This week’s Your Turn is two quickies. One in support of The Great Headshot Purge, and one offering intern services.
Halloo Bon!
I love reducing the number of hardcopies used for lots of reasons:
1) I’m an environmentalist
2) Reduces expenses, gas, and time for ordering pictures and getting mailing supplies (less trips to the post office too) and
3) It’s easier to track electronic submissions when I review which headshots are working
On the techno-front, my YouTube channel hosts my reel and projects I’ve been cast in or produce. I add production shots to my IMDb page to show that I’m still working. I also keep career updates on my website and started a blog to archive the updates. It’s one thing to audition and book gigs here and there, but to see every achievement logged over a period of time has helped keep my confidence up.
Happy rockin’ holidays,
Terri J. Freedman
Yay! Glad to know that not all actors are horrified by the idea of so many headshots heading for the landfill. I’m definitely looking forward to a leaner, meaner hard copy filing system and more flexibility in the “soft copy” selection process in casting.
Hi Bonnie —
Loved this week’s column. I am here in LA for the holidays and have some time off from my survival job.
I read about The Great Headshot Purge of 2008. Do you need some help? Perhaps your awesome intern needs an awesome intern of his/her own? Or do you need another intern? I could be the speedy and smart intern.
Thought I’d throw it out there, if you need additional hands, eyes, and legs to help. I come with a “no job is too small” attitude, positive energy, a smile, and good sense of humor. 🙂
Talk soon and happy holidays,
Puja Mohindra
Now, the reason for sharing this last email is not to tell everyone that Puja is looking to help me out (although that’s awesome! Thanks for the offer, Puja), but to use it as a springboard for the question I get asked quite a bit, “How do I get on your list of future interns?”
Currently, I’m all set. I have a small pool of actor friends who have volunteered to help out whenever I need it and most of them are actors who I have cast or who volunteered to do very unglamorous PA work during the Cricket Feet Showcases or other projects we’re working on. Doing the less-exciting things like sweeping up and running errands and opening zillions of envelopes is what leads to being asked to do more fun things like helping with audition sessions or working as a reader.
So, how do you get on the radar of any casting director for whom you hope to intern? Let us know you want to do it! Drop an email or old-fashioned letter in which you outline your skills for grunt work and/or office work, spell out your expectations (so we know that you know what you’re in for), and detail your availability (people who are consistently available on one specific day per week, for example, are most appreciated). Don’t expect to get asked in right away, but know that we do hang onto these letters and when we’re in a bind (when our regular interns are all unavailable and we have an immediate need for assistance), you will get the call. Obviously, if we already know you, you’ve got a better chance of getting in. We don’t usually wanna take a risk bringing someone who could be a psycho stalker for all we know into our personal space if we have the option of bringing in someone we already know and enjoy spending time with.
As always, build relationships, stay in touch, and make sure the folks you want to work with know you’re available to them. But don’t over-do it on the reminders. There are many more of you interested in working in casting offices than there is a need for us to have you help out. So, one reminder every six months or so is more than enough! Even once a year is fine. 🙂 And on behalf of everyone who uses the help of interns, I’d like to say thank you! We really do appreciate your assistance and interest in what it is we do, day to day.
Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!
Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/000964.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.