So, you live out-of-market (somewhere other than where casting is taking place) and you’ve received that glorious call: “We want you to audition for a role. Put yourself on tape and get it to us ASAP.”
Where do you begin? First off, make a plan for this sort of thing now in anticipation of that call coming in. If you are submitting for roles out-of-market, be prepared for this request. Just like a fire escape route in your home or an earthquake kit in the trunk of your car, a plan for putting yourself on tape will help you succeed in the execution of the request.
Did your agent or manager get the request to you? If so, set up a plan with your rep to have a studio in which to shoot the tape. Some actors use their agents’ offices or work out a deal with acting coaches to use their facilities for a small rental fee. Remember, when you submit an audition tape from out-of-market, you’re going up against actors who have come into the room for their auditions. Your tape needs to be professionally shot, well-lit, with appropriate backdrop, and excellent sound quality. If you are renting a facility, you should also pay to have a pro shoot your tape. Unless you have a relationship with a professional filmmaker or videographer, do not choose to “shoot with a friend.” Since your tape will be going up against tapes of those who shoot with pros, you need to be sure your tape measures up technically. It is very hard — no matter how outstanding your performance — to overcome glitches of framing, sound, and lighting.
If you have been asked to do an audition for a specific role, you will be provided sides (audition scenes) via fax, email, or at a service like SidesExpress.com. Just as you would do at an in-person audition, have those sides in-hand as you read, even if you have the lines memorized. Being “off book” is fine, but don’t beat yourself up if you need to glance down at the lines as you deliver your performance. Remember, that’s what will be happening in the room, locally.
Get all of your questions answered about the character, the setting, the project itself, and the parties involved ahead of time. Inform yourself so that you will deliver what is most appropriate in tone and style for this project. If the audition is for a role on an existing series, watch an episode. If the project is a feature film by a director whose work is out there, go rent a DVD to get familiar with that person’s choices as a filmmaker. Ask questions of your agent or manager so that you are on even footing with those who are engaging at the local level.
Shoot exactly what is asked for (no more, no less) and be sure the tape is properly cued, labeled, and packaged for mailing. Include contact information on the tape itself as well as on a slate before and after your performance. Be sure to confirm the mailing address and, if the request is to “overnight the tape,” then do so. You do not need to ask for signature confirmation of the delivery. Most casting directors have a standing arrangement with their FedEx, UPS, DHL, and postal carriers to leave packages without a signature. Do not call the office to confirm your tape was received. Believe me, if we request your tape and do not receive it, we will follow up (unless, of course, we’ve gone on and cast the role before your tape could even arrive, in which case your tape’s whereabouts are irrelevant).
If you have not been told to overnight the tape, then just use standard First Class Mail. When we are looking at tapes upon request, we are receiving several waves of deliveries a day and everything goes into the same stack until it’s time to start watching the tapes.
Now, about that “watching.” Do we watch all of the tapes we request? No. I know no one wants to imagine that all of that work — getting a tape put together and delivered to the CD — results in an unwatched tape. But it’s a simple fact of supply and demand. We’ve been asked to get 50 taped auditions from out-of-market and hold in-house auditions for 100 candidates. The requests go out for tapes and appointments are scheduled for the locals. By the time tapes begin arriving, the director may have cast an actor in another role (let’s say the role of the child of the character we’ve made tape requests on) and the fact that the actors must look related (and we now have an actor in one of the roles) rules out half of the people from whom I’ve requested tape. That isn’t something anyone can anticipate when requesting, creating, sending, or reviewing a tape. It is simply part of the casting process and it’s one of many reasons your tape may never be viewed.
As an actor, you must find a way to no longer be attached to what someone does with the work you put out there for others to consume. Just as you leave an audition and LET GO of what the CD, producer, director, writers, and assistants will think of what you just did, you must do the same with a taped audition. You were asked to make a tape. You did it. You got it turned as requested. It’s over. Let everything else go. Yes, we would all like assurances that the work we put out there for others is enjoyed with attentive delight. Heck, I’d love to know what visitors to this column think and feel after reading each week. That’s never going to happen! I just have to trust that I put my best work out there and let go of what happens after that. Actors must do that after every audition (live or taped).
If you’re ready to throw up your hands and cry, “Forget it! I’m not putting myself on tape anymore. It’s just not worth it,” please take heart. There are plenty advantages to going on tape in your local market for an LA-based CD. You could book the role (no chance of that, if you don’t do the taped audition). You could get on a short list for a future role (one you might not even hear about). You could go on tape at a local casting office and the CD there helping you tape your audition may like you for something she’s casting (and she wouldn’t have known about you, had you not come in to tape this particular audition). A taped audition gives you a few “takes” to come up with the best performance (as opposed to the actor who auditions in person and chokes on the first shot and isn’t given a do-over).
I wish you (my out-of-market readers) many requests for taped auditions for major projects this year. Be ready to step up and do your best work. Have a plan in place for nailing any opportunity like this. And until you come to LA, we’ll see you on tape!
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/000157.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.