When Someone Moves The Goalpost...

When I was an actor in film & television, I always felt it was a means to an end. Maybe it's because I wasn't great at it; I was an excellent actor, full-on professional– but there's a level of commitment involved in both the craft of acting and the job as an actor... Any actor who is 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐭 doesn't think that what they are doing is a means to an end.

But I did. Not out of disrespect for the craft (I love actors, I love acting. Wanna do a Shanley two-hander at a black box, I'M IN! 🎭) but because my mind was often elsewhere. I knew what was required of me, and I delivered, but every time a director said "Cut," 🎬 I couldn't help but think about the mechanics of it all. And was more interested in ‘creating & building’ than ‘serving & experiencing.’ Not a very 'in-the-moment' place for an actor to be.

So, I wrote.

I naively thought that writing professionally was similar to acting professionally. Meaning success is based on how good the work was. It was, for all intents and purposes, a meritocracy.

Oh boy, was I wrong.

In my experience, the process was meritocratic. You pre-read for a casting director, auditioned, got a callback, and got the part. 😃Or you didn't. 😔 Generally, if you do good work, you're rewarded. Sure, sometimes you're there to fill a quota, but more often than not, it was a pretty even playing field.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge my privilege here. I know that my experience isn’t the experience for many people, and I’ve realized that how I look, opens many more doors than how others look. You have to be invited to participate in the auditioning process, and many people have a tough time just getting through the door.

That said, once in the room, it’s anyone’s role.

When I began writing professionally, I started looking for representation and I was amazed at how often agents and managers would take a meeting with me because they loved my work and then immediately say: “𝙎𝙤, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙣𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙙?” To which I would reply, “𝙉𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙮𝙚𝙩.” And they would say a variation of, “𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪.”

Wait. What? Isn’t that your job?

So I continued to pitch my three new pilots– one of which became a semi-finalist in the Big Break! Fast Draft’s screenwriting contest– Yippee, more validation– to other managers and agents. And the answers were all the same. 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗜𝗧. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀.

I was the common denominator. Me, personally. Not the work. But me. What was I doing wrong?😰

I’m polite; I’m not desperate; I handle rejection well; I’ve got a thick skin; I can take notes; does my breath stink? Am I too confident? Not confident enough? Am I– oh wait. Yeah, it wasn’t about me. Well, that may not be entirely true. Let me rephrase; It was about me and that 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

People need a REASON to work with you, not just material. And I was going about it all wrong. Sure, they moved the goalpost; 🥅 why wouldn’t they? Why wouldn’t someone want to make the job easier for themselves? So why wasn’t I?

Next manager I met, instead of saying, “𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙛𝙛; 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙥 𝙢𝙚.” I said, “𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄’𝙢 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙧….” And I laid out everything I wanted. I started to play offense instead of defense. So if that goalpost did move, I knew where to attack.

Anytime a manager said: “𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙚𝙩…𝙨𝙤….” I’d cut them off and say, “𝙄𝙛 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧? 𝙄𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙩.” I’d shake their hand, thank them for their time, and walk away.

Gatekeepers are going to move the goalpost. And you may think they are just jockeying for job security and don't actually DO anything. Remember, managers and agents also have gatekeepers who will tell them the same bullshit they’re telling you.

So what do you do? 🤷🏻‍♂️

You stick to the plan. If you’re going to be a disrupter and play offense, you should have someone in your corner who will reflect your style of play.

Don’t try to convince them you’re a good writer ✍️; they already know you’re a good writer; they can read. Don’t ask to be a part of their team; tell them why they should be on YOUR team! Show them you have a plan, and you are both in this together! Tell them you have every intention (as the work indicates) to be successful in this industry, and you want to share that success with them. Get them on your train! 🚅

Saying ‘𝘆𝗲𝘀’ or ‘𝗻𝗼’ will tell you all you need to know about a manager.

But if they say ‘𝘆𝗲𝘀,' they’re also 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 what they are willing to do. That’s a partnership. And with two people on the same team, you will have an easier time scoring no matter how many times that goalpost is moved.

I remember meeting one lit manager who read a script of mine; she loved it. She asked, “𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣?” I told her to give me a couple of weeks, and I’ll deliver her a pilot. She said, “𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩, 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙩.”

Two weeks later, I delivered three pilots!

Full disclosure. Because of the insanely stupid deadline, I gave myself to impress this manager, I basically cut and pasted the first act of three finished feature film scripts, filled in some holes, extended them a bit, and voila, three pilots! To ensure I was on the right track, I submitted each for coverage, and to my utter amazement, all three scored in the top 2%!

Two thoughts went through my head:

#1. Phew.

#2.YES! I was officially in the television game.

The manager got back to me two months later and invited me for a meeting! We met at her office, and she said the pilots were incredible (her words), but… “𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚. 𝙎𝙤 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨.” But to keep her posted and submit any new material. Blah, blah, blah.

Thanks. It could have been an email.🤦🏻

I didn’t understand. I did everything asked of me. In acting terms, I had the pre-read, the audition, and the callback. I created something that was objectively well-received. WTF? This rejection wasn’t the standard rejection I was used to as an actor. In acting, they just hire someone else for the job. This rejection felt personal like someone moved the goalpost. 🥅 Especially considering I wasn’t auditioning for a job, I was auditioning for the chance to 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦– 𝘪𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭– audition for a job!

🍋 Well, lemonade out of lemons, right? 🍋