Market Yo'self: A Guide On How To Make The People Who Matter Remember Who You Is

Dear Friends: I am about to tell you the single-most disturbing thing you may discover on your journey towards becoming a professional actor.... Your talent means nothing if you can't market yourself. A lot of people find this out the hard way; they graduate from university with a degree in theatre or they close a show, and what do they do? Nothing. They wait for Nina Gold to come over and knock down their door. And, of course, Ms. Gold has far better things to do (no offense.) Truth be told, the ability to be your own manager is just as important as being able to perform a monologue, and I'm going to tell you how to start.

1: Go To The Theatre Conferences, Forums, Networking Events, etc.
As unpleasant as it may sound, you have to meet people and get them to at least know that you're out there. I don't expect you to march down to a Broadway level convention, but a regional theatre? You damn well can. Build a rapport with the people of the smaller theatres and you can be sure that when casting season comes around, you'll have a better chance of succeeding. Be polite, friendly, say you're an actor, maybe name whatever you're working on, and then ask about them and their projects. No one wants to hear you talk at length about yourself (as interesting as you may be.) People like to tell you about them. Keep your conversation short and sweet, then move on. Oh! and give them a business card or a follow on Facebook, Instagram, etc. The whole point of making connections is to connect with them.

2: Do The Horrendous Social Media Thing
I am not a social media person. There, I've said it. I'm active on my personal Facebook and that's about it. My Insta is painfully bare and any one of you who follows me on Twitter (shameless plug: @LBFActress) knows that I leave a lot to be desired in the realm of tweeting. I can't think of anything interesting to say on there!.... ANYWAY, I digress: You need to jump on the social media band wagon so casting peeps and theatre peeps have an easy way to contact you. Try to post something every once in a blue moon, even if it's "I can't tweet #useless." ALSO: You need to have a link to your reels and resumes/CVs in the bio of your page. It's a helpful thing. Make a YouTube Playlist of your demos for free and paste a link. It can't hurt (unless it's badly done, which is another blog post to be written.)

3: Chat Around At Auditions
I know how you feel: You're nervous enough waiting to be called without having to hear about the various "successes" of the other people in the room. But you never know who knows of another audition you might be right for. Compare notes.

That's all, Darlings. As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, leave a comments below, send a message through Twitter, or hunt me down. Happy New Year!