My First "Date" (with the Agent)

My meeting with "the agent"went well but I have yet to hear back. I find these meetings interesting, challenging and a bit awkward...much like a first date. On one hand, I want to be completely be myself, warts and all. Yet, on the other hand, I sometimes want to impress him and so I try and figure out what it is "they" are looking for and conform to this idea. Thankfully though, I have some "wisdom/years" under my belt and have learned that at the end of the day, this strategy doesn't help anyone, least of all myself.

So, it's our first "date". I arrive in the office all gussied up which, for me means showered with hair blown dray, make-up applied and a pair of high-waisted jeans to show how "stylish" I can be (little does anyone know that I spend most of my days in a pair of spandex capris with a tank top and no make-up). I walk to the reception desk where I am then asked to wait. I sit awkwardly on the overstuffed couch that doesn't allow me to sit up straight to avoid "the fat bulge". I am relegated to sitting on the edge so as to position myself just "so".

I casually peruse the trade papers as if it's something I do daily. I should but I don't but I did learn that 90210 got picked up for more episodes. I am so excited, are Dylan and Kelly getting back together...wait, wrong cast - - I don't even know who is in the "new" one. Ten minutes pass when "the agent" i.e. "my date" hurriedly comes in and apologizes for making me wait. Whether he is truly sorry or wants me to believe that he is really busy because he is booking SO much talent, I will never know. For my sanity, I believe that he is very busy. We shake hands and do the inconspicuous "once-over" as I like to call it. You know, the look from head to toe without really letting the other person know that you're doing it. My sister actually has a different technique with me. She is a modeling agent and makes no qualms about give me the once-over when I am acutely aware that I am in sweats and t-shirt. This once-over, regardless of who is doing it, isn't fun but is necessary.

He leads me to his office and we sit and talk about random stuff. One may find it interesting to learn that we talk very little about acting. Our conversation starts with some stuff about me being "new" to LA. To me, fifteen months feels like a long time but to him, I am a new Angeleno. He asks me how it was to be Miss USA ? I feel bad as I correct him and burst his bubble, stating that I was just Miss Oregon, in the Miss America pageant, and this was many years ago. He still seems impressed so I roll with it and we talk some more. After about 30 minutes of exchanges, I can see his wheels churning in his brain and I am certain that he is asking himself, "can this girl make me money?" Conversely, I'm looking at him thinking, "is this guy/agency the right fit, does he have my best interest at heart, will he be aggressive with his representation of me and can I trust him?"

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have a hard time keeping my trap shut, so I make a conscious effort not to hog the conversation and be a self-obsessed actor who is screaming, "pick me, give me a chance, give me a job." I try to play it cool and let him talk for while. I once learned that you can judge the success of a conversation/interview based on how much you do NOT speak. I probably spoke for 60% of the conversation and I hope it's enough to get me a "second date".

We shake hands and he says that infamous Hollywood line, "we'll be in touch." I smiled and said, "thank you." As I drove away, I reviewed the meeting in my head and felt good. I like this guy and his agency. I like that he is also one of four kids and went to college. I like that he is a little zany (in a good way) and is somewhere in his first decade of the business, which means he has a fire in his belly and desires to make his mark on the industry. I think these are all pluses for me because, lets face it, I'm not Nicole Kidman being offered upwards of $20 million/picture. It's a gamble for both of us and it takes a certain amount of "magic" for he stars to align just perfectly where we'd both agree to enter into this relationship. I love that he shared a book he just read about dyslexia because it shows he is interested in other topics unrelated to "the industry". He seems like a well-rounded human and a nice guy. I think I would like him to be my agent but that isn't up to me.

I know, I sound like I'm getting married to the guy but I take this stuff seriously (as I should) and who I decide to represent me will have a significant impact on my future.

On a different topic, my husband and I depart for Vietnam tonight. The total flight time is around 19hrs. with a layover in Taipei. It's great because we can sleep on the flight and then when we arrive in Hanoi it's only 10:35 am. I am very excited and even purchased SLR camera for the adventure (and because I've been wanting to get more serious about photography for a while now). The rough outline of the tip is Hanoi to Halong Bay, travel down to Hoi An (beach town and great garments), then down to Nah Trang which is supposed to be hip beach town, down to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and over to Cambodia to Angkor Wat and back to Ho Chi Minh City where we'll depart from on the 21st. I intend to take a lot of photos and look forward to sharing the adventure.