Job - Theatrical Agent
 

Hey All

Thanks for the responses you have sent to us on our first thread - hopefully we will get some more soon.

In London, I have a great job which I really love. I look after actors and actresses and secure them work ( not as glam as some would think).

My partner and I will be moving to Toronto in the near future, but I think it will be very difficult for me to find a similar job.

Does anyone know anything about this media or the entertainment media work field in general in toronto.

Cheers

Rob

Re: Job - Theatrical Agent
 

I basically know nothing about that industry. However, take a look at Wikipedia's article entitled Hollywood North, and scroll down to the paragraph about Toronto. Such information as there is in that article is about music, TV and film. To get an idea of the stage productions taking place in Southwestern Ontario, including Toronto, see Stage Door (a link that I found by doing a Google search for LIVE THEATRE + TORONTO).

These resources should give you clues that you can follow up to find out more information. For example, one of the events listed on the Stage Door Playbill was the CrossCurrents Festival in April / May 2007. I saw that it was held at the Factory Theatre. I've never heard of the Factory Theatre. I don't have a clue where it is. I click on the Get In Touch link on the left hand side of the screen. From there I go to the Contact Us page, and find out that the theatre is located at 125 Bathurst Street, Toronto. Bathurst Street means nothing to me, but at least it's in Toronto. Also via the Get In Touch link, I find the Staff List. I would phone one of these people, tell them I'm newly arrived in Toronto, and ask if we could meet for a cup of coffee so that I could pick their brain about the local industry. Which one of the staff members would I try to meet? I don't know. You'd probably be a better judge of that than I am. I'm guessing that the Artistic Director, Ken Gass, would be able to tell me a lot.

If Ken Gass was willing to meet you, he probably would give you names of other people in the industry. Your initial phone calls to them would be made easier because you'd be able to start out by saying, "Ken Gass suggested I call you." Those people, in turn, would give you names of still more people.

This is just an example of how I would go about networking. The entertainment industry may have its own idiosyncracies, but what I've described to you is the standard approach to networking in Canada.

Re: Job - Theatrical Agent
 

Like Judy I don't know anything about your field of expertise. However it is my understanding that a lot of movies are made in Canada (particularly US movies) - so there must be a good bit of work in the area.

Re: Job - Theatrical Agent
 

Again, I don't have any particular link to the theatre, but as much as I do understand is that most "big name" Canadian stars, with a decent shout at regular appearances in NY or London productions, are likely as not represented by agents in NY or London. Sure, there is a good tradition of pre-Broadway or pre-West End runs in Toronto, plus the usual after-the-first-flush-of-success productions that are borught to Toronto theatres (mostly family-favourite musicals in the Lion King mould) - but it's a pretty small selection and the "serious" theatre scene is rather smaller, with (and I'm guessing here) a comcomitantly smaller and closer-knit community of actors and agents.

A neighbour and friend of mine in London was a theatrical costume designer, and while I'm sure he'd be envious of you as 30-something and 40-something gay men on the Toronto scene, if he were to move here (we joked about it before we left) he'd be reliant on the Hollywood-of-the-North film industry to keep him in brocade and lace. Not sure whether the film/theatre comparison translates from costumery to agency, but for what it's worth I hope it helps!