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>> KRISTINE: Hi, this is Kristine Oller! Welcome to the Actor’s Library How-They-Did-It Success
Story Newsletter. This issue features L.A. based actress, Katie Enright who shares the
bold move that led to her meeting an executive producer of two television shows. Take it
away Katie.
>> KATIE: I had been feeling really homesick and in my hometown there’s a lot of TV shows
that are being shot right now so I really wanted to intern for this executive producer
of this TV show. I tried really hard to get some contact information. I tried all my normal
routes. I could not get his email. I couldn’t find any information and in one of my Google
searches I saw him on Facebook. I knew it was him because it said Executive Producer
of the show, lives in Los Angeles. I knew it was him and I thought you know what, what
the heck. I’m just going to send him a Facebook message. I normally wouldn’t do that, but
he was just so hard to contact that I was like, I know it’s not “the most professional
means.” And some people keep their Facebook page very private but I just thought what
the heck. And I sent him a message: “I would love to intern for you. I would work several
hours for free. Just to learn.” He actually Facebooked me right back and said I’m sorry,
we actually don’t have interns anymore, because all of the interns got together and
sued Fox. So none of the other networks will allow interns anymore and he said, and we’re
all set on assistants right now but check back, you never know what happens.
The TV show that he was doing recently just got a spin-off show and I heard this news
and I thought, you know what, I’m just going to send him another Facebook message and check
right back in with him and see, hey, maybe now would be a better time. And I did and
he said you know we’re actually waiting for the official pickup for the new show.
I’ll keep you in mind. And the next day the show was officially picked up. And I was
like, oh my gosh; this is so perfect. Yeah, it was just great timing. And then I sent
him a little congratulations on your show getting picked up, clearly with the subtext
of don’t forget me a few days later.
A week later he said, can you email your resume to my email address? I ended up finally getting
this email address that I’d tried so hard to get. And then I was set up for a meeting
like two days later. So I had an interview with him two days later. Sadly, it was just
not the right position for me because it was for a PA position. And it was Monday through
Friday, 9-6 no flexibility. Basically I would have to give up acting for six or nine months
and that was just something that I was not willing to do. And it wouldn’t have been
a good fit for me, for them either because I would have been secretly longing to be somewhere
else. Not there. But it was still a great opportunity and still a really great situation.
>> KRISTINE: Absolutely and you guys are on good terms because of how professionally you
handled everything about this interaction. That’s what really impressed me when you
first told the story in our Actor’s Mastermind Group. It was like wow, etiquette-wise you
were really professional. And you told them, “I don’t think this is a good fit” and
then I think you even recommended someone who might be a good fit that you met later.
I’m sure you’ve left him with a really great impression of you.
>> KATIE: Thank you for saying that. That’s very nice of you. I was really careful in
that I didn’t friend him on Facebook. Like I said Facebook for some people is really,
really a funny thing. Some people use it as a business tool. Other people keep it very
personal. And I didn’t know what his boundaries were. So I didn’t friend him, I just sent
him the message. And after the interview he kind of said, you know, I would be open to
having somebody that was an actor as long as you could get your shifts covered. But
it kind of made me feel like the second I had two auditions in one day, which you know,
is Murphy’s Law, it’s going to happen, I think it would be a real big issue. That
would be a really bad situation. I work so hard, I get this job, and obviously I want
to be on the show that he’s Executive Producing. That’s the subtext under everything so that
would be really awful to get this job and then to get fired because I couldn’t make
the commitment.
But it’s true, I found somebody else that would actually be a great fit so I emailed
him and I said, thank you so much, this probably for both of us isn’t a good fit. And ironically
enough when we were talking in our interview we spoke about a really successful actor that
is kind of more known in his region and isn’t nationally known and ironically enough he
won a Tony. Two weeks later after the interview, after I had emailed him and he said “thanks
so much, keep in touch, all the best.” I had emailed him the article of the gentleman
that I was talking about and he said he wanted to audition him for the show which is kind
of very funny. And just a good way to still stay on his radar and still reconnect with
him.
>> KRISTINE: I’m so glad you added that because it reminds me that you had mentioned
that before. That’s another amazing part of this interaction. You were able to recommend
another actor who, although he’s not nationally known yet, he has a much higher profile than
you, but he was on your awareness radar. He was from your hometown that the two of you
shared and he was actually like, “oh, yeah, I would like to audition him for this show.”
You could have possibly gotten this other actor a job. And it’s hilarious because
this other actor is now a recurring regular on another series, which is why he couldn’t
do this one. But what I like about this is that you, Katie Enright, have things to bring
to the table with someone who’s the creator of a television show. You have stuff to bring
to the table. I think that the more you can trust in that when you’re interacting with
people - you’ve lived a full life, you know people, you know of people, and there may
be ways that you can help someone that you don’t even know about. So just trust in
that because that gives you a lot more confidence in your approach. Not just you but everybody
listening.
>> KATIE: Absolutely. And there’s a different energy that you bring to a meeting that is
the energy of “I have something to give as well.”
>> KRISTINE: That’s a great point. People I think wonder “how do you shift into being
someone who’s in this industry in a confident way?” Which is different than being confident
in your talent. And I think it’s subtle, little things. Like really understanding that
you have something to bring to the table and taking the bold move like you did to reach
out to somebody who was much higher than you and actually have it come together nicely.
It’s like, that’s what gives you the confidence to then maybe do that again.
The thing to clarify is that this is a very specific person. You knew exactly who this
person was that you were reaching out to. You were reaching out in a very specific way
and if you didn’t have that specificity he wouldn’t have responded as well as he
did to your initial inquiries and then to your interview with him. So it can’t just
be “Dear Creator of Show…” The specificity worked, your professionalism worked, your
lovely personality I’m sure did not hurt whatsoever. It’s true though. It’s true.
You have cultivated a lovely personality and it’s getting all of those parts in alignment
that actually have nothing to do with your talent. That enable you to start moving forward
faster than perhaps your peer group.
>> KATIE: I also did research on him. So I read a ton of articles in which he was speaking
about the show that he was creating and the possible spin-off. So I did have a foundation
of knowing kind of, I did have a sense of who he was. And how he seemed like a very
nice, very open person. And so that helped too. It wasn’t just like I was emailing
somebody I didn’t know anything about.
>> KRISTINE: You got what you wanted - time alone in a room with him. An interview with
him.
>> KATIE: Yes. Now because we’ve exchanged four or five emails at this point, I do feel
comfortable enough if I happen to be super right for a role, I do feel like there’s
a relationship there now that it wouldn’t be highly inappropriate to put myself on tape
for something and ask him if he’d have a look at it.
>> KRISTINE: Obviously he knows you’re an actor because that came up. But during all
of these interactions did you ever say “here’s my reel, watch my reel, here’s my stuff…”?
>> KATIE: No. I didn’t feel like it would be appropriate to say at that point. Because
I was coming to him not as an actor.
>> KRISTINE: I think you gained respect in his eyes and because of that respect I think
that he would be open to you or your representation sending him stuff. Because you didn’t take
the opportunity to be like, “and now my agenda.” It was completely focused on his
agenda and what he needed. And what you wanted out of it too, but you didn’t pull that
actor card too early. You made that happen like, whoa, through Facebook, that’s amazing
and wonderful and very inspiring which is why I wanted you to share your story on this
call. So thank you so much for doing that.
>> KATIE: Oh, you’re very welcome. Thank you for having me.
>> KRISTINE: And that’s just one more example that you can bet on yourself and win. If you
need to get on the Actor’s Library newsletter list you can do so at TheActorsLibrary.com.