GKN Weekly Update 12/4/12 – The DON’TS And Don’ts of the VO Mixer
‘sup? Do anything fun this weekend? I sorted my sock drawer & that’s about it. Oh, and I went to…
…and hoo-boy this was one for the books!
This was my outfit for the Mixer and no, I don’t look like Elvis Costello.
I’m not even remotely that cool.
Friday was dinner for 30 at Hurley’s,
(look at those happy voice talkers! BTW thanks Trish for setting it up)
a birthday party at The Stag’s Head,
(that’s me and my buddy Trish Basanyi)
with a quick stop to see The Tree at The Rock.
(ooo, pretty….)
Saturday was lunch at Mustang Harry’s,
(that’s Trish and one of my favorite people on the planet, Bob Souer)
a pre-Mixer Mixer at Edge Studio (sorry no pics I could only stay for a few minutes),
a bike rickshaw ride with my pal Lauren McCollough,
the Mixer itself at Slate,
(that’s one of the many wonderful gang photos I got to be in, BTW I’m the one with the snifter)
an after-party at the Greensquare Tavern,
(oh look, another gang photo with me standing next to awesome people!)
and an after-after party at Veloce Wine Bar and an after-after-after party at McMannus.
(no pictures permitted beyond this point)
Sunday involved sleeping in and warm beverages at the RoastTown Cafe.
As always, I had an incredible time and got to hang out with old friends as well as make some new ones!
TIP OF THE WEEK: While I was involved in various forms of merriment & mirth at the VO Mixer, I noticed that some folks did not heed my advice from last week’s post (tsk tsk). While I can forgive men wearing jeans and attempts to hand demo CD’s to people, there is one transgression I cannot ignore.
A friend told me that someone at the Mixer approached her and asked if I was a casting agent. She replied, “No, that’s Tom Dheere. He’s a full-time voice talent.” His response? “Oh.” and he walked away. Yeah.
Friends, if that’s your frame of mind when attending a networking event, may I suggest community theater? (dammit, I did it again)
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: it’s not about who you know, it’s about how you treat who you know.
If the gentleman in question took the time to strike up a conversation with me, I would have been happy to introduce him to the casting directors & agents that were there, which I did for numerous others throughout the evening.
C’est la vie! (that’s French for “sucks to be him”)
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Never drive faster than your Guardian Angel can fly. Anonymous
STUFF!: The NY VO Mixer is very important to me. I have attended all five of them and found both professional & personal fulfillment from each and every one. I truly hope they continue (it was announced this is the last one) because it’s too good not to!
From Tom Dheere’s apartment, this is Tom Dheere: GKN News…
Tom, you do look like EC there, but there are worse things…
I’m new to this business and am really impressed by your simple observations. You never know who is going to help you, and it has been my experience that most people really, really want to help. Beyond that, being part of a community is sometimes enough. We share stories, we learn, and we can only get better in the company of other professionals.
Keep up the good work.
Ah, Tom… once again you hit the nail on the head. In all situations not only are there common-sense rules to follow, but rules of etiquette to maintain. If the guy who’s hosting the event says “dress to impress”, then that’s what I’m doing… if nothing else, out of respect to the enormous effort our host has put in. And anyway, how often do most of us get out of the bunny slippers…
As for the networking thing… I have some simple rules. Only proffer my card if it’s requested. It’s not a competition – it isn’t “he who distributes most cards wins”. Enjoy the people there, circulate, be pleasant and only “go business” if that’s where the conversation naturally leads.
… and as I said before Tom… you rock that hat!
A networking tip I use, is to be sure I have a sharpie so I can write on business cards (those glossy ones are a bear) when they’re given to me. I want to be sure that I get a mailing address to go into my Send Out Cards contact manager, in addition to the email address for my autoresponder. I also flip the card over and ask “what’s your birth month and day? I like to send birthday and holiday cards to people I meet.” We also do this with anyone we interview for the active casting files of AAAVoiceCasting. We do offer an interview, either in person or on the phone, to anyone who takes the time & trouble to send us their resume and demo materials. Often, we’re the only ones they get a card from. Also, most of the time, I don’t even carry my own business cards. I’m much more interested in getting their card, so we can do something for them. “Givers Gain.” That’s the philosophy of BNI (the world’s largest and most successful networking organization. If you’re not familiar with them, it might be worth a little “google” time.
Dan D