backstage-2016-09-29

actor 101
Find representation at backstage.com/callsheet
up brightens my mood and makes
me feel more like an agent. Also,
the clients dig the vibe. They
want to be represented by men
and women who look like they
know what they’re doing.
SPOTLIGHT ON…
HANNAH KASULKA
By Benjamin Lindsay
[ Secret Agent Man ]
Sartorial
Excellence
A
few weeks ago, I
attended an acting
school’s showcase
being held on a
Saturday afternoon. That’s not
the sort of thing I normally do,
because my weekends are precious.
Trust me. Agents need their
downtime. But in this case, my
girlfriend was in Maui on a modeling
assignment and I was on my
own, so I agreed to be there.
The showcase went well. The
space was comfortable. And
the actors did a nice job. But
something was off about the
whole thing, and that something
was me. I just couldn’t get into
it. Everything felt wrong. The
question is why? At the time, I
had no idea. But then, just as the
showcase was ending, it hit me: I
didn’t feel like an agent because I
wasn’t dressed like one.
You see, it was a Saturday
afternoon, so I had shown up
at the showcase wearing jeans,
sneakers, and an old bowling
shirt. It turns out that was a bad
move. Without dressy duds, I just
couldn’t find my groove.
All the agents at my office
wear a suit. That’s every Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday. Friday is a casual day,
but that doesn’t mean we can
dress like bums. Jeans are fine
but we still have to wear collared
shirts or polo tops. T-shirts are
a major no-no and would be
considered a freshman mistake.
(I remember this one time when
a young agent showed up on
Friday wearing cargo shorts.
That poor bastard disappeared
faster than Val Kilmer’s career.)
I’m fine with this setup
because, frankly, wearing a suit
puts me in a stronger mindset. It
might seem trivial, but dressing
If you want clients to
trust you with their
careers, you have to
dress like someone
who is reliable
and successful.
Last night, I attended a workshop
with another 10 percenter
who showed up looking like a
badly packed suitcase. He had on
dirty hiking boots, wrinkled khakis,
and a stained shirt. During
the Q&A, I found most of the
actors directing their questions at
yours truly. Were my answers better?
Nope. The other agent knew
his stuff too, but he also looked
like someone’s drunk uncle and
I looked like the kind of guy who
can make things happen.
Think about it: Can you imagine
James Bond without his tux?
Or how about Han Solo without
that cool vest? Or even worse, Ari
Gold without a suit?
For the record, there are
five suits hanging in this guy’s
closet. Two of them were super
expensive and tailored to my
finely honed body, but the other
three are off the rack; I’m talking
Men’s Wearhouse, people. As for
my shirts, I buy them online at a
discount and I pick up ties during
the holiday sales at Macy’s.
So this isn’t about money. It’s
about common sense. I honestly
believe that if you want to be a
talent agent and you want clients
to trust you with their careers,
you have to dress like someone
who is reliable and successful. In
other words, like a professional.
Would you like to know why
they say clothes make the man?
Because it’s true! •
The Rance family falls
victim to a possession
and calls on the help
of two priests in Fox’s
10-episode modern
reboot of “The Exorcist.”
Georgia native
HANNAH KASULKA
stars as the introverted
Rance daughter with a secret.
On her character, Casey.
“Casey is the wallflower of the [Rance]
family…. Which is me, Brianne Howey
[who plays Kat], Geena Davis as our mom,
and Alan Ruck as our dad. Casey’s the
anchor of the family and kind of the sturdy
[one]—doesn’t need much attention,
doesn’t have much going on. [There’s] a
fun surprise, and I think you’ll come to see
that Casey is dealing with her own set of
problems that she’s been hiding.”
On reading Backstage.
“I definitely read [Backstage’s] articles.
When I first moved to L.A., I just Googled
‘how to find an agent.’ I had no idea.
There’s no blueprint for [acting]; everybody’s
just figuring it out. So it’s nice to
have a little guideline or at least words of
advice from people who’ve done it before.”
On improv at UCB.
“[Improv] helps you trust your instincts
and be fearless. It definitely helps to not
be afraid to go off the page. Especially for
auditions, I used to be so afraid I would
mess up a word or whatever. You learn
that [casting directors] don’t care. If you
do go off or change the words a little, for
the most part, it’s OK. Just stay in the
scene—that’s the most important thing.”
FOR THE FULL Q&A,
visit backstage.com.
ILLUSTRATION: SPENCER ALEXANDER; KASULKA: MARTINA TOLOT
12 backstage 09.29.16
BACKSTAGE.COM