If you’ve ever fathomed the inner workings of the talent management machine, I can now scratch it off my bucket list.
In one afternoon I sat down with Vickie Petronio-King and Lena Lees-Heidt of Play Management. These two lovely ladies were very gracious when they agreed to meet me for an interview.
They, along with Trina Allen-Abt, have been managing actors for 10 years. They keep their rosters at approximately 30 clients each.
If a manager has a role that’s better suited for another manager’s clientele, they will pitch that client aggressively.
“We all support and encourage each others rosters. Their successes are everyone’s successes.”
“Can you talk me through the process?”
“It’s quite rudimentary. We receive breakdowns daily along with a casting workbook. We submit based on what they’re looking for, followed up with phone calls and emails to the casting directors. From there, it’s on to the audition process, the call back process and ideally the booking process.”
They represent talent such as Jacob Tremblay (Room) as well as his two sisters. Sarah Jeffery from Shades Of Blue, Amanda Crew from Silicon Valley, Jared Keeso and Adrian Holmes from 19-2 are a few other clients they consider family.
They recently opened an office in Atlanta and have clients employed in Toronto, NY and L.A. They suspect they will have offices there within 10 years.
A client of theirs has made the transition from actress to sought after director.
(To be continued Thursday)
(Photo: Tamara McGill)
