Tips From Talent Agent Tabitha Kit
tIPS FROM A TALENT AGENT
An Informative Chat with Tabitha Kit of Kit International Talent
We were lucky to speak with Tabitha Kit on our Auragram Live series this month. Tabitha is the founder of Kit International Talent and a great source of knowledge for actors looking to start working in the film industry. If you are would like to know more about how a talent agent works with actors, look no further! Here is an excerpt from Aura Casting’s interview with Tabitha.
Taylor: I imagine that Kit International Talent sees a ton of submissions from actors who are seeking talent agency representation. How do you choose who to represent?
Tabitha: There are about 300-400 submissions a month that come through. The thing is that a small number of those submissions are actually agency ready. I’ve seen selfies, I’ve seen screenshots of selfies and Snapchat filtered photos. It’s not that difficult to weed out. Then, there are some that we have to dive into and look at clips and reels. Do they know terminology? For myself, I’m also looking at availability and seeing if they are repped in places that I already service. My process is similar to a lot of other agents, but it may be a little bit different. I’m looking to see if they can make an audition happen. Have they taken the necessary steps to get their photos together? Are they doing anything that we could use to help market them? Have they positioned themselves correctly for us?
Taylor: What is the process of submitting to Kit International Talent? Does it start with an application? Is there an interview or audition tape?
Tabitha: I used to have them do a monologue or a cold read prior. Now, if I’m scheduling a meeting with somebody, I know that I want to work with them. I start with demo reels, and then I look at headshots, and I think, ‘Can I use these materials to get the actor out there? Are they ready? Have I seen tapes from them? Am I familiar with the actor? Who have they coached with?’ That’s a really big factor to me as well. Sometimes if there are names on their resume, I’ll vet them a little bit and ask for references and whatnot. For applying to Kit, they start with the submission form on the website. I’ll go through, take a look, and think, ‘You know what? This person stands out to me. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something captivating there.’ Then I schedule the meeting. I really focus on them telling me about their goals and seeing how I can help. I want to see if it’s the right fit.
Taylor: If you have an agent already, what should you be doing when you’re not working on a set? How do you stay on top of your game as an actor?
Tabitha: Here’s the thing - Depending on what type of actor you are, you may not audition every day. You may only audition a few times a month. What you need to be doing in your free time is actively training. Get in with various coaches for various things. Accents, scene study, comedic monologues. Anything that you can find, because when those auditions do come though, you want to be able to book them. If you have all that down time and you haven’t been working on it, chances are you may not book that audition. If you spend the downtime preparing and being ready for any door that opens, it will help you and your agent in the long run. It also helps us know that you’re doing everything right, you’re crossing off all of our boxes, and you’re working with good coaches. When you’re keeping us in the loop, that helps us help you.
Edited for clarity. Watch the full interview here.
