If you did do that, you'd probably get transferred around and around, until you either got transferred into the voicemail vortex or someone finally told you that they'd love to use you, but they do all their casting through agencies.

Great. So now you know that all you need is an agent. What next? You call up Ford or Wilhelmina or William Morris and tell them you are in the market for representation. Granted, you may be the next Mark Wahlberg or Keanu Reeves but, even so, it's highly unlikely that they'll ask for your fax number so they can shoot you over an exclusive contract. They'll either tell you to send in a headshot and a resume (which will almost certainly be carefully placed in the round file next to their desk), or they'll tell you that their agency holds open calls in New York or Los Angeles once a month.

Okay, so now you know that all you need to do to get the agent who is going to get you your first Guess campaign is show up in New York during one of those open calls, make a smashing impression, and you are on your way to fame and fortune.

You call the airline and book a ticket. That'll cost between $300.00 and $500.00 for a roundtrip. Maybe a little more or less, depending on how far in advance you make your reservation, where you live, and whether you have a good travel agent. Then, unless you have some friends to stay with in Manhattan, you have to get a hotel room. That'll run you $200.00 a night in New York, easy. And, since you are already going to be in New York, you may as well take advantage and go see two or three agencies in order to boost your chances of success. Now, we'll assume that Fate smiles upon you and you find out that three agencies are holding open calls on three consecutive days with no conflicts or days in between (that, by the way, is not likely to happen). You'll need to stay at that hotel for four nights, maybe five. It'll cost you some more money to take a cab or ride the subway, and some more money to eat while you are on the run in the City. It wouldn't be outrageous to project another $100.00 per day for those miscellaneous expenses.

Grand total of your play for fame? The best case scenario is that you spend between $1500.00 and $2,000.00 for your roll of the dice, maybe more if you have to bring a parent.

You get into town and get ready for Day One. You get to the open call, and you find that 50-100 people had the exact same idea. So you get your clipboard and application, fill it out, attach the pictures you brought, and wait your turn.

Once your turn comes, you discover that the agent is nowhere to be found. Instead, you get to meet with the agent's assistant, whose eyes are already beginning to glaze over and harden from the steady stream of young hopefuls who have been parading in front of her. You flash your most charming smile and put your best foot forward, but you end up leaving unsure if it was enough. So you go back to your hotel and get ready for two more days of the same sort of thing.