You have probably heard that it is a good idea to keep in touch (send thank you notes, postcards, Christmas cards, congratulations, emails, whatever) with the folks you work with on a TV show or movie set. But how many of you keep in touch with the people you worked with on a commercial? Let me tell you about a friend of mine.
I called said friend recently, the fabulous Kristin Carey, for a chat (we hadn’t spoken in a while and we were due for a catch-up session). I asked what she had been up to lately and she said she had been out of town working on a Farrelly Brothers movie, Hall Pass. I knew she didn’t have a theatrical agent so I asked how she got in on it. Well, drum
roll. . . she did a commercial with them several years ago and kept in touch with postcards, etc. So, out of the blue one day, she received a call from her commercial agent saying that she had a screen test the next day for a film—and she booked it! Of course, it wasn’t really out of the blue because Kristin had kept in touch over the years and had created a relationship with Bobby & Peter Farrelly. Serendipity? Perhaps. Coincidence? Definitely not.
I love this story because it is another example of how commercials can lead to theatrical work. But it is also a good idea to keep in touch with these people because they will be making more commercials, too. I have had straight to call-backs and even a booking that I know came from keeping in touch with a director that I had worked with on an earlier commercial—is it just coincidence that it happened a week after sending out postcards? Hmmmm. If they like you, and get reminded that you are out there now and then . . .
Lilas Lane