Recently my agent called me for a possible booking for a show that was taking place in an area that would require some good traveling on my part to get there. This doesn’t exactly sound like a life changing job either, so in that sense I was debating if it was worth it financially since I had to travel there.

Now usually it’s mainly the opportunity that I focus on as if something sounds like it can potentially be good in terms of pushing my acting efforts then I wouldn’t mind going the extra mile. That’s true for auditions too. Example, being considered for a large part in a high budget production is different than say a non-profit student film where you have to make a lot of traveling plans for.

But mostly though, I accepted it as at least it shows that the agent is doing something. At the same time the business relationship has to go both ways. If they keep getting me things and I keep shooting them down then I can only look at myself when I notice that things are going the way that I would like it to be.

As you may all know, I recently signed on with a different agent for my principal representation. On a personal level, I didn’t really have an issue with them as they seemed to be very nice and open. However, from a business side I just felt that I needed to be with a different agency that could better guide and push me towards my goals.

So as of today, I sent them a good bye letter of sort and mentioned how it was tough decision for me. They were actually fully understanding too and wished me the best which was great. I was just thinking too how “firing an agent” isn’t fun at all when you get along with people on a personal level.

As you may expect, I am represented by a different agency now. Business wise I feel really confident that it was the right thing to do and have gotten some good input and direction so far. Now I can just focus on the acting and audition parts of the field now.

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Interesting experience I had today. Not too long ago I attended that workshop where the casting director mentioned how they could care less which agent you are with. While that may be true from their end in calling you in, as I discovered from an actor’s point of view that sure is not the case.

Basically, having an agent who is knowledgeable about the industry can be crucial as they can provide you with advice and direction on what you need to do to make things happen for your career. Example, they can tell you who to train with, where you should advertise yourself and give you input about your portfolio.

Essentially, you want someone that will guide and help push your career as oppose to just submitting you for roles. I remember with my first agent all he did really was act as the middle person and a result I was basically on my own for the most part.

The agent and actor relationship shouldn’t be like that I’d say as it should be more like a partnership. So no, from an actor’s point of view just signing up with any agent isn’t going to be the same in terms of helping your career.

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So recently I made a deal with a local photographer where I exchanged some web services for him in exchange for his photography services. It was a pretty good barter too as both of what we wanted were fairly easy for each other where normally we would have to pay hundreds of dollars for someone else to do.

As a result, I am currently trying to decide the type of look that I should try to get for these photos as I currently still want to use the shots that I currently have too. So far, I think the main thing I need extra of are more casual looks.

At the same time, I thought this would be a good opportunity to get some good photos to use for my website as well. There is usually a difference between a good headshot for acting purposes and general use though. Hoping I can decide by the end of the week.

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Not too long ago I saw that new martial arts movie called Ip Man that starred an actor called Donnie Yen. He is pretty well known as a martial arts star in the East such as Hong Kong. While reading more about the movie since I thought it was very well done production wise and acting, I was reading some online postings from fans wondering why a person like this hasn’t received more attention in Hollywood for the North America crowd to see him.

Apparently he has but apparently he was only being offered roles that he didn’t really think was suitable for him. Therefore, for the most part he has stayed within the Asia film market. Some fans were even saying how it’s better that way as Hollywood would probably destroy the image that he has now and that he doesn’t really need it.

That is kind of interesting as usually most people say LA or Hollywood is the only way to get anywhere if you are serious about an acting career. In many ways it does make sense to just focus becoming established locally though. If you think about it, people will come knocking at your door from all places once you become established enough.