Kym here. Most of my friends are directors and producers, and that is not an accident. I curated it that way.
Not by working a room. By finding people I actually liked and staying in touch with them. That is my whole definition of networking, and here is how I teach it in the Journey masterclass.
Finding like minded people in the industry who you genuinely like, and staying in touch with them.
It is not working out how each new person can help you. And it is not faking that you enjoy someone’s company because they might hire you.
Here is the maths that makes it safe. There are around 18,000 members of the Directors Guild of America and 7,000 in the Producers Guild. Split any crowd into thirds: a third will love you, a third will be a bit annoyed by you, a third will be ambivalent. Out of 18,000 directors that is around 6,000 people who will genuinely connect with you.
So there is no single gatekeeper, and no awkward moment at a party is big enough to get you blacklisted.
Not at anything advertised as a networking mixer for actors. That is usually a room full of actors, because legitimate industry people do not want to be swarmed. The exception is an event run by an association, such as a Women In Film and TV mixer.
Film festivals are my top pick, because most people there made or are in the films, and a festival is the one time a filmmaker is finished, relaxed and open. Sundance, Cannes, Toronto, Berlin and Venice at the top, then a tier of 20 or 30 like South by Southwest, AFI Fest and Melbourne International Film Festival.
Filmmaking panels are second, and the trick is inverted: you are there for the audience, not the panellist.
Before you go anywhere in person, join the rooms online. Facebook groups are free and open to actors anywhere. In Australia, the MEAA runs seminars and live events, and the Screen Producers Association conference is where producers gather. Why would an actor not be in that room?
Free masterclass: if the thought of walking up to a stranger makes you want to stay home, that is worth clearing before you buy a festival pass. Clear Your Subconscious Blocks and Thrive is our Journey 3 masterclass, free, permanently.
Not much. Business cards are optional now. If you have them, put one headshot on the back with no writing, so people remember your face, and email, phone, website and Instagram handle on the front. Print no more than 100, or 250 at the absolute most, and pay the extra for good stock. Printing 500 cheap cards is what leads to handing one to someone who already knows you.
Get yourname.com and redirect it to your IMDb profile. Actors do not need a website, and I do not have one.
On Instagram, use your performer name, get the same handle everywhere you can, and turn on two factor authentication, because my Twitter was hacked and I lost the handle.
Then audit your posts. Networks look at your profile before they affiliate with you, and they are not counting followers. What they check is whether you read as aggressively political or as a drinking liability. Before a Disney project I went back and deleted every negative post about politicians. Why would I want to lose a job over a bunch of old posts?
Talk to anyone, not just the people you think are important. And if you are scared to talk to people, do not. Go, watch the films, grab a drink afterwards, and just be in the room.
If you want to push past it, the opener is this simple:
Hey, my name’s [your name]. Who are you? How are you doing? How’s your night going?
An opener can be as small as asking where the toilet is. Someone standing alone is the easiest person in the room, because they will be glad you came over.
Never interrupt someone already in a conversation. I once approached a well known actor at a screening while he was exchanging details with someone who was probably a producer, got a cold look, and took months to realise I had been the rude one.
Three things.
Put the other person’s needs ahead of your own and you will never be imposing.
Listen actively. Ask a question, listen to the answer, and ask about the details in it. Someone grew up on a cattle farm? Do not say “cool” and move on. Ask what kind of cattle. Tangents are where you find common ground, and conversations die when people do not listen.
Mirror them. Subtly match the volume of their voice, their speed, the complexity of their language and the way they are standing. Soft talkers feel overwhelmed by loud talkers, and slow talkers by fast talkers.
And do not tell people your credits the moment you meet them. The only actors who do that are the ones who have not worked recently, and people can tell.
Go to the bathroom, get in a stall, and write notes in your phone about that person, ideally into their contact record. Kids’ names, projects, passions, and what they need that you might be able to help with.
If you owe them a follow up, set a phone reminder for the next day or two with the actual thing you said you would send.
Then keep a running industry contact tracker. Directors, casting people, and crucially crew: the sound recordists, editors and DPs who are excellent and affordable. Those recommendations are gold dust and I am asked for them constantly. A spreadsheet does the job.
Play a long game of small, genuine contact. Follow people, comment under your real name, and share their trailers to your stories when a project comes out.
Send a direct message on people’s birthdays, and never write “HBD”. The value of the gesture is the effort in it.
Picture an actor you met once at a party emailing three years later asking for an audition. You barely remember them. Now picture the same actor who sent a real birthday message each year and shared a couple of your posts. The second one gets accommodated.
When you self submit on a role that genuinely fits, write to the filmmakers directly:
Hey, I just submitted on your project. It sounds amazing, but I don’t want to get lost in the shuffle in the hundreds of submissions. Here’s my stuff. Any chance I could read the script, or audition for the role?
Send your reel with it. Filmmakers do not get many emails like that, and I have booked jobs this way. Two conditions: only on roles that really fit, and never on a submission that went through your rep.
And when you ask for someone’s time, offer lunch, not coffee. “Let me buy you a coffee and pick your brains” asks a lot for very little. Lunch shows effort, and for a low budget filmmaker with no money, a free lunch is genuinely welcome.
The SAS community is exactly this kind of room, and the casting director every month on Gold is the person most actors never get near. Every plan includes all 18 Journey masterclasses. Start your 7-day free trial.
By going to the rooms and giving themselves permission not to talk. Kym’s advice: go to the festival, watch the films, get a drink and lean on a wall with a nice smile, because most people there came to meet industry people and someone will come to you. Then follow up online, where the stakes are lower.
At film festivals, filmmaking panels and association events, not at “networking mixers” for actors, which are usually rooms of actors. Festivals are best because filmmakers are finished, relaxed and open. Online, Facebook groups, union seminars and producer conferences are where working people already gather.
Start small: “Hey, my name’s [name]. Who are you? How’s your night going?” Then ask about the details in their answers rather than pitching yourself. Do not lead with your credits, because only actors who have not worked recently do that, and match the other person’s volume, pace and posture.
Write notes in your phone the same night (family, projects, what they need), set a reminder for anything you promised, and connect on Instagram or Facebook. Then keep it small and genuine: real birthday messages, never “HBD”, sharing their trailers, and touching base every six to twelve months.
They are optional. If you print them, put one headshot on the back with no text and your email, phone, website and Instagram on the front. Print no more than 100, or 250 at most, on good stock. Kym also recommends yourname.com redirected to your IMDb profile instead of a full website.
A community of 160+ actors, regular guest instructor classes and all 18 Journey masterclasses in every plan. Gold and Platinum members meet a working film and TV casting director live on Zoom every month and ask them anything. 7-day free trial on Silver and Gold, 60-day refund always.