to remove the automatic renewal clause at the end of the contract. I definitely think the amount of income I generate is a great way to help us both evaluate whether we'll continue our partnership in the future but I don't want that to be the sole reason. 


Those were the only changes I'd like to make. Let me know what you think when you have a moment. Feel free to call or email at your convenience.


All the best,
Brandi

The purpose for me posting this email is to hopefully help anyone out there who may be uncomfortable with a contract you've been asked to sign. You don't have to accept it as is! Obviously I wasn't okay with some of her terms- which by the way were all a part of the standard Talent Managers Association contract so it's not like she's only manager out there asking for this. The important thing to remember is that you can negotiate whatever terms you'd like until you can come to an agreement that you're both happy with. Many times managers & agents will work with you but unfortunately in this case she was unwilling to do so which meant I had the choice to accept her terms or walk away... I chose to walk.

No representation is better than being stuck for 3 years in a contract that makes me feel uneasy. No hard feelings though. We wished each other the best of luck and kept it moving.

Day 225: Manager Meeting Requests

Day 225: Today I decided to email a handful of managers on my target list while I take a minute to decide whether or not to move forward with the manager who offered to sign me. Since I have a week to make a decision, this is what I sent out to the managers on my list...

Subject: Meeting this week?

Hi *****, 

I've recently been offered representation from another management company and would love to meet with you before making any decisions.  

7 quick tidbits about me:

• I wrote & starred in the webseries "Diary of a Wedding Planner." You can view the most recent episode here.


• In my last 7 commercial auditions I've had 3 callbacks and 1 avail. Almost there!


• I'm currently producing the official documentary on the Mitrice Richardson story.


• I'm continuing to study audition & on-camera technique in an ongoing class at Stan Kirsch Studios.


• I'm staying in shape by returning to my former love of hip-hop dance at Your Neighborhood Dance Studio.


• Have a versatile look- rocking my natural hair for commercial auditions & long curls for anything theatrical.


• Have a stable night job in production that keeps my days completely free for auditions. No golden handcuffs!

If you have room in your roster for an adorably sassy mid-20's black chick who values training, I'd love to meet with you at your earliest convenience.

Cheers,
Brandi Ford

Notice what I didn't have on there? Something that says, I recently booked... because I HAVEN'T BOOKED ANYTHING SO FAR THIS YEAR and we're about to be in SEPTEMBER!!!! AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH$*%&^$%$@$#@$!!!!!

If you can't tell, it's frustrating. I'm frustrated. *Sigh* But I had to write something so I called attention to what sounded good in my head.


Well, these were the 3 {mildly depressing} same day responses I received:

1. Who is the other company followed 5 minutes later with I saw your reel. This is a pass for me. 


2. Thank you for your interest.  I do have a couple of clients who would be a direct conflict and it would not be fair to you or them to meet. Best of luck.


3. Hi Brandi: Take the rep offered! I can't take on another actor at your level right now! 

After eating some ice cream {doesn't that make EVERYTHING just feel better, at least temporarily?}, I soaked in what the first manager had to say and resolved to shoot some more footage for my reel. I already knew I needed to add some dramatic scenes to it but this highlights that need even more.

Bottomline: Gotta get this taken care of and until I do, no more submissions to representation.

Day 224: Contract Review

Day 224: Reviewed manager contract and made note of 2 sections I don't understand, 1 section I want to amend and 1 section I want to remove. Going to ask around for entertainment lawyer referrals and will hopefully find someone who can review & amend this contract for $150 or less.

Day 222: Manager Meeting

Day 222: Manager meeting with the ex-manager of my friend who referred me. Turns out they came to a monetary agreement that they can both live with and he gave me some tips earlier this week to help me to prepare. While he's still glad he left her since he wants to go out for more guest-star and recurring roles, he says she'll hustle to get me auditions for co-stars and Under 5's {meaning Under 5 lines}, of which I currently don't get any. The meeting went very well and lasted for about an hour and a half. She loved my headshots and the fact that my hair is versatile and in the end she told me she's interested and offered to sign me! She seems like a very sweet woman with a motherly, nurturing vibe and I'd be happy to work with her. However, I took the contract home to look over and will get back to her early next week.

Dos Años

July 17th marked my 2 year anniversary here in LA. In some ways it feels like I've been here much longer and in other ways I still feel very green. In the last 24 months, here's what I've learned...

*Warning- I haven't written a blog post outside of my daily activity entries in awhile so this is a long one.*

Training
Man if you have the money, do this from the outset! I wish I could've afforded to be in the class that I'm in a long time ago because it's making such a difference. To be able to hone the skills that you have as well as learn new ones on a consistent basis is necessary. Every other professional stays sharp in their skills by doing whatever it is they do on a daily basis. Lawyers, Doctors, Athletes, Musicians, they all work/practice/perform as much as they can to be at the top of their game. Yet Actors, especially those of us just starting out, don't usually get that opportunity to be working for the majority of the year so when you're not working you NEED to be in class if you want to compete with the girl or guy who will be auditioning for the same role as you. Don't fall into the trap of thinking your talent is so great that you can't use some polishing. Please. If you're not working {whether on film, TV or stage}, get in class.

Day Jobs
Of course, if you have no money you can't afford to be in class or to pay for other necessary actor expenses so getting a day job is vital. While I tried my hand at serving, it wasn't for me. I really like people and I want it to stay that way. If, however, you can overlook the incompetence that ignorant, uneducated, drunk, or just plain rude people exhibit from time to time while in a restaurant or bar, then by all means get yourself a serving or bartending job and make it work for you. There's a reason this is the most popular actor gig- it's flexible! There's also catering, temp work, substitute teaching, extra work {though this should be done sparingly if you really want to keep your days free for auditions}, babysitting, tutoring, security guard positions and production work if you can get on the night shift.

I work as a Night Logger/Transcriber for a production company because I happen to type pretty fast and accurately. It started off as a very unstable, on and off gig transcribing one show and has lead to a consistent job transcribing all the shows they produce so that now I only have a few weeks off throughout the year. It's not my dream day job by any stretch of the imagination. It's somewhat tedious. It keeps me away from my family at night when I'd rather be tucking the boys in and spending time with Stephen but it's a means to an end. It helps pay for acting expenses. Hell with the cost of living out here, it helps pay for household expenses! It keeps my days free for auditions. It has weekends off so I can get some family time. I can make-up any days I need to miss for a shoot. And best of all, I have autonomy. No one's looking over my shoulder micro-managing me which I CAN'T STAND! Even my supervisor is an actor, so he gets it. You gotta use the skill set you have to find the job or jobs that will allow you to do what you need to do to make this work.

Auditions
I've certainly learned what is worth my time and what isn't. When I'm notified that I have an audition I read the sides or the whole script if available, to see if it's something that I want to INVEST my time in. If so, full speed ahead. If not, I thank the CD for the opportunity and respectfully decline. This isn't foolproof. Sometimes the sides aren't available until you get there and you realize you wouldn't want to do the part even if they paid you. But other times, the audition experience is exhilarating and it's why we come out here- to have an opportunity to play these roles. At my stage in the game I'm mostly auditioning for student films, short films and ultra low-budget indie films, not to mention commercials. Of course TV is where I wanna be but getting in those audition rooms without representation, while not impossible, is no small feat.

Representation
Speaking of rep, I'm still on the hunt for a good manager and theatrical agent. I knew this would take some time so I'm not concerned at this point but I do know how important and truly helpful having good representation can be. I mean let's face it, there are PLENTY of TV casting offices that I can mail or drop-off my headshot to tons of times and they're still gonna call in the girl who was submitted by her agent or manager. That's just the way it goes. Certainly there are exceptions to the rule but who wants to rely on those odds? Not me. If I wanna play in that sandbox, I gotta get some theatrical rep on my team.

Support
While I have a lot of colleagues that are talented/nice/sweet/whatever, my actual circle of friends has gotten smaller and tighter. People who I thought were friends turned out to be colleagues only and those who I thought I'd never have a deep connection with because of our differences have turned out to be some of the people I love the most {Tara & Lex for instance}. Having friends I can call back in Houston is wonderful {and I wouldn't trade them for the world} but you really do need a tribe out here to survive. You need people who understand the daily grind that you've chosen to put yourself through because they're doing the same. They understand the anxiety and self-doubt you feel from time to time yet they also get that there's nothing else in the world you'd rather do. Their support is invaluable, especially if you're not getting it at home.

Which leads me to the toughest one...

The homefront
My husband loves me. He loves my drive. He loves my ambition. He loves my steadfast determination to pursue something I want until I get it.

What he doesn't love is LA.

He doesn't love that his salary is the same or very close to what he'd make in the south, yet the cost of living is 2 to 3 times more. He doesn't love that $150,000 can buy us a nice house with space and a yard for our boys somewhere in TX while out here it can barely get you a decent condo. He doesn't love that he has to spend a fortune to fly out to visit his parents while he can just take a road trip if we lived closer. He doesn't love that I have very few Christian friends out here who can encourage me in my walk with Christ, while all my friends back in Houston believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and try to share his love with others. Most importantly, he doesn't love that he's been helping me pursue my dream for the last 2 years while neglecting his. In case you're wondering, he wants to be a Pastor.

All of these things I can understand, especially the last one. There's no way I could've come out here and do what I've done without him being by my side and I want nothing more than for him to feel the utter joy that I feel from pursuing what I love most. I just want him to feel it HERE. Because to ask me to leave LA, the one place I physically NEED to be if I'm going to pursue TV & film work when we just got here only 2 years ago... I can't do it. I just, can't.

So there's that.

A lot has happened in 2 years. Some good, some not so good but it's all a part of my "adventure" I guess. And I share it because I know some of you are going through the same things too so this blog is my way of saying you're not alone. Or maybe it's my way of reaching out and hoping that I'm not alone. Either way, hopefully I'll have more exciting stuff to share by Year 3.

Day 190 - 194: Brandi the busy bee

Day 190: Listened to the second draft of the score for episode 4. We should be good to go!

Day 191: Resumed internship with the casting office of a primetime TV show.  Now that their summer hiatus is over and they're beginning to cast for episodic season in the fall, I'm coming back once a week to help out and learn as much as I can. Later, I met with Tara for a writing session.

Day 192: Class at SKS: Today we did on-camera work and it's very easy to see I still have a lot of practicing to do to get to the point where I can be truly still and laser focused while on camera.

Day 193: Emailed manager to reschedule meeting... later found out her relationship with the colleague who referred me has hit a rather sour note so she might not be returning my calls. After getting some of the details of their sour experience I won't be following up with her any further.

Day 194: Reserved the screenwriting book "Save the Cat" from the library so that I can get my hands on it once it becomes available. Read some of the articles in the archives at Go Into the Story.