Today we’d like to introduce you to Traci Luthy.
Hi Traci, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing up, my parents brought me to New York frequently to visit family, and we would usually see a Broadway show. I remember seeing Cats and Phantom in the same day and then going home and singing Mr Mistoffelees and Music of the Night into my hair brush. I knew pretty early on that I wasn’t a performer, but I also knew I was meant for this industry. So I applied for numerous entertainment jobs in New Orleans and ended up at a talent agency. I fell in love, and eventually moved to New York to work at a larger talent agency.
After a few years, I transitioned to work in advertising and marketing, which were also passions of mine. I learned a ton but never loved it, so I returned to my calling of working with talent. And eventually, I opened my own shop — Bonafide & Emerging Artists, and the rest is history!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have definitely been some obstacles. One that immediately comes to mind is imposture syndrome from the fact that I’ve always worked at boutique agencies. Not experiencing life at a huge Hollywood agency, representing celebrities on multi-million dollar projects, made me wonder if I’d ever get to that level on my own. I had to recognize that many of the most successful people I admire, got to where they are, the exact way I am doing it — grassroots and starting from the ground up. Additionally, COVID was crazy for the entertainment industry. In 2020 I already owned my business and had to pivot and innovate to survive. Being able to do that and continue making money during that time was interesting, and it gave me a ton of confidence because my agency actually thrived. The same goes for the SAG strike. Money slowed and once again we had to innovate. Being a black woman in this industry can also be a challenge, though I view it as an asset and at times, my superpower. People often underestimate me, which I use to my advantage. They don’t see me coming and next thing they know, here I am! I am also a mom, and it can be challenging to juggle business and family. Sometimes I feel like I’m failing at both, trying to be a supermom and grow my business. That’s why I have an amazing team. I appreciate the agents and people that work with me because together we’re making the dream come true.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Bonafide & Emerging Artists?
One thing that I think truly separates us from other agencies is our communicative/collaborative model. While I loved the other agencies I’ve worked for and I learned a lot, I also learned what not to do. I find that historically agencies treat talent like they have to prove themselves and once they’re worthy then they’ll invest their time. That is something that I never loved and I don’t believe that the talent really love, either. The power dynamic is off and it is full of ego. I wanted to create an agency that doesn’t feel that way. We are truly partners trying to get to the top of the mountain together. We collaborate and get on the same page about strategy and how to do what we do. There’s a balance to communication that we try to achieve where everyone feels heard and ultimately equal. I think that having that open door type of communication is a game changer and I have so many talent tell me how they have never had an agency that makes them feel heard the way we do. I love that and it is something that I truly pride myself on. There also aren’t a lot of Black Women who own talent agencies, which is truly a mystery to me, which helps to separate me from the crowd in a way that appeals to talent. Specifically, diverse talent tend to seek out someone who understands that unique point of view. They want someone who looks at what stories are being told and by who. We try to represent a very diverse roster of talent but I also believe that true diversity happens both on and off camera and you need more diverse people working on something to truly achieve that authenticity on camera. People from different backgrounds have different thoughts and opinions on how they are portrayed on film and what roles they absolutely will not play. For instance, I absolutely will not submit a black man for a prison role because of how oversaturated that viewpoint already is with that perspective and there are other people out there who have similar views on different things and I love to learn about them and honor them to continue to work towards making what we see on television more reflective of real life- which is something I feel the industry is definitely making positive strides towards. I watch some of the shows I grew up with now and the way black people were represented is truly cringe worthy and I love that we are able to be a part of making that change- a change that needs to happen- and I cannot wait to see where it goes from here.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I grew up in the Midwest in St. Louis, Missouri. At the time I thought it was great- I grew up in a nice home with a good family and lots of friends, riding bikes and climbing trees, but I always felt somewhere inside that St. Louis and the Midwest weren’t for me. I still love to go and visit there, but I always knew it was too conservative for me. I’d watch shows like Sex and The City and Seinfeld and always felt that New York City was where I was supposed to be. So when I got the opportunity to move to New York, it felt like coming home. There’s of course pros and cons to living in New York, but I love it. Even from a young age I knew it was where I was meant to be. I also always knew that I wanted to be in the entertainment industry. I grew up doing school plays and dancing and performing. As a matter of fact my friends and I started an Acting Troupe in Elementary school and I was always the one saying that we needed more rehearsal and practice, so I always knew that I would work with talented people, but there comes a point in time where you realize that there are people out there who can bring you to tears in one song and have you walking out of the Theatre completely changed and I just wanted to make sure that more people got to see what I saw.
Contact Info:
- Website: BeArtists.com
- Instagram: @BeArtistsAgency
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BEartistsagency
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bonafide-emerging-artists\
