Episode 262: What to Get your Reps for the Holidays

Acting Business Boot Camp

What do you get your reps for the holidays, especially this year?

Because it is this year, the year of two strikes, after, let's see, a global pandemic, and a heck of a lot of other things going on in the world, I think we can be assured that it doesn't have to be some momentous gift.

So let's say you had a Killer year, maybe in theatrical at the beginning of the year, or you had a killer print year, or a killer modeling year, or a killer commercial or voiceover year, again Wahoo!

I want to hear about it because that sounds fabulous.

If you did, you can be more generous in what I'm going to suggest.

This year, I would go for a card.

A card that says something sincere in it about how much you appreciate them sticking by you or how much you appreciate their sense of humor or something genuine.

Now, that is if it is a very lean year for you.

If it's not been a lean year and you really want to do a little something, I go to my old standard of Amazon gift cards and Starbucks gift cards.

I know that's not that imaginative, but honestly, from the casting director's point of view, it's just a token.

If you want to take it one step further, then do a little investigating. When you were there, What were they eating? Was it Chipotle? Was it Sweetgreen? Was it McDonald's? Whatever it was, they have a little thing.

Maybe you know that they love VR games.

If they do, then get them a gift card that's appropriate for that.

If you know they love going to movies, get them a movie gift card to a movie theater near their work or their home.

You can be imaginative with this.

The other thing I recommend is A charity.

You can say, listen, in light of this being a crappy year for a lot of people, I wanted to give a little donation to a charity of your choice.

Ask them.

ASPCA and Women for Women International are the two charities of Acting Business Boot Camp. We give a portion of our proceeds every month to those two charities.

Broadway Cares, Equity Fights AIDS, that's always a great one for the industry.

The Actors Fund is another charity that's fantastic for the industry.

You can do stuff like that, too.

I always feel these things are better than alcohol or cookies because then they get to choose and they get to have something that's special for them.

And I also love those gifts where somebody gave it a little more thought.

Do some homework on this.

Think about it. What would your reps really like?

And honestly, if it's just a card with something nice, that's perfect.

Just take that moment. Stop and take that moment and think about what you most appreciate them.

Thank you for noticing me.

Thank you for seeing me, seeing my talent, and believing in me.