Actors line up down the block for Vancouver agency's open call (VIDEO) | Daily Hive

Daily Hive

Dozens of actors looking to break into Vancouver’s film industry lined up in the blazing sun on a Yaletown sidewalk Monday for a shot at a spot with a local talent agency.

Trisko Talent Management put out the call and Vancouver’s acting community came out in force. The lineup began at the company’s office at 1140 Homer Street and stretched for two blocks all the way to Davie Street.

A lineup of actors stretched two blocks in Yaletown this afternoon as they waited in the sun for a shot at agency representation pic.twitter.com/TkLOdVohJG

— Megan Devlin (@MegDevlinn) July 17, 2023

Taryn Yoneda was one of the actors in line, hoping to win a spot being represented by the talent agency.

“A lot of agencies now, especially since COVID-19, you can only submit online with your headshot, with your resume, with a little demo reel,” she said. “Today… it’s an opportunity to meet them in person and you don’t get that opportunity a lot.”

She studied theatre in university but said having agency representation is key to getting consistent, paying, union roles in many of the productions filming around Vancouver.

Elena Kellis went to school with Yoneda and they waited together in the hours-long line.

“A lot of it, right, is sending in emails, sending in emails. But they get so many emails that if you get a response at all consider yourself lucky,” Kellis said.

You might also like:

Daily Hive reached out to Trisko for comment on this story but has not yet heard back.

Labour action by actors and writers in the US is impacting the film industry here in Vancouver, with members of The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) not allowed to work without a contract no matter where they are in the world.

According to Creative BC, there are up to 88,000 people working in BC’s film and television industry.