A few blog readers have asked me to describe the audition process.
The process varies depending on the source of the audition. An audition can come from your agent or manager, a direct message through a casting website, Craigslist, trade magazine ads, a recommendation or pure luck.
Having said that, here's a “typical” audition
process timeline:
***An audition is posted on one (or more) of the major
casting websites.
***Hundreds of actors are submitted for the audition. An actor might submit himself or the
submission could come from an agent/manager.
There were two girls that lived at The Plaza (our
old home) that didn’t have an agent or manager.
They were relentless in their submissions and chasing down casting
directors. They weren't super
successful at booking gigs but it wasn’t for lack of trying on a daily basis.
***The casting directors and/or the project producers
go through all of the submissions to choose who they want to audition for the upcoming part.
It’s not an exaggeration to say there are thousands
of submissions for every open role in Hollywood. You can almost consider it a victory to be called in for an audition. The odds
of your headshot, demo reel or resume standing out enough from thousands of
other submissions are hard to quantify.
***The actor is notified of the audition via email or
a phone call.
The actor confirms the appointment and is told
the details of the audition. Are there
sides (script samples)? Is it an improv
audition? What part is the actor playing during the audition? Is
there a specific style of dress or a certain accent needed for the part?
***The actor rehearses and memorizes the sides and arrives
at the audition ON TIME. The casting
director wants the lines memorized before you enter the audition. It doesn’t hurt to have a copy of the
script as a “fall back” but it’s best to have the script committed to memory.
***We always bring the sides, a headshot and resume
(attached to the back of the headshot), his current work permit and paperwork
to prove he has a bank account to protect his money until he turns 18 years
old.
***The actor waits his turn until he is called into
the audition room. The room could have
one casting director OR it might be filled with casting agents, producers,
directors and screen writers.
***The audition itself could be anywhere from
30-seconds to 5-minutes depending on the material and the interest of the
casting director. The actor might have
to do different line readings, improvise new lines, answer questions about his
take on the character or read the words EXACTLY as they’re written on the page.
***After the audition, actors get to second guess
their performance, wait for a call or email with info about a callback/booking
and work on getting the next audition.
It's a luxury to get a couple of days notice before the actual audition. We've had auditions come up anywhere from "can you audition NOW?" to "later today" to "see you tomorrow". It's the same way with many job bookings. It's always easier to jump in the car and run when it's for a paying job!
It’s a never ending process. The odds of hearing “thanks but no thanks” if
you don’t book a gig are about one-percent.
The casting directors don’t have time to contact everyone that didn’t
book the job. You have to learn to keep
moving on to the next audition and not obsessing over jobs you didn't book.
It’s not easy but it’s totally worth it when you get
a booking!
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