Hi Bonnie,
I read The Actors Voice and Your Turn every week. You know I’m a fan! And I’m writing now in response to a recent Your Turn. You wrote about treading lightly, not crossing the line, and doing research on casting directors, as each has individual preferences for email, drop-offs, etc. Well, here’s a recent story of success:
Earlier this week, I attended an industry event with a CD who is casting a feature film right now. As it happens, I’m more-than-right for a few roles in this movie, and the story of the film and the major talent already signed on really excite me, too.
The casting director said at the event (more or less, but maybe not in super-explicit, plain English, so you have to be a little smart to figure it out) that it can be very effective to email him regarding this breakdown or any other he puts out, if you do it right. You know, be smart, professional, right for the part, include a link to your demo reel, etc. This is, of course, different from your policy, to say the least.
Anyway, I did it the way he suggested, including an honest thank-you for his time at the event, and he replied today with a request to put an audition on tape for him. It’s a great opportunity for me (!!!), and hopefully serves as a positive example of why your advice makes good sense.
Thanks always for the weekly column. It’s very helpful!
Best,
Kevin Ashworth
Awesome, Kevin! Thanks for that great share. I love that you were able to do exactly as I suggested and research what works for that individual and then follow through in the most professional way. AND it paid off with an opportunity for you to tape a great audition showing your best work. Fantastic! Hope to hear good news about this relationship for years to come!
Sounds like the policy this casting director has isn’t that far off from mine, so please let me clarify. It’s not that I don’t accept emails from actors saying, “Hey, I’ve submitted. Just wanted you to keep me in mind” (I get hundreds a week, so it’s not like I could prevent ’em from coming if I wanted to), it’s that an actor can’t circumvent the submission process (via Actors Access or through agents or managers at Breakdown Services) by sending an email or making a phone call. (Oh my, I got a call last week from an actor who only has a snapshot to offer, and is mailing it to me because she got a vision that I needed to have her as the lead in one of the films I’m currently casting. She has already mailed it but got a sign that I needed to hear her voice on the phone to be sure she is our lead. Doubtful we’ll be rescinding our name-actor offer to snap this actor up. But that’s not my point.)
Because some actors — as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago — don’t actually understand or respect the best ways to connect with us, even when we do make them very clear, it’s all the more important that you savvy actors out there do your research and pay attention when someone like the CD you met gives a “coded message” about a great way in. Well done!
Keep doing good work!
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/001004.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.