Looking For an Acting Agent - The Guide
Okay, let's get one thing straight. Agents are a necessary part of the equation in any good actor's career. They help actors find acting jobs, micro manage their careers, and use their wide pools of contacts to help an actor along - all for a fee, of course. There are, however, free acting agents. Now, the term "free" acting agent makes people think that the agent won't be charging them a dime. If that sounds too good to be true, guess what? You're right. Free acting agents are simply agents who don't charge you anything EXCEPT the standard cut they get if you manage to land a job successfully. Here is the criteria to help you find a good, reliable free acting agent.
Make sure that the agent is registered with the Screen Actors Guild or another similarly reputable group. While quite a few free acting agents are independent operators, they are best avoided like the plague when you're new to the industry. Acting in general has been likened to a crocodile pit or shark infested waters for very good reasons, and more often than not the perpetrators of trouble are unscrupulous independent operators. Any agent that's actually registered with a reliable guild has to abide by it's rules and regulations, which are made for the protection of actors.
Another criteria to consider is that YES, the agent will eventually be charging you a percentage for services rendered. Nothing in life is free, and anyone trying to tell you otherwise is mistaken. So, you should find out exactly what services the agent is willing to offer for free, and more importantly which ones he WILL be charging you for. Balance your options, and choose someone that won't charge you a dime if, you can't get any successful auditions.
The simplest yet most legitimate type of agent contract can be broken down into three considerations. One, the agent will help you FIND auditions, and will even book you for them for free. Two, IF you land the acting job successfully, only then will he take a fee (the industry standard is 10% of your fee). Third, in the event that you fail to land the acting job, you WON'T owe the agent anything. Details can often get more complex than this, but this is the most basic operation style of legitimate free acting agents. Lastly, remember to READ the contract before signing anything. You never know when something might get snuck in the fine print...