Another glimpse into how I use excel spreadsheets to manage my career. When I joined Actor's Equity, I made a list of theaters in the region that offer Equity contracts. And then I rated them based on how much of an 'in' I have at those theaters.
Like this:
0 = I don't know anyone there.
1= I've met someone from their casting/artistic staff.
2= I've done a general audition.
3= I've been called in to read for a specific project.
4= I've had a callback or done a reading/small project.
5= I've been cast at that theater.
So my spreadsheet has 3 columns: rating, company name, and next step.
Having this spreadsheet helps me know where I'm at with each company, and what my next action should be with each different theater. For some companies, I'm looking for an introduction to their casting director, for others, I want to make sure I do their generals next time they come up, and at others I'm pitching myself for appropriate roles in their next season.
Since I've got everything in one place, I can develop specific targeted strategies to move my relationships up the ladder. I know that zero doesn't turn into 5 overnight - this is a marathon, not a sprint - and that building and maintaining relationships over time is one of the keys to a long career.
I'm going to be sharing info like this at the class I have coming up on February 11th from 1pm to 2:45pm for Theatre Bay Area called 'Navigating Your Life as a Bay Area Actor' which is part of TBA's ATLAS program, a career development program for performing artists. If you'd like to take my class (or want to recommend it to someone), it costs $25 for TBA members/$40 for non-members, and you can reserve your spot by calling (415) 430-1140 x10 and speaking to a TBA Membership Associate, or by emailing tba@theatrebayarea.org. There are a bunch of other great classes too, on topics like time management, goal setting, and PR/Marketing for the actor. Worth checking out!
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