A Starving Artist and THE CONTRACT!

To sign, or not to sign:  that is the big fat question.

Everyone you ever talk to EVER in the business ever generally says "No."
"Whomever you sign with (once you actually sign with them) takes a percentage out of every paycheck you get, whether they helped you book the gig or not.  Do you want to give up that much of your money?"

But.
Now my curiosity has been peaked.  I've been made an offer, and I'm not sure if I can refuse it.

(Side-bar:  Before I jump into the actual story, let me just say this...

Dear Grad School,
Thank you so much for never preparing me for any ounce of this "acting as a business"-thing.  It's been a fabulous joy to have to figure all of this out of my own, to have been left essentially blind to all of this stuff:  how to market myself, how to spend my money in marketing myself, loopholes, agents versus managers, who's legit out here and who's not...all of that.  You gave me some wicked good training, but no real sense of the biz whatsoever.  I know most programs are like you, but just the same... .

Thanks.  A million.

 PS,  A legitimate Thank You to all of my friends who have helped me out in this regard.  I'm indebted.  Because of you, I haven't fallen on my face too hard.  Yet.)

And now, the dilemma:

I've been freelancing with a manager for the past year, and he's been pretty kickass.  He sends me out what feels like all of the time, I've booked things he's sent me out on, I've feel like I've earned his faith in me and vice-versa.

He is, in fact, the guy who was responsible for the HBO-audition (which he's pretty sure at this point has gone to someone with a name...which is kinda to be expected.  No big deal at all--I'm still just as happy.  ...I promise that I'm not just saying that.)

So, when I had sent him an email a few weeks back talking to him about said HBO-audition and how great it felt, he replied, "Great!  I'm glad.  Hopefully I can send you out on a lot more of those."  (Yes, please.)  "By the way, why don't you come in in a few weeks and we can start talking about setting you up with agents."

...

Immediately, I felt giddy.  My manager wants to set me up with agents?!  I'd be getting hugely sent out through a manager and agents?!  What a great day!!!

Then, I paused.  And I listened to the sub-text of that statement; and I knew that meant that a contract was going to be drawn up.  Oh.  No.

Just the same, I walked into his office and sat down, and he just started chatting all friendly-like.
"How are you?!"
"So, you really felt really good about that HBO-audition?...Run with that feeling."
"Are you happy with the age-group I've been sending you out for?"
"Have you thought about coming up with a one-woman show?" ...Oooooh.
 And then:
"So.  Here's where I'm at with you."  Oh boy.
"Hey--can you print out a contract for her?"  Oh.  Boy.
"I don't think that my taste in actors has changed over the years at all, but I think that the quality of them has, and that's all on you guys.  That's not me."

Oh no, well, I don't think that's entirely true...

"...No, it is.  I haven't really done anything.  Different, anyway.  But, here's the thing..."   

(Eeek.)

"Every time I turn on the TV, I see someone just like you in a show, or on a big commercial.  There's a ton of them, who you might even be better than."  Whoa.  "Like, the girl in the...oh.  The commercial with the 'Dirty Mouth'-gum?"

Orbitz.

"Right.  That 'lint licker!'-girl.  And she's in the Bing-commercial."


I love her.

"Right!  That's you." 

Thanks!

"No, but it is.  You see that, right?...I think that the only reason why you haven't booked any of those things yet is because I haven't gotten you in the door enough.  I think that once any of those big SAG-guys start to see you more, you'll be booking.  A lot."


Oh wow.

"Have you done a SAG-gig ever?"

Yeah.  I actually signed my Taft-Hartley shortly after grad school.  (Thank you, Heather Laird!)

"Oh! Wow.  OK, then it's just a matter of time."  And I'm grinning like a son of a bitch.  "I want to start working more closely with you because I believe in you.  And I want to introduce you to some agents."  And I'm grinning even wider.  "I just want us to work closer."

And then, they hand the contract over.

"So, here's this.  I want you to take it home, read it over, a lot, and then call me in a week and ask me any questions about it that you might have.  I don't want you to jump into this, but I do want you to think about it."

...

And so, "think about it" I have.  A lot. 

And alright, alright, alright--I took his bait.  He made me feel awesome in that room, he knew exactly how to, and now I've been sitting here for a week wondering what the heck to do.

But of COURSE I have been!
Who in their right mind doesn't like hearing that someone has faith in them?  That they have someone wanting to work for them?  Why wouldn't that feel great and make me listen to what he has to say?!

But.
I've had a week, so I've had time to think a wee bit more rationally.  And here's how I feel:

For A... I'm poor.
I'm not ready to know and accept the fact that every gig I book--whether he books it for me or I book it for myself--is going to have 15% taken out of it.  AND, if I were to sign with an agent:  25%.  That makes me want to yak.

But more than that (For B...) I'm not ready to blindly throw myself into a contract with a man--a man who I like, a lot, and believe in, a lot--who says that he's going to continually champion for one thing unless I see him really try and champion for it first.

(...Maybe this is what happens when you spend enough time in the Show Me State--you want people to prove things to you more. Show me...).

So.  We have a phone date to talk about it.  Today.  After my impromptu audition where I have to wear a bathing suit WHY HAVE I BEEN ASKED TO WEAR A BATHING SUIT?!?!  ON CAMERA!!!! Terrifying.

But, I'm scared.  I'm going to ask for a "trial period" of sorts, like 3-6 months to test this out before I actually sign anything, which I think is a perfectly sound request; but I don't know how well these requests go over.  I don't know if that's a blasphemous thing to ask in the business sense or not.  But, I'm trying it. We'll see.

Cross your fingers.

For that, and for my sarong staying up.