Atlanta Film and TV: Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started in the Entertainment
Industry?
Natarsha Garcia: I am the co-founder and CEO of AGI Entertainment. I’ve been working in the entertainment industry for over thirty years. I started performing at ten-years-old and signed my first deal at fifteen. With a desire to help people live out their dreams, after moving to GA and getting married, my husband and I decided to start AGI Entertainment. Little did we know that it would blossom into the force that it is today!
Atlanta Film and TV: Give us a little background about AGI Entertainment.
Natarsha Garcia: AGI recently celebrated its 19th year! We’re a full-service entertainment company that specializes in the ‘Triple Threat’, raising performers that can sing, act and dance. We provide performers with a challenging yet supportive environment with a focus on preparing talent for a career in the entertainment industry and have launched over 200 careers. We have eight series regulars and twelve clients with recurring roles on network television shows. You’ll also find our clients on Broadway, in recording studios and on stages. We polish talent and assist with bringing their dreams to reality!
Atlanta Film and TV: Why did you decide to form AGI Entertainment?
Natarsha Garcia: My husband Craig and I truly felt it was a divine calling to do so. We believed people were sitting on couches and keeping their dreams simply a dream because they didn’t know how to get started. We wanted to be their guide and AGI, is the creative catalyst to their dreams becoming their reality!
Atlanta Film and TV: Who are your most notable clients?
Natarsha Garcia: We have many clients making their professional mark on the entertainment industry. We have a client on the Disney’s show, Raven’s Home, a client on the CW’s All American, one of our younger clients is touring, playing Young Nala on the Lion King Tour! Our Creative Director and client just appeared as a songwriter featured on NBC’s Songland and later this month, three of our clients are going to be featured contestants on NBC’s The Voice.
Atlanta Film and TV: Do you manage child talent?
Natarsha Garcia: We manage talent of all ages. Age never disqualifies a client for AGI representation. We represent talent poised and prepared for success and working professionally in the entertainment industry, no matter their age. Our smallest clients may be small, but their talent is making a big impact!
Atlanta Film and TV: Could you tell us a little bit about your book, The Parent Guide?
Natarsha Garcia:Over the last nineteen - years, it became more and more obvious that there was a need for parents to be better prepared to guide their child through a career in the entertainment industry. Rightfully so, if you have never studied this industry or been working in it, there would be so much you wouldn’t know or understand. When your child is still a minor, you, as the parent, can be their biggest asset or their biggest liability. Depending on how you navigate your role, you can propel them ahead or stop them in their tracks. I hoped that by writing The Parent Guide that the knowledge imparted in its pages would bring a better understanding to parents, equipping the child for success.
Atlanta Film and TV: Tell us about some of your upcoming classes?
Natarsha Garcia: This last year we moved to a new facility and are leveling up in many ways. One of the ways we are experiencing expansion is in welcoming additional talent coaches and expanding our AGI core team. We offer Artist Development Services, Private Sessions, Virtual Coaching via Skype, Triple Threat Training, Performance Polishing Class, Master’s Acting Class with an On-Camera Focus, Little People Class and this Fall we’re adding Improv Classes, Script Analysis and Musical Theater Training to our line up of services.
Atlanta Film and TV: What is the biggest mistake parents make when trying to get their kids into the industry?
Natarsha Garcia: Very often, parents don’t always understand the importance and value of continual, professional talent guidance and training. They spend their bulk of their time and effort tied up trying to secure opportunities and skip the vital steps of training and development
Atlanta Film and TV: How have you seen the Atlanta Film and TV industry change in the last five years?
Natarsha Garcia: Atlanta has quickly become the Hollywood of the South and you’ll often see ‘Filmed in Georgia’ and the Georgia Peach logo at the end of many films and television shows. The Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act Tax Incentive package that was signed and enacted, encouraged exponential growth in the volume of productions happening in the state of Georgia, in particular, Georgia. By 2017, film and TV production had an economic impact of $9.5 billion. In spite of the many opportunities in Atlanta, many desired roles and opportunities are still being booked in Los Angeles. If you’re located and working in the Atlanta Market there is a wild variety of opportunities for you but with the increase in demand, you need to be the best of the best.
Atlanta Film and TV: What do you think the future holds for Atlanta Film and TV?
Natarsha Garcia: I believe the volume of film and TV production in Atlanta will continue to rise in the months and years to come. With the cost of living in LA 42% higher than the national average, and it rising every year, I believe more talent will make a move to this market. This, coupled with the fact that year-to-date, there have already been 39 movies and prime time TV shows shot in Atlanta, indicates that the future of ATL Film and TV is a strong one! Now is the perfect time for talent to pursue professional training and guidance to pursue a career in Film and TV! It’s an exciting time to be working in the Entertainment Industry in Atlanta!
For more information on AGI Entertainment, be sure to check out their website!
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