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New Commercials (H&R Block)
“Hi, Liz!” I said. The Zoom callback started and I put on my Book Me smile, one part hope, and two parts desperation.
She squinted behind oversized glasses. “What are we looking at here?” As a casting director she’s probably seen some strange auditions. The way she said it told me she hadn’t quite seen this.
I was in the middle of another job, dressed as Ebenezer Scrooge. I was also in heavy prosthetic makeup, not the ideal situation for a callback for a “Secret Tax Prep Company,” as the breakdown had called it.
“Oh, uh…I didn’t have a chance to moisturize this morning…hahaha…haha....”
The director spoke up. “I…I dunno if I can send this to the client.”
“Oh sorry. Seth said he told you guys that I’d be on set today dressed as Scrooge.” Seth is my agent’s assistant, and was the one who coordinated the meeting.
Liz paused a moment. “He did not mention that.”
[I found out later that Seth did, in fact, mention it and it was just a misunderstanding.]
“But, you know what,” the director said, “why don’t we run it a few times and let’s see if it’ll work.”
Maybe he wanted to see me for the role, or maybe he wanted to help me save prosthetically aged face, but I appreciated him throwing me a bone. We ran the scene a few times, adjusting the direction with each take. “This time say it like you’re telling someone a secret.” “This time, like you can’t wait to tell your friend about it.” “This time, better.”
That evening, my agent emailed. “Can you send in another tape? They just want to see you out of the prosthetics.”
So I sent in another audition. The next day, another email from my agent. “Hi! Hope you’re having a great weekend! I’ve got a booking for you!”
I finished patting myself on the back this morning, just in time to see the three beauties drop.
How to get a commercial agent in nyc
Here’s the brief story of how I found a commercial agent in NYC who’s helped me book a ton of great work with great clients like Carl’s Jr / Hardee’s, Autodesk, Regeneron, Get Your Guide, Travelers Insurance, FILO, Prudential, and FanDuel. (Check out my commercial reel here.)
I created a profile on Backstage and started self-submitting to low-paying gigs ($200-$500) to build out my resume and get experience. Those gigs included GFuel, AT&T, Quadrant Homes, Westy Self Storage, Ask Mr. Franchise, Porch and Patio, Magyar Bank, Downs Ford, Hilltop Nissan, Sovereign Global Advisors, At Leisure Licensing (I wrote that script too), Interactive Brokers, and a handful of others… I didn’t know about Actors Access until later, but I’d recommend creating a profile and self-submitting there too.
I took Brooke and Mary’s On-Camera Commercial Intensive class (which I’d HIGHLY recommend). At the end of the class, they gave us a list of 10 agents and told us to mail—yes, mail—them our headshots and resumes.
One of the agents I’d just mailed happened to be doing a Meet & Greet at Actors Connection. I signed up for it. During our meet & greet, he liked my read of the sample script and invited me in for an office visit.
A few weeks later, I went to his office and signed with A3, and have been with them for the past 6 years.
UPDATE!
In February 2024 my former agency ceased operations. In May 2024, a casting director I’d booked the Autodesk gig with—Mary Callahan, of the aforementioned Brooke and Mary—emailed me and asked who I was auditioning with since A3 shut down.
I said no one.
The next day she introduced me to CESD. Two weeks later I had a Zoom with Kirsten Walther and Maura Maloney, and the following week I had my first audition through them.
They’ve since booked me with Naadam, Goldbelly, H&R Block, and, depending on when you read this, a whole lot more. I couldn’t be happier.
I love helping people get started, so if you have questions drop them the comments below. 👇
New Commercials
A new batch of national commercials just dropped for Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. I’m so so proud of these. It helps when you get a director as funny as Chris Werner, a co-anchor as funny as Oriana Lada, an agency as creative as 72andSunny, and a production team as hard working as Schrom. The whole team did an incredible job. Especially me.
In case you don’t watch TV, you can check them out below.
Oh! And I’m especially proud of my first Spanish-language commercial. I’d like to thank my seven years of Spanish language classes for preparing me to say “Planeros unidos” on national television. You can watch that one at the bottom of this page.