Years ago, just before I “left the business” for five years, I started a search for an agent. Â This was interrupted by the realization that a large scale project I produced had left me burned out and no longer passionate about theatre/acting. Â So I left it, giving up the agent search and telling myself that I would never go back to it.
Five years later, I tentatively returned to acting, telling myself it was a hobby and that I would stick with my day job and just do plays and things when it was convenient (usually when people asked me), and I didn’t bother to take up the agent hunt again, because…well, why would I if it wasn’t something I was intending to do as a profession?
Of course, that couldn’t last.  The theatre bug, once it bites, is incurable.  It might go into remission, but it will never truly go away.  And once the passion for it returned, I had to admit that the “day job” I was working was not enough. Doing the occasional play or film was not enough.  And so, recently I’ve been thinking about how to do more, and I’ve had to accept that really, if I want to do more acting, I need an agent.
Its been a while since I was in the market for an agent, and during that time, I could talk about being relatively new to the business. Â Now, I’m 40 and can no longer make that claim. Â If you are an unrepresented actor, later in life, what is the best approach for introducing yourself to an agent? Â Any suggestions how to go about this? Â Any suggestions for agents who might be in the market for a..well, a me?