Aviva Skall is the Vice President of Talent Management and Business Affairs at MMG, an International Model, Talent & Celebrity Management Company headquartered in New York City. Aviva was heavily involved in the creation of MMG’s Canadian division MMG Canada as well as their Los Angeles affiliate agency ITA or International Talent Agency.
MMG represents models, actors, recording artists, dancers, athletes, hosts & celebrities who have appeared on Print ads and campaigns for companies such as Abercrombie and Fitch, Hollister Co., Nike, Sephora, L’Oreal, Maybelline, Hermes, Seven Jeans, Buffalo London, Levi’s, Apple Co, Bare Minerals, Clinique, Bobbie Brown, Laura Mercier, Kiss Cosmetics, Estee Lauder, JC Penney, Justice, New Balance, Cadillac, Honda, Converse, Puma, Foot Locker, Mercedes Benz, Dentyne Ice, Hanes, Budweiser, Converse, Gillette, General Electric, Bombay Sapphire Gin, Ivy Park, Jameson, Gillette, Pop Sugar, Party City, and more; Editorials for Elle, Vogue, Maxim, Women’s Health, Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, Muscle & Fitness, GQ, Vibe, Teen People, Essence, Parenting and many other nationally published magazines; Commercials for companies such as Cover Girl, McDonald’s, American Express, Google, Pantene, Colgate, Lay’s, Reebok, Lancôme, Redken, AT&T, Samsung, Domino’s, Suave, Palmer’s Cocoa Butter, Nutella, Intel, Nintendo Wii, Xbox, Miller Light, Vonage, Wrigley’s Gum, Bud Light and many more; MMG models can also be seen walking the Runways at various NYFW shows.
MMG’s talent can be seen on shows like the all new Deal or No Deal, ABC’s Blackish, Quantico, Power, Growing Up Supermodel, Glee, Gossip Girl, 90210, The Carrie Diaries, Collar, New Girl, Orange is The New Black, How I Met Your Mother, Law and Order, Shameless, Person of Interest, The Big C, Elementary, Royal Pains, The Following, Blue Bloods, Celebrity Big Brother, Days of our Lives, and One Life to Live; Movies including The Greatest Showman, Creed I and Creed II, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Hunger Games, Blue Valentine, Men in Black III, Get Him to The Greek, Pirates of The Caribbean, The Other Woman, Something Blue , Arbitrage, The Sitter, Sex and the City, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Hellraiser and Disney’s Sixteen Wishes; MMG has secured celebrity endorsement and appearance deals for major brands and products for our up-and-coming and celebrity talent.
In pursuit of the world’s most marketable talent MMG has created a partnership with several state directors for the Miss USA Organization by providing exclusive representation to the winners of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants in 18 states.
Prior to joining the MMG team, Aviva developed a deep passion for the industry which fueled her drive to pursue a career in entertainment. She began her formal acting training at 10 years old in New York and continued training and performing throughout high school and college. Aviva attended a Talent Search competition where she was discovered by MMG. Since then she has appeared in several TV shows and movies including Law and Order: Criminal Intent; Disney’s Enchanted with Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey and Susan Sarandon; and Music and Lyrics with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. After receiving her degree nearly a decade ago, Aviva joined the MMG team as a full time Talent Manager where she has worked hands on to start and/or enhance the careers of hundreds of emerging talent ranging from beginner to celebrity in both the NY and LA markets, as well as bi-coastal and international talent.
Aviva recently sat down with Joe Lorenzo to Advice to Actors & Models, here’s what she had to say:
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(above slideshow some images of Aviva/ MMG NY clients credits)
Joe (Q) What is your current occupation? How long have you been in your current position?
Aviva (A) I am the Vice President of Talent Management and Business Relations at MMG. I manage my own personal roster of talent (actors, models, singers, dancers, athletes, influencers and celebrities) and oversee all of MMG’s Talent Managers and their respective talent. I am also responsible for cultivating and maintaining relationships and partnerships to ensure we are able to scout the best talent out there and secure as many opportunities for our talent as possible. I have been with MMG for over a decade and have been involved in the entertainment industry for over 20 years.
Joe (Q) How did you get started?
Aviva (A) I got started in the entertainment industry when I was 10 years old. After several years of training and performing in local theater productions I was accepted to a prestigious dramatic arts high school program where I spent 4 years learning everything from method acting and performance technique, to technical aspects such as set construction, lighting, and costume design, to the actual business of acting. This program broadened my understanding of the industry behind the art I loved and deepened my desire to learn more. This program, known as the Calhoun High School “On Tour Company” was directed by Sal Salerno, a graduate of Hofstra University’s Department of Drama and Dance. I decided to follow in his footsteps and pursue a theatre education at Hofstra University. During my time there I also picked up a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology – a skill I find highly applicable in my day to day dealings in this industry. Concurrently, I attended a talent search in hopes to find an agent or manager and was scouted by MMG. Upon Graduation I decided to join the MMG team as an intern. MMG was a much smaller brand at the time and I was able to quickly grow as the company grew. I was instrumental in helping to open both our Canada office as well as our LA agency and learned a tremendous amount with each of these new endeavors. I was able to grow a strong team of excellent Talent Managers who truly care about our talent and I attribute much of our success to our hardworking staff.
Joe (Q) Did you have any mentors or someone guiding you along the way?
Aviva (A) I had many great teachers along the way, especially the director of the On Tour program I mentioned earlier, Sal Salerno, who truly challenged me to dedicate myself to the craft and the business. Since joining the MMG family I have worked extremely closely with our President and CEO, Jeff Cohen, who has taught me an unimaginable amount. One of the best lessons I have learned from Jeff is to never think of yourself as an expert because the industry changes daily and what was the norm yesterday may not be the norm today. It is important to adapt and to keep your finger on the pulse. Since our world changes on a daily basis so must we. This means that each day is a new learning experience and another opportunity for growth. It is those companies who can quickly adapt to changing times that are able to flourish.
Joe (Q) How important is it to study and private coach for auditions?
Aviva (A) It is extremely important to study and prepare for every audition. Your time in the casting room is your chance and you must be prepared for that opportunity. Casting directors are very busy and don’t have time for you to read over again if you mess up the first time. So if you enter the room underprepared you just blew your shot. As an actor you should always have a monologue ready to go at all times. If you are reading for a potential representative they need to feel confident in your skill sets and also understand what areas they see fit for you to be marketed to – so choose a monologue that is age appropriate and that the character is one you can likely be cast as. When selecting a monologue, don’t just read that one excerpt. Read the whole play so you can gain some insight into the character and their background. This will help you identify with the character and deliver a more powerful performance. If reading for a role where sides are provided it is important to memorize the sides. Even though they may allow you to have the script with you, if you are constantly looking down at the pages in your hand you are not focusing on your delivery. Being memorized also shows professionalism. Fumbling lines is a sign of nervousness so if you are well prepared you will read a lot more confident than if you are unprepared. A private coach can help you understand the text better and provide suggestions on different ways to approach the scene. They can give feedback that a parent/friend simply can’t because they lack specific knowledge of our industry and experience breaking down scenes and working on character development. A good coach will not tell you how to say your lines, but will help you make choices to get you there on your own. So don’t fear that you will lose your individuality by being coached.
Joe (Q) With all the rejection this business has, what keeps you going for your clients? What advice do you give your clients as they experience rejection?
Aviva (A) “You win some, you lose some!” But in this industry it’s very common to lose a lot before winning one. A good manager must impress upon their talent how tough this industry is and that they must be able to handle rejection as well as negative feedback. In today’s entertainment industry, there are more opportunities than ever before due to an influx in programming amongst television networks, streaming services, web series, etc. But there is also more competition than ever – since modern technology allows many more people to be considered for each role than in the past. Even as industry professionals, we often do not understand why a certain client picked one actor over the other. It all comes down to personal opinion. There are a million reasons you could be overlooked for a role that really have nothing to do with you. For example, if that client decided the character should really be someone with lighter/darker hair/skin/eyes, or if someone else in that scene has too similar of a look to you. Typically casting directors will not give feedback on why you weren’t chosen so there is no use in looking back. The best advice I can give is “once you leave the audition room, forget it ever happened and move on to the next thing”. (That doesn’t meant forgetting to hold your availability of course!) But it does mean “don’t sweat it”. Either they will call you back or they won’t – but instead of focusing on that, focus on what you can be doing next.
Joe (Q) What advice were you given when you were starting out that you can remember and share?
Aviva (A) As I touched on earlier, it is extremely important to remind yourself that no matter how long you have been doing this you can always learn. We learn every day if we open our mind to it so it is important to keep your mind open! Everyone has something to offer you so let yourself learn from them. I find that I am constantly learning from my talent, our clients, my coworkers, industry friends, etc. Another great piece of advice is that anything you don’t know can be figured out. When we were opening our Canada office, one day MMG’s President Jeff Cohen came up to my desk and said “I need you to write a contract for our Canada office”. I immediately replied that I hadn’t gone to law school and was unqualified to draft up something so important. He told me “you can and you will”. Taking on that project seemed scary and overwhelming but I got it done. Not only could I do it, but I had learned so much in the process that has made me better at negotiating contracts moving forward.
Joe (Q) What piece of advice do you have for those just starting out?
Aviva (A) Congratulations – You chose to enter one of the toughest industries in the world! That takes a lot of courage. It also requires a LOT of hard work and patience. Always continue growing your craft and always continue learning! Networking is so important in this industry. Always be kind and courteous, show up on time and prepared. Personality is everything! Don’t be afraid to be over the top. Clients/Agents/Managers would rather see what you are capable of (and can tone you down if needed) than have to wonder if you will be capable. The more special skills you have the more they will set you apart – so stay well rounded and make sure you list everything on your resume – even if you don’t think it’s important! A good coach or manager can help you decide which skills are most pertinent to list.
Joe (Q) What is the biggest pet peeve you encounter from brand new talent when you meet them?
Aviva (A) Many new talent have the expectation that they will be a star immediately. Just as no professional athlete, musician or politician got to where they are overnight, neither do actors. It can take many years to build a strong resume. Many talent think once they sign with an agent or manager they can sit back and wait for their rep to get them work. I can’t stress enough how incorrect this mentality is. Your agent/manager is part of your TEAM but you are still in control of your own career. Your representative can only use the tools you are giving them so make sure to be on top of that. Lastly, understand your representative makes money when YOU make money. A lack of results doesn’t mean a lack of effort – so treat your representatives with respect and trust that they are doing their job to the best of their ability.
Joe (Q) What can you say to parents of children just starting out in this business? Things that parents do that are helpful, and things parents do that are harmful?
Aviva (A) Parents can make or break their child’s career. Until an actor is 18 the law states that a parent must be on set with them, so if a client feels that they can’t work with the parent, that means they can’t work with the actor. Behaving professionally and appropriately is extremely important. Representatives and clients ARE noticing how you treat your kids. If you are too hard on them, we notice and we likely won’t want to work with you. If it’s evident the kid doesn’t really want to do this and the parents are forcing it, we won’t work with that child.
Joe (Q) Any last word of wisdom or something you would like to leave us with that can help someone starting out or someone struggling to keep going in this business?
Aviva (A) One of the best pieces of advice I received as an actor is that THEY WANT YOU TO BE GOOD. Whether “they” is an agent or manager who may want to sign you, or a casting director who wants you to make their job easy by being so great that their job is done because they already found you! I think that bit of advice really affected my confidence level during auditions because I no longer felt like the casting director was waiting for me to mess up and instead felt that they really, genuinely wanted me to be great – which made greatness so much easier! I think this is one important mantra to remember as you embark on any audition!
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Agent Advice to Actors & Models ~ Aviva Skall Ron ~ Interviewed by Joe Lorenzo/ Society Entertainment Aviva Skall is the Vice President of Talent Management and Business Affairs at MMG, an International Model, Talent & Celebrity Management Company headquartered in New York City.
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