Notes
I had the privilege a couple of days to go to a general audition in Wilmington, NC. The meeting was with one of the most respected (and busiest!) casting directors on the East Coast. Basically, a general audition is a casual meeting between an actor and a casting director. Sometimes performing a monologue is involved. Sometimes, as in the case of the general I participated in on Tuesday in Wilmington, it is a less formal conversation.
Tuesday was an opportunity for this casting director to meet me and size me up.
It was also an opportunity to hear their opinions and ideas about this industry.
The conversation was honest and brutally frank. There should be more talk like it in this business. It is seldom when you hear the truth.
There is very little or no critique after most auditions.
Other actors, while trying to be supportive, which is a wonderful thing, very rarely speak honestly for fear of tipping over the apple cart. In this business, it is all about connections...who you know...and you certainly don't want to say the wrong thing about or to the wrong person. You just never know how it will all come back to haunt you or your career.
I'm not saying we all lie. I'm saying we are all cautious. There's a difference.
So it's nice when someone lays it all down and says "This is how it is. Accept it or perish." It's rare someone cuts through all the bullshit and shakes you awake. It's far too easy to finish that one project, get a little too full of ourselves, and get complacent. Sometimes we need a good, swift kick in the ass with size 20 workbooks.
This is not a kind business. There are kind people who work within it, but the business itself is harsh and brutal. This is not a business for the feint of heart. You have to be tough. You have to be able to take a beating and get back up and ask for more of the same. It's a prize fight. Every now and then you take the beating and survive til the last round. Sometimes you get knocked out with the first swing. It's up to you. Get up and keep swinging or lie down, wait for the lights to go out and then sell ladies' shoes.
I knew getting back into acting it was not going to be an easy road. I'm 50. I'm caucasian. I'm 6'3. I didn't go to school for acting. I can only change one of those things. I'm currently taking classes and workshops because an actor should constantly learn or put themselves in situations in which they can learn. Besides, it's a lot less painful then removing my midsection to fit the 5'8" standard.
Paul Newman took acting classes right up until he passed away. Paul Newman. Yeah. Let that sink for a second or two.
Anthony Hopkins, let me rephrase that, Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins, still takes acting classes. The point I'm trying to make? Nobody is that good that they don't ever need to learn anything ever again about their craft...themselves.
Define education any way you want. Read. Take Classes, whether on-line or with a real person in a classroom setting. Watch everything. Listen to everything.
The conversation with this casting director was not only refreshing, it was thought-provoking and eye-opening.
Here's an example:
The casting director works with 40,000 actors in the South East.
40,000.
That's more actors than there are in Southern California.
40,000 actors are who I am competing with every day for work.
Of that number, only a certain are put up for certain jobs by their agents. Let's say this casting director will receive only 1000 submissions. Out of those 1000 only 300 will be reviewed.
Out of the 300, less than 100 will be asked to submit actual auditions.
Scared shitless yet?
Sometimes actors are eliminated because they can't follow simple instructions or because the quality of their submission was less than acceptable. Regardless, the numbers drop and the herd is thinned.
Out of 100 actors, less than 25 will be seriously looked at to be shown to the director.
Out of the 25 only 5 will be presented.
Out of the 5 only one will be cast.
Sometimes the director on a project will say "Send me only one actor."
From 4o,000 to 1.
My numbers might be off but the reality is the same.
Why would anybody put themselves through all this agony and frustration and worry?
I love acting. I do.
That's not to say my stomach isn't in knots most days worrying about working or not working. Nobody likes to be out of work. I don't know one actor who likes to be out of work. Everyone I know wants to work. Everyone gives it their all. Sadly, wanting it doesn't mean we deserve it. That's not how it works. That's the harsh reality.
Passion is good.
Good work ethic and professionalism are good.
Character and honesty are good traits.
These are not keys to The Emerald City though. They aren't. They'll only get you so far. Sometimes they'll get your foot in the door. Which side of the door you're on when it is closed isn't totally up to you. And, remember, the door could just as easily slam closed on your little piggies.
We will hear 'NO' more times than we will hear 'Yes.'
We will be out of work more than we will be working.
There are a million people (81,000 SAG-AFTRA members in 2014) out there who do what we do and they want it just as bad as we want it.
All we can do is work towards our dream. All we can do is educate ourselves and be the best we can be...always. All we can do is give it 125% every time we step into an audition (do our best to not look desperate) or in front of the camera or on stage.
The rest is not up to us. Everything else is up to people who only know you from an 8X10 glossy photo, a resume and a videotaped audition and sometimes you only get 2 two seconds of their time to make an impression.
I'm a little wiser after my general audition.
I'm a little more thoughtful about the industry and my place in it.
I'm a little scared.
I'm energized and inspired.
I'm an actor and I'm going to make this work.
Just keeping it reel.
Copyright 2015
All Rights Reserved
Tuesday was an opportunity for this casting director to meet me and size me up.
It was also an opportunity to hear their opinions and ideas about this industry.
The conversation was honest and brutally frank. There should be more talk like it in this business. It is seldom when you hear the truth.
There is very little or no critique after most auditions.
Other actors, while trying to be supportive, which is a wonderful thing, very rarely speak honestly for fear of tipping over the apple cart. In this business, it is all about connections...who you know...and you certainly don't want to say the wrong thing about or to the wrong person. You just never know how it will all come back to haunt you or your career.
I'm not saying we all lie. I'm saying we are all cautious. There's a difference.
So it's nice when someone lays it all down and says "This is how it is. Accept it or perish." It's rare someone cuts through all the bullshit and shakes you awake. It's far too easy to finish that one project, get a little too full of ourselves, and get complacent. Sometimes we need a good, swift kick in the ass with size 20 workbooks.
This is not a kind business. There are kind people who work within it, but the business itself is harsh and brutal. This is not a business for the feint of heart. You have to be tough. You have to be able to take a beating and get back up and ask for more of the same. It's a prize fight. Every now and then you take the beating and survive til the last round. Sometimes you get knocked out with the first swing. It's up to you. Get up and keep swinging or lie down, wait for the lights to go out and then sell ladies' shoes.
I knew getting back into acting it was not going to be an easy road. I'm 50. I'm caucasian. I'm 6'3. I didn't go to school for acting. I can only change one of those things. I'm currently taking classes and workshops because an actor should constantly learn or put themselves in situations in which they can learn. Besides, it's a lot less painful then removing my midsection to fit the 5'8" standard.
Paul Newman took acting classes right up until he passed away. Paul Newman. Yeah. Let that sink for a second or two.
Anthony Hopkins, let me rephrase that, Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins, still takes acting classes. The point I'm trying to make? Nobody is that good that they don't ever need to learn anything ever again about their craft...themselves.
Define education any way you want. Read. Take Classes, whether on-line or with a real person in a classroom setting. Watch everything. Listen to everything.
The conversation with this casting director was not only refreshing, it was thought-provoking and eye-opening.
Here's an example:
The casting director works with 40,000 actors in the South East.
40,000.
That's more actors than there are in Southern California.
40,000 actors are who I am competing with every day for work.
Of that number, only a certain are put up for certain jobs by their agents. Let's say this casting director will receive only 1000 submissions. Out of those 1000 only 300 will be reviewed.
Out of the 300, less than 100 will be asked to submit actual auditions.
Scared shitless yet?
Sometimes actors are eliminated because they can't follow simple instructions or because the quality of their submission was less than acceptable. Regardless, the numbers drop and the herd is thinned.
Out of 100 actors, less than 25 will be seriously looked at to be shown to the director.
Out of the 25 only 5 will be presented.
Out of the 5 only one will be cast.
Sometimes the director on a project will say "Send me only one actor."
From 4o,000 to 1.
My numbers might be off but the reality is the same.
Why would anybody put themselves through all this agony and frustration and worry?
I love acting. I do.
That's not to say my stomach isn't in knots most days worrying about working or not working. Nobody likes to be out of work. I don't know one actor who likes to be out of work. Everyone I know wants to work. Everyone gives it their all. Sadly, wanting it doesn't mean we deserve it. That's not how it works. That's the harsh reality.
Passion is good.
Good work ethic and professionalism are good.
Character and honesty are good traits.
These are not keys to The Emerald City though. They aren't. They'll only get you so far. Sometimes they'll get your foot in the door. Which side of the door you're on when it is closed isn't totally up to you. And, remember, the door could just as easily slam closed on your little piggies.
We will hear 'NO' more times than we will hear 'Yes.'
We will be out of work more than we will be working.
There are a million people (81,000 SAG-AFTRA members in 2014) out there who do what we do and they want it just as bad as we want it.
All we can do is work towards our dream. All we can do is educate ourselves and be the best we can be...always. All we can do is give it 125% every time we step into an audition (do our best to not look desperate) or in front of the camera or on stage.
The rest is not up to us. Everything else is up to people who only know you from an 8X10 glossy photo, a resume and a videotaped audition and sometimes you only get 2 two seconds of their time to make an impression.
I'm a little wiser after my general audition.
I'm a little more thoughtful about the industry and my place in it.
I'm a little scared.
I'm energized and inspired.
I'm an actor and I'm going to make this work.
Just keeping it reel.
Copyright 2015
All Rights Reserved
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