Hello Bonnie!

Congrats on your recent and upcoming Self-Management for Actors Seminar tours; you must be beyond excited!

Thank you and all the best!
Brittney Bruno

Great questions, Brittney! So many casting offices use the help of interns — and often those folks are actors — that it’s a great idea to get clear on what we’re looking for, if interning is something you’d like to do. Now, some casting offices will not use actors, and that’s something you can figure out pretty easily, just by doing a little Googling and reading everything you can in various interviews with the casting directors you’re targeting. If you’re targeting an office for interning but can’t find any good info about what they look for in an intern, make use of your social networks and ask others who may have some inside scoop to share.

Now, I’d like to recommend that you NOT make your first-choice casting office for an internship one that you’re targeting, highest-priority, for your acting career. That’s a recipe for disaster and you need to learn the ins and outs of interning in an office you’re not as eager to penetrate. For example, when I started interning in casting offices (in 1999), it was for commercial casting directors. Because I had prime targets in the theatrical realm of casting, I avoided their offices altogether for interning, until I had more experience. I was able to learn the basics that exist in all casting offices without the pressure of feeling like I needed to prove I was someone that office should consider as an actor.

And it’s exactly that sort of anxiety that causes some casting offices to lay out policy against working with actors in an internship capacity, frankly. Does that mean you should lie about your life as an actor? No. I find that actors who are up-front about their lives as actors are on solid footing from the beginning, in the casting offices where they intern. And eventually, they may get a great opportunity on-camera! But that can’t be the agenda, going in. So, as for what NOT to say? That’d be something along the lines of, “I’m a huge fan of the show you cast and know I’d be a perfect fit for waitress #2 in an upcoming episode. To show you how eager and professional I am, I’d love the chance to come intern for you one afternoon.” No. That’s filled with red flags.

There are too many wonderful things to learn, in working in casting office, for the primary goal to be “to get cast.” Just seeing the number of submissions, the process of filtering, and the massive undertaking that is scheduling basic prereads can be very eye-opening (not to mention if you’re invited to experience any of the sessions themselves, witness deliberations, offers, and contract negotiations). You’ll learn it’s never personal when a talented actor isn’t cast. You’ll learn how clear it is which agencies are respected and which ones are not. You’ll learn what a great headshot looks like and how infrequently most of the marketing materials actors spend thousands of dollars on are ever even looked at. You’ll learn a LOT, all while building a relationship with some really talented people who may or may not think about you for a job down the line.

So, as with most issues in this business of ours, I’d say start by researching your targets. Call the offices and ask whether they’re accepting interns and what the criteria might be. I’d imagine most folks are going to require referral, as there’s going to be a trust factor, there. So, keeping track of your friends who have worked in casting offices and asking them whether there might be an “in” through them is worth doing too. As always, take the long-haul approach. Plan to commit for more than just a few months, and soak up everything you can, while invited in for some “other side of the desk” work.

Any tips to share for fellow actors on the hunt for internships? Pop ’em in the comments section, below. Thanks for jamming with us!

Wanna be sure your tools *and* your mindset are in peak form? Let us get you in gear with some FREE training right now!

Woo HOO!

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/001424.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.