Creating a Portable Office

Getting Organized Column
BackStage, November 2006
topic: creating a portable office

You Can Take It With You
By Kristine Oller

Exiting your neighborhood Kinko’s, your stomach growling for lunch, you get the call: You have an audition in forty minutes. You, however, are on the opposite side of town and not sure how to get to the casting office. The role is a “corporate office drone”; you, naturally, are wearing jeans and flip-flops. In addition to needing two headshots, they want to check your availability for several dates; you, of course, are down to your last picture, and your planner is sitting on your bed. What now?

The most predictable aspect of an actor’s workday is how unpredictable it can be. When unexpected opportunities pop up, time and traffic often prohibit even a quick trip home to raid your closet and use your office. Being unprepared for such events increases the odds that you will squander your energy scrambling, worrying and “making do”, rather than conserving it for the audition.

The key is having a lean, mean, portable version of your office with you on the road. In Los Angeles, that means having an office in your car; in New York, that means having one slung over your shoulder.

Getting There

There’s a difference between “setting-up a portable office” and “having what you need with you.” You may already carry around all of the items mentioned in this column, but are they scattered in the crevasses of your car or crunched at the bottom of your backpack? If so, you lack the ability to quickly spot what may me missing, easily access items while on the move, and take inventory of what needs re-stocking.

Chose the container for your portable office that best suits your needs and situation. You can use a tote bag, a plastic file box, a briefcase, a backpack or a nylon car caddy hung on the passenger seat. Next, assign every item in your office a permanent home. Store your marketing materials — headshots with resumes, postcards, business cards, performance fliers, demo reels and voice over demo CDs — where they will remain clean and untattered. Keep your phone and planner handy. Carry at least one pen and highlighter with you, as well as some extra cash for parking fees or cab fare. Have a means by which to charge your phone — or making charging it a daily ritual — and have access to your vital phone numbers, either as a hardcopy or in your phone’s memory.

Also include a small stapler, thank-you notes and stamps for use during down time and, for extra credit, a geographical listing of casting director addresses. That way, no matter where the day takes you, you can drop your picture and resume off at an office or two.

A map is a necessity, but Thomas Guides are heavy and cumbersome. I keep one in my car, but I also made myself a mini-Guide by removing from a previous edition the seven or so pages I refer to most often. Color photocopies of selected pages would also suffice. I put them into plastic page protectors and bound them together using two metal rings. Eighty percent of the time, I use this lighter, quicker version.

Fully Prepared

Finding homes for a comb, a hair clip, a mirror, basic make-up, an electric shaver, a nail file, Wet Wipes, tissues, lip balm, floss, toothpaste, a toothbrush, and mints or gum is relatively simple. Having immediate access to both a “nice casual” and a “business” outfit is a tad trickier.

If you have a car, clothes and shoes can be hung in a garment bag or placed in your trunk. In some circumstances, you can stash a change of clothes at your gym or place of employment. Another plan, which I put in place for myself as auditions increased, was to get permission to access the homes and closets of two supportive friends in two different areas of town. In a pinch, I could drop in, borrow the items I needed and freshen up.

Feeling Great

For days when arriving “as is” is your only option, having water and an apple or nutrition bar with you can be your saving grace. Without fuel, your energy and enthusiasm can noticeably lag.

Achieving the success you are striving for depends a great deal on your ability to capitalize on each and every opportunity – scheduled or not – that comes your way. Being organized gives you a competitive edge, because when you know what you have and have what you need, you will remain confident, focused and able to rise to the occasion.

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