Shownotes
Episode 5 - Unveiling the Path of a Talent Agent: Jean Wenger's Story
In this episode of Faith and Family Filmmakers podcast with hosts Geoffrey Whitt and Jaclyn Whitt, Jean Selig Wenger, a licensed talent agent, shares her journey from helping her son in his acting career to establishing her own agency, Treasure Coast Talent. Jean delves into her unexpected entry into the film industry, and her transition from Florida to Los Angeles.
They also talk about:
- Her Journey from Talent Manager to Talent Agent
- The Growth of Treasure Coast Talent
- Understanding the Role of a Talent Agent
- The Challenges and Rewards of Being a Talent Agent
- Faith and Representation in the Film Industry
- The Importance of Building a Career and Not Waiting for Discovery
- Advice for Aspiring Actors
Jean Selig Wenger is the Owner/Agent of Treasure Coast Talent, a SAG-AFTRA franchised Talent Agency based in Los Angeles, CA. Her previous experiences as an Elementary School teacher, Children's Ministry Director, mom of 4, and Talent Manager, helped to prepare her for the responsibility of managing others and multitasking. She is a matchmaker with heart, known for her personal approach, positive attitude, hard work, and integrity. She is often referred to as "Momma Jean" by her TCT team and is an Agent with a Manager’s heart. Her roster is made up of team players who are dedicated to the art of storytelling in high quality projects, in both the Mainstream & Faith/Family Film markets.
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The Faith & Family Filmmakers podcast helps filmmakers who share a Christian worldview stay in touch, informed, and inspired. Releasing new episodes every week, we interview experts from varying fields of filmmaking; from screenwriters, actors, directors, and producers, to film scorers, talent agents, and distributors.
It is produced and hosted by Geoffrey Whitt and Jaclyn Whitt , and is brought to you by the Faith & Family Filmmakers Association
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Transcripts
Welcome to the Faith and Family Filmmakers Podcast.
Geoff:I'm Geoff.
Jaclyn:and I'm Jaclyn.
Geoff:Today, we are so happy to be talking with talent agent Jean Wenger.
Jaclyn:Jeanne Wanger is the owner slash agent of treasure coast talent, a sag after a franchise talent agency, based in Los Angeles, California, her previous experiences as an elementary school teacher children's ministry director, mom of four and talent manager help to prepare her for her responsibility of managing others and multitasking.
Jaclyn:She is a matchmaker with heart known for her personal approach, positive attitude, hard work and integrity.
Jaclyn:She is often referred to as mom and gene By her TCT team and is an agent with a manager's heart.
Jaclyn:her roster is made up of team players who are dedicated to the art of storytelling and high quality projects In both the mainstream and faith and family film markets.
Geoff:Welcome, Jean.
Jean:Thank you.
Jean:Great to be here with you all.
Jaclyn:Yeah, it's great to have you.
Jaclyn:We got to meet each other in person, at the Beyond Entertainment Film Festival in Florida back in, September.
Jaclyn:So that was fun.
Jaclyn:It was really nice to actually have some time to get to know you.
Jaclyn:You even helped me out with a table read since then.
Jaclyn:And so, yeah, it's been fun to actually spend that time together and get to know some of your talent that you work with.
Jaclyn:Tell me about what you do, because I know that some people get confused about, you know, talent agent, casting director, casting agent.
Jaclyn:So can you explain to me what you do?
Jean:Yes, I am a licensed talent agent.
Jean:So I represent a roster of actors that I submit to castings, and to casting directors in order to book roles, in their films.
Jean:So I work with casting directors a lot because they're representing the production company.
Jean:I'm representing my actors.
Jean:So oftentimes my interaction is directly with the casting director, but, I'm officially hired by the actors to be their representation, and their agent.
Jaclyn:Awesome.
Jaclyn:How did you get into that?
Jean:That is a great question.
Jean:I had no desire to ever be in the film industry.
Jean:I enjoyed watching movies.
Jean:That was like my only connection with film, until my son, who was a stage actor, wanted to start exploring, how do you book a film role?
Jean:How do you, how do you do that?
Jean:And so I just started kind of researching on my own for him and helping him to find a couple opportunities.
Jean:And, through that process ended up attending a film festival, with him.
Jean:And really it just opened up my world of all these amazing people I met.
Jean:it was a Christian film festival and just amazing gifted people that were using their gifts in the film industry.
Jean:And I literally went home from that weekend conference just with my heart pounding.
Jean:Really feeling like God was just calling me to say yes.
Jean:I didn't know what I was saying yes too.
Jean:Um, but I just felt like I was supposed to just say Yes, okay, God, use me.
Jean:However you want to use me in the industry and long story short, you know, here I am eight years later, starting my eighth year, um, as an LA talent agent.
Jean:It just blows my mind.
Jean:Totally, totally a God thing.
Jean:God opening the doors, God teaching me, learning from a lot of mistakes along the way, building great relationships in the industry with amazing people like yourselves, and I'm just super thankful and blessed, but definitely not something I was searching for or, seeking to do.
Jean:It just definitely was something that God brought across my path through my son.
Jaclyn:Interesting.
Jaclyn:You know, that's actually something that we, we've heard that from a few other people that we've been interviewing that, It wasn't necessarily something that they set out to do, but they found themselves in their industry, in their career.
Jaclyn:And, when you think about it, I guess if God has a plan for you, and it may not be your plan.
Jaclyn:However, if you have that heart for obedience, you can end up in some really amazing places.
Jaclyn:I know that you represent a lot of faith based actors.
Jaclyn:Are all of your actors, um, faith based?
Jean:Yeah, that's a great question.
Jean:Um, I don't have a requirement for my roster that they have to believe the same as I do.
Jean:Um, so they're not required to be Christians, but I think any actor that comes onto my roster clearly knows where I come from because I'm not shy about my faith, but I also don't push it on to other people.
Jean:Oftentimes the actors that are drawn to my roster happen to be Christians because they are connecting for that reason.
Jean:But, um, but I have some actors who are not, but they're very open to it.
Jean:And they are amazing people that I love to work with and they're super talented.
Jean:So very, very blessed.
Geoff:And how many do you represent at this point?
Jean:Oh, that's a good question.
Jean:Um, according to IMDB, I think it's around 190.
Jean:I can't even tell you if for sure everybody I'm repping is actually linked to me on there, because I really don't go on there much to check it out.
Jean:But, whatever number we're actually at right now, they're definitely keeping me busy, so I'm thankful.
Jaclyn:Well, yeah, I guess with the strike being over, you've got a lot more work going on.
Jean:Yeah, once we hit the new year, and everybody came back to work, it has just been busy, busy, busy.
Jean:Lots of auditioning going on, um, constantly submitting to the breakdowns all day long, and we're looking forward to a super busy year.
Jean:A good year after, you know, a really kind of rougher time, especially for my SAG actors last year during the strike.
Jean:My non union actors were able to continue working, but the SAG actors were really on hold for about six months.
Jaclyn:So how do you decide, when you get a job that comes to you, do you decide whether to send someone out?
Jaclyn:Or would you turn down a project entirely?
Jaclyn:Do you have your own boundary of what type of script that you would work with?
Jean:I mean, usually the scripts that come to me directly, you know, if a producer or director or screenwriter reaches out to me, they pretty much know me, and they know my actors, and they know the types of projects that they work on.
Jean:But there are times when I'm submitting to the casting breakdowns, and I see a general description of a project and the general description of the roles, but until we actually read the script, you don't understand maybe what entirely is the storyline or the content.
Jean:And there are times...
Jean:you know, I'll always have a conversation with my actors, because My job is not to make decisions for them, but allow them to make informed decisions.
Jean:So, you know, I'll discuss it with them.
Jean:And oftentimes, they will turn down certain projects, because of the content.
Jean:And I always just say, in those cases, we just graciously decline and move on.
Jean:But most of the times, the projects that reach out to me directly happen to be faith based or family friendly and, it's just a matter of if it's a good fit, for my specific actors that they're interested in.
Geoff:Yeah, it's a kind of a small world.
Geoff:I'm guessing that a lot of the producers who are reaching out to you, you actually know them personally.
Geoff:It's not some random project that's coming across your desk.
Jean:Yeah, I really, I got my start in the faith based film industry.
Jean:And even though we've expanded and now we're out in LA and we work on mainstream projects, a lot of the direct Pitches are coming from the faith based film industry.
Jean:And some of these directors and producers and screenwriters, I've worked with on multiple, multiple projects over the years.
Jean:And, as soon as they reach out to me, I'm like, yep, it's going to be another good one.
Jean:So it's really fun to work with some of my, who have become very good friends, um, in the industry, on their film projects.
Jean:And they've gotten to know the brand of TCT and hopefully the quality of the actors.
Jean:And so it's always an honor that they reach out to me directly, sometimes even before they post the casting breakdown, publicly.
Jean:I'll often get the script and get a first chance at submitting for roles, which is truly an honor and a blessing for sure.
Geoff:I'd like to step back for just a second.
Geoff:How do you get from wanting to help your son and going to a film festival, feeling that there's perhaps a calling or direction for you...
Geoff:in practical terms, how do you get from there to actually running a talent agency?
Jean:That's a great question.
Jean:Well, when I started out, I started out being a talent manager.
Jean:Talent managers don't need to be licensed.
Jean:I got a general business license in Florida where I was living.
Jean:And managers are, uh...
Jean:Their main job is to advise and guide actors.
Jean:So I had a few actors that I connected with at that film festival, who basically saw what I was doing to help my son, and they said, can you help us that same way?
Jean:And I was very, um, nervous about helping anybody beyond my own son, because my son is my son.
Jean:You know, if I totally mess up, he'll me.
Jaclyn:Right.
Jaclyn:Yes.
Jean:so I, I, Basically gave a lot of disclaimers why people shouldn't trust me to help them with their career because I had no idea what I was doing.
Jean:Um, but amazingly, they kind of said, you know what, but you have a passion and a drive and I can tell you're a hard worker.
Jean:I'm willing to take this journey with you.
Jean:So it took a few actors in the beginning just taking a risk with me.
Jean:And I basically, put my nose to the grindstone.
Jean:I just learned.
Jean:I mean, I was studying.
Jean:I was learning.
Jean:I was researching.
Jean:I was ordering all these books off of Amazon.
Jean:I was reading all about acting.
Jean:I was trying to understand the terminology.
Jean:I just was soaking everything in with the goal of helping these few actors.
Jean:So the first year, I only had 15 actors, which was probably all I could handle at the time.
Jaclyn:That seems like a lot.
Jean:So I started that way.
Jean:By the second year, I had 30.
Jean:But at that point my actors who were on my roster started asking me for more.
Jean:They said, we want you to become our agent too.
Jean:We want you to get licensed.
Jean:We want you to start submitting us and booking us on film projects.
Jean:and I literally kept saying, no, no, no, no, I'm fine.
Jean:I'll just keep advising you and guiding you and helping you.
Jean:And they, and they begged me and pushed me way out of my comfort zone.
Jean:And so that was another big yes on my part was to take the leap of faith and go ahead and go through the process of becoming licensed, as an official talent agent in Florida.
Jean:So that's how that happened.
Jean:You know, my actors wouldn't let me say no, basically.
Jean:Um, that way basically as an agent, I could do everything I did for them as a manager, as well as all the additional things I could do for them as an agent.
Jean:And then when God called my husband to a church in Los Angeles, that is how we made the journey out to California and how I became an LA agent.
Jean:A lot of people jokingly think Well, a lot of people at first, when they meet my husband, they're like, Oh, that was so nice of you to come find a job in California because of your wife.
Jaclyn:Right.
Jaclyn:Right.
Jean:And we say, Oh no, if you only knew, Gene came out here kicking and screaming.
Jean:Cause there was really never a desire of mine.
Jean:I never felt like I had a desire to be an LA agent.
Jean:I was perfectly fine being an agent in Florida where I lived, working with actors, you know, all over the country still.
Jean:But God called my husband out here.
Jean:And so I came out here and then proceeded to become licensed and SAG franchised, which is the first time I became franchised was out here in Los Angeles.
Jean:And so that was a big step and that happened in spring of 2020, um, which was an interesting time to get, get licensed
Jaclyn:A lot
Geoff:No kidding, no
Jaclyn:2020.
Jaclyn:If I recall
Jean:Yeah.
Jean:In
Jaclyn:A lot of changes.
Jean:In fact, um, I've heard it takes a long time typically to get your agency license out in LA, but because I was the only one crazy enough to do it in the middle of a pandemic, I was approved in two days.
Jean:So, um, even that timing was
Jaclyn:Oh wow!
Jean:...was crazy.
Jean:It was definitely a God thing that I pursued getting licensed during the pandemic when the industry was shut down.
Jean:And so, I literally jumped through the hoops in lightning speed.
Jean:It was amazing how fast it all happened.
Jean:So, totally a God thing.
Geoff:That's cool...that's cool
Geoff:Yeah, so that's, that's the longer version, but kind of hopefully connects the dots for you a little bit.
Geoff:We've found that in our lives in different ways where We don't even dream of where we're going to end up at this point, but as we, follow in one step, we find it leads here, and then that leads somewhere else, it's not always a straight trajectory to where you think you're going.
Jean:Yeah, I always say I'm so glad I didn't know then when I first said yes.
Jean:Where God would be taking me because I would have just turned and run the other way.
Jean:I would have said, no way, no way.
Jean:So he gives us a glimpse of the future just one day at a time.
Jean:You know what I mean?
Jaclyn:Yeah, for sure.
Jaclyn:So, the name Treasure Coast Talent, did you name that when you were in Florida or California?
Jean:That's actually where I lived.
Jean:I lived on the treasure coast of Florida.
Jean:And it's funny because people are like, how did you come up with the name?
Jean:I'm like, I have no..
Jean:crazy story.
Jean:I literally thought, well, I'm in between Orlando and Miami.
Jean:There's nobody here, you know, representing actors.
Jean:And I'm like, I guess I'll just call myself Treasure Coast Talent.
Jean:There was no, there's nothing special about it.
Jean:But when I came out here to California, I talked to my actors about, should I change the name because I'm not there anymore?
Jean:They said, no, everybody knows us by Treasure Coast Talent.
Jean:Keep the name.
Jean:And let them wonder or let them ask why you have that name.
Jean:So it just kind of stuck.
Jean:My actors once again said, let's just leave it as it is.
Jean:So I said, okay.
Jaclyn:Yeah, well, it works.
Jaclyn:I mean, you built a brand around it.
Jaclyn:Don't mess with what's working, you know?
Jean:Absolutely
Jean:Where can people find the, the work that your actors are working on?
Jean:Um, goodness.
Jean:I have a new social media manager that is helping me to just upgrade the brand of Treasure Coast Talent, um, work on the socials.
Jean:And because of that, we're going to be able to keep everybody updated on everything going on with Treasure Coast Talent as soon as we can release any information.
Jean:So be sure to follow Treasure Coast Talent and then, um, Jean Selig Wenger on Instagram and then Treasure Coast Talent on Facebook because We're already scheduling out all the posts for the month of January, and we're going to keep doing it every month.
Jean:And so, that's where, the first place you'll get to see what's going on with the TCT talent will be on those sites.
Jaclyn:For someone who's a new actor, what do they need to have in order to approach a talent agency?
Jean:I will say that every talent agent has their own rules for submissions, so it's best to check out the website of the actual agency.
Jean:And it usually will have a description whether they're accepting submissions, or how they're going to go about accepting submissions.
Jean:Right now as an agency, because we're really at maximum capacity, we will review certain actors if they come by industry referral.
Jean:But we're not accepting actor self submissions, so an actor can't just send whatever they have to me directly, expecting to set up an interview.
Jean:We're at the point because we have very limited spots available, anybody we consider, is coming from a director, producer, casting director referral.
Jean:But I would say, any actor that's just starting out they need to first learn how to act.
Jean:They need to learn, um, the difference between acting on stage, and acting in TV film.
Jean:There's a lot of great stage actors that want to get into TV film, but it's a different style of acting, and the terminology that they hear and that, that the people around them are going to be using is very different.
Jean:Nowadays we have access to so much online, so there's no reason somebody can't get started at least teaching themselves online, then taking acting classes.
Jean:Um, creating your own material, you know, writing your own scripts, creating your own short films, getting other friends who want to be actors to film with you.
Jean:Obviously the first film you do is probably not going to be that great if you're new, but that's okay.
Jean:It's a great starting point.
Jean:Getting cast
Jean:in
Jaclyn:You have to do your first one so you can do your second, so you can do your third,
Jaclyn:right?
Jaclyn:So you can get to your tenth and fifteenth.
Jean:Sometimes people freeze.
Jean:They're like, I don't know what to do.
Jean:I don't know how to do it.
Jean:Well, just do it, figure it out, teach yourself along the way, learn from your mistakes.
Jean:Um, and then start collaborating with other people and get cast in smaller, unpaid jobs that are local.
Jean:There's always people making films.
Jean:In every community across the U.
Jean:S.
Jean:Seek those people out.
Jean:It's always great to start within your own community and expand from there, rather than saying, I want to be an actor, I need to find an L.
Jean:A.
Jean:agent.
Jean:There's alot that has to happen between saying I want to be an actor, and getting
Jaclyn:mm hmm,
Jean:representation in L.
Jean:A.
Jean:And then go to film festivals, you know, you can learn so much by attending these different film festivals and you get to hear from agents, you get to hear from casting directors, you get to hear from filmmakers, what they're looking for, what they're expecting from actors.
Jean:It's really a process.
Jean:The hard work is just learning it all and then practicing the craft and training, taking acting classes.
Jean:But if you do the work, eventually you'll get to the point where you're like, okay.
Jean:I've booked some good credits.
Jean:I have a resume.
Jean:I have a reel.
Jean:Now, it's time to expand and seek representation, but I recommend also starting locally with that.
Geoff:So it's, uh, building a career, not waiting for someone to discover you.
Jean:Yes.
Jean:And, it's not about wanting to become famous, and becoming a star.
Jean:People over the years have reached out saying, can you make me famous?
Jean:And I'm like, yeah, I'm not the person for you.
Jean:That's not my job.
Jean:And, and I think, you know, because there's all these social media stars, sometimes people get it kind of all mixed up and confused, but acting is a really hard job and it takes a lot of work, and a lot of disappointments, and a lot of failures, and a lot of years before you finally get to the point where, um, where you're earning an income fully on acting.
Jean:Many actors, most actors have to have a side job, have to have a side gig to pay the bills because when you're starting out, you're not making a lot of money and you don't do it for the money.
Jean:But if you put in the work, you know, over the years, hopefully you'll get to the point where your career can grow to the level where you can fully support yourself on your acting career.
Jean:But it's not easy.
Jaclyn:Yeah, that's why I, I wasn't sure if I wanted to pursue acting, because I'm just not a very good waitress.
Jean:Yep.
Jean:And you know what?
Jean:It's so funny.
Jean:The different side jobs that so many of my actors have had because it's hard to find a job that pays the bills that also gives you the flexibility.
Jean:Because not every job, you know, you can't work a nine to five job, and seriously, pursue, an acting career full time.
Jean:Um, and so that's one of the things I look for when I'm talking to new actors, like how committed are you?
Jean:And they might say Oh, I'm all in a hundred percent in.
Jean:Well, what other things do you have going on in your life?
Jean:What other commitments, you know, family, jobs.
Jean:And if they have a huge family and they have a 40 hour a week, day job, it might not work for you to, um, Pursue, acting full time, You definitely have to figure that all out because acting is a full time job if you're, really serious about it for sure So finding that balance is challenging.
Jaclyn:Yeah, I actually, I have a few more questions about that.
Jaclyn:We're going to get into that in our Members Only portion this interview.
Jaclyn:But before we finish off this portion, is there anything that you would like to say to our listeners?
Jaclyn:Any final thoughts?
Jaclyn:Step into it, you know dream, but also be practical.
Jaclyn:Pursue it.
Jaclyn:But also, you have to do the work.
Jaclyn:It's hard work.
Jaclyn:Whatever God's calling you to do, it's not going to, like Geoff said, it's not going to happen instantly.
Jaclyn:You're not just going to instantly be discovered.
Jaclyn:that happens very, very rarely.
Jaclyn:You got to put in the work, whether it's being a screenwriter or a director or a producer or a casting director, an actor, an agent, you have to put in the work and it's not easy.
Jaclyn:And you might not see any sort of success for a long time.
Jaclyn:And you have to be willing to be in it for the long haul.
Jaclyn:As my husband used to say, my job was was a hobby for the first few years.
Jaclyn:I was putting more money into being, a manager agent than I was ever making.
Jaclyn:Um, but eventually I got to the point where I'd been working hard enough and long enough that I started actually generating some income.
Jaclyn:And that's how it is with any job.
Jaclyn:So are you willing to work hard and, learn and grow it's worth giving it a shot and pursuing it for sure.
Jaclyn:Thank you so much.
