The Purpose and The Substance…of a Talent Agency

After diving into the joyous waters of Tax Codes, Articles of Incorporation and IRS Determinations, Ming has discovered two potentially key issues that may determine how this agency would be organized in relation to East West Player’s nonprofit status.

PURPOSE
Does the agency further EWP’s exempt purpose (as originally determined when the organization incorporated)? An example Ming offers: a halfway house operates a furniture store. The store employs clients in their transition back into the mainstream. Because of this, the furniture store’s ‘for-profit’ activity clearly serves the purpose of the organization’s mission (as defined in the IRS’s definitions of nonprofit activities). To the IRS, EWP falls in the category of ‘education.’ Thus, it appears that if a clear argument is made that the agency would advance our educational purposes, then the creation of an agency as part of our ongoing mission would not raise issues. However, if the IRS deems that the agency does not fall within our original nonprofit purpose as defined by our determination and articles of incorporation, the question of substance comes into play.

SUBSTANCE
Or rather, how substantial will the activities of the agency be in relation to EWP’s other activities (theatre productions, acting/writing courses, youth outreach programs, etc.)? Many nonprofits have for-profit activities (theater concessions & souvenirs, hospital gift shops, etc.). Often, these activities are small in the scope of the organizations major activities. Thus, in the case of activity deemed as “unrelated for-profit” activity in a nonprofit model, less is best. In the case of the agency, however, we have to question how much constraint we are putting on this agency model if it must be tied to a certain (yet-to-be determined) percentage of the organization’s operating budget.

These questions are just beginnings which need to be vetted through legal counsel as well as foresighted business and mission-driven planning. Onward!

--Lisa Tang, East West Players

What Are the Qualitative Aspects of Establishing a Talent Agency?

As our [East West Players] coordinator Ming Lo concludes interviews with “qualitative” interviewees, he muses on the right-brain, left-brain divide:

In our modern culture, much has been made of the “right-brain” vs. “left-brain” differences – that is, the artistic and the intuitive (right brain) vs. the logical and rational (left brain). I happen to think that there’s no reason that we should all be capable of both, but sometimes, it seems that society doesn’t really agree. Many people adamantly declare themselves to be one or the other. Artists violently shy away from math and shudder at the thought of business. Meanwhile scientists, doctors and accountants would rather take the SATs again than stand in front of an audience and do a monologue.

Our goal is to figure out whether it makes sense to set up an Asian talent agency in Los Angeles – a question that mixes the artistic with bottom-line thinking. To come to a conclusion, you have to look at the qualitative side (Do actors want to be part of such an agency? Does it fill a market need?) as well as the nuts and bolts numbers (How much is office space for an agency? How much is the phone bill?).

The challenge is, sometimes, people are qualitative or quantitative, but rarely both.

There was the agent’s assistant. She’d worked in various agencies for many years, and so I asked her, “Any idea what the rent is for an agent’s office, or some of the other expenses?” Her reply: “You know, I hear these numbers all the time, but they just don’t register.”

Process has an impact on the outcome. So, I asked a casting executive at a network, “So, how does the casting process work at your studio?” I thought it was a very basic question, but the answer was another question: “What does that have to do with your question [about whether it makes sense to establish an Asian agency]?”

In the interviews, I say, “I’d like to ask about your background.” Twice, the reply was, “Why is that important?”

This thing always remind me, what’s obvious and makes sense to one person, often does not to another. A bit of a challenge, but makes the process interesting.

Ming’s next steps will include more “quantitative” side questions—researching successful 501c3 models that blend for-profit with non-profit and meeting with our finance/legal team for “nuts and bolts” of the proposed business plan.

--Lisa Tang, East West Players

How Important Are a Leader's Connections to the Success of a Talent Agency?

East West Players’ research addresses the value of ‘who you know’…

It’s a relationship business. (duh)

Coordinator/Consultant Ming Lo has now interviewed with a range of stakeholders: theatre managers, actors, agents, TV network executives, marketing firm CEO’s, lawyers. Reaction to the idea of an Asian Pacific American talent agency has been as varied as the interviewees, ranging from enthusiasm to curiosity to (very frank) disinterest. But, one glaring trend from nearly every interview was the acknowledgement that the success of the agency would hinge on the person recruited to take the lead as an agent. Or rather, it would hinge on the connections he/she has.

Case in point: One agent from a mid-sized respectably established agency (who asked to remain anonymous) described some of the fellow agents in the firm. “One agent has 10 connections. Another has 5. This other one has 5.” The implication: These agents are defined (if even only in part) by their connections- specifically to casting directors- enough for them to be numerically listed and categorized. These connections, as Arts Education Director Marilyn Tokuda, has noted, become the ‘lifeblood’ for the agency.

The logic is this: A casting director (often under pressure from the director and/or producers) will often turn to trusted agents who can send 5-10 strong actors with one phone call. Often under deadline tight deadline, he/she won’t bother making cold calls or contacting agents with ‘poor’ reputations. This streamlines the audition process; saves on scheduling and, ultimately, production costs. It’s a matter of efficiency. This is no big surprise in an industry defined by the bottom line. But this is confirmation that in the creation of an APA talent agency, we we’ll have to wrap this dose of ‘reality’ with our goals of creating a mission-driven prototype. To win the game, we may have to play by these rules—or at least bring on someone who does. We know: To support careers of APA actors, we must form a venture that is effective (at the least) and also financially viable (ideally!). Possible Future Blog Title: Hippie-spirited community activism dons HBO Entourage-style suit (and attitude) to meet our mission.

Individual interviews (by phone and in person) are ongoing. Arts Education Director Marilyn Tokuda and Coordinator/Consultant Ming Lo have begun to cull and analyze the data. (Did you know – according to one source – that the average base salary for a Hollywood agent ranges from $85-$120K? Not a lot of these kinds of salaries in nonprofit theatre!)

The next step: Draft 1 of a Business Plan. Stay tuned.



--Lisa Tang, East West Players

What Are the Benefits to Joining an Asian Pacific American Talent Agency?

East West Players have been receiving differing opinions as they pursue the creation of an Asian Pacific American talent Agency. Here's a recent update...

Our information gathering interviews are continuing. We’ve found a range of reactions to the idea of an APA (Asian Pacific American) talent agency, from excitement to hesitancy to (and this has happened more often than one may expect) initial hesitancy which grows into excitement. Part of this is an initial denial of ‘being held back because of ethnicity’ in their current agency (“No, no. My agency sends me out to all kinds of calls”). But as the interview continues, there is a moment when a realization strikes (“Well, I do get sent out for a lot of Latino roles. I don’t feel I’m right for them because I know I can’t bring that kind of [cultural] flavor, but I’ll go. Maybe an APA agency would be nice because I won’t have to explain…” –A Filipino American Actor).

As we continue compiling our findings, we’d like to toss out a question that was asked to us and has caused us to reflect the range of our exploration process.

Why not a talent management firm as opposed to a talent agency? Given the scope of our mission and the goals we’ve outlined for this agency…we had an A-ha! moment. Why not?

Stay tuned.

--Lisa Tang, East West Players

What Questions Should an Asian-American Talent Agency Ask?

East West Players has received some enthusiastic feedback from our long time community partners who have generously offered support (such as relaying good contacts in the industry for further research). These partners have also raised good questions we should consider. Here are some questions we knew we would be asking ourselves when we broached this new venture. We welcome any other questions you may be interested in as we continue in our information gathering!

• What are the financial bottom lines? What would it take for the agency to support itself and the theatre?

• What are possible legal, financial, and organizational ramifications of institutionalizing these activities in our standing non-profit model?

• How do we structure an APA-focused agency so artists feel empowered and better supported?

• How would producers, Film/TV, and other theatres perceive its value?

• What new niche would this prototype create in bridging the worlds of theatre and Film/TV to support the careers of our artists?


--Lisa Tang, East West Players

East West Players Project Launched

And we also have East West Players today explaining some of the goals of their project and why it’s such a relevant endeavor.

East West Players is excited to launch our Think It! Project. Our project will allow us to explore the possibility of starting an Asian Pacific American artist talent agency within the structure of our organization.

Since 1965, East West Players has been at the forefront of Asian Pacific American performing arts. Today, our programming includes mainstage productions as well as adult acting and writing conservatories, youth outreach, professional career development workshops for actors, and behind the scenes advocacy in the major media networks. An APA artist talent agency would combine our mission of supporting APA talent (beyond the walls of our theater) with reinforcing our organizational financial stability (by creating another earned income revenue stream). At first glance, this seems to be a natural evolution for EWP. On a daily basis, our Arts Education Director receives casting calls for film, theatre, and television projects for APA talent. Currently, she forwards requests to our network of APA actors and community members. Often, many new actors in our network book jobs and receive their early experiences because of her referrals and behind the scenes support. However, on the other end of the process, we notice that casting projects generally only come to EWP to cast for ethnic-specific roles. This limits the amount of experience our new actors are exposed to as they hone their craft. Thus, at first glance, formalizing an APA talent agency seems to be a natural evolution. It will allow EWP to charge a commission for work we are already doing AND empower us to actively send talent to audition for non-ethnic specific roles that other agencies may not otherwise make available to them.

Through this Think It! Process, we hope to confirm whether an APA talent agency in our nonprofit business model is feasible, by exploring the questions that surround business structure, market demand, stakeholder buy-in, etc. We have already confirmed a talented business consultant, Ming Lo, who will join the project as an organizational project coordinator. Ming (who brings to the table an MBA from Stanford University as well as many years working in the Hollywood industry) will work closely with Arts Education Director Marilyn Tokuda to reach an ultimate goal of creating a business plan by the end of our grant period (2/29/2011).

--Lisa Tang, Development Manager, East West Players

A-ha!: Refreshing the Process

As the new year is still fresh, we thought it would be a good time to RE-refresh minds on the program and introduce it to those of you who are newcomers to this blog. The MetLife/TCG Ah-ha! Program: Think It, Do It was created to encourage and foster creative thinking and action among TCG member theatres. A-ha! has two components: Think It grants (up to $25,000) give theatre professionals the time and space for research and development, and Do It grants (up to $50,000) support the implementation and testing of new ideas. Over 180 TCG Member Theatres submitted proposals for the second round of the program, and five of them received grants.

TCG is proud and delighted to present the second round of A-ha! recipients with a brief summary of their exciting projects. In addition, Jenny Millinger and Anthony Runfola of Childsplay give us an update of their project so far…

Visit us again to read more from this group of recipients while they share their process with the field as their projects move from thoughts to actions.

Think It!
Book-It Repertory Theatre will investigate the feasibility of a long-term partnership between Book-It and other non-profits to create a literacy-based theatre arts complex that nourishes their entire community.

Childsplay will convene experts from theatre design, manufacturing, recycling and sustainability to explore in depth strategies for implementing green initiatives (renew/reuse/recycle) in stagecraft.

East West Players proposes to develop an artist talent agency and diversity advocacy prototype, leveraging their theatre as a resource for performing opportunities and artistic career development and establish them as a resource for Asian Pacific American talent.

Salvage Vanguard Theater will undertake an exploratory process to develop and test a business plan for a production element co-op (scenic, lighting, costume) for small to mid-size companies in the Austin, Texas theater community.

Do It!
Clubbed Thumb seeks to partner with a larger theater to co-curate an upcoming production. Both partners will mutually choose, staff and cast a play to be produced at Clubbed Thumb’s June festival and then in a longer run at the larger theater.

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Over the coming months, this blog will be updated with images, text, video, quotes – anything we can think of that might help the field learn from these projects. We want to share what’s working and what isn’t working.

Feel free to comment, email or interact with us and the recipients in any way you can think of! This blog is for you, the field!