Hi Bonnie,
I’m a graduate of UC Irvine (MFA ’06) and I have had the pleasure of meeting you and hearing you speak several times at the UCI Showcases (’05-’07). I love your articles and find a lot of your words of wisdom inspiring and helpful. I am hoping you can help me pinpoint the cause of my current dilemma. You see, I can’t seem to book any auditions.
I have an agent who submits me for EVERYTHING. I have two degrees in acting. I am a member of AEA. I have great theatrical credits (mostly theatre), I submit myself constantly, attend workshops, and send hardcopy headshots for projects that interest me. Alas, I cannot seem to get through the door. I am at my wits’ end trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong. Is it just bad timing?
I know that having a reel is important, and though I do not have one yet, I have almost enough material to edit one together. However, part of me thinks that this can’t be the only reason why I’m having trouble getting through the door. I also have tried new headshots, but none of them seem to work.
You once addressed the issue of ethnicity, and sometimes I feel like this is part of my problem. I am ethnically ambiguous and feel that it makes it hard for me to find my “niche” so to speak. No one can tell my age, my ethnicity, or my social background, and I wonder if the guessing game is keeping casting directors from wanting to call me in.
I would appreciate any advice or insight you may be able to provide!
Best Wishes,
Talia Thiesfield
Hi Talia,
I remember you! And you know I always enjoy my time with the UCI and Harvard MFAs both during the showcase and at the panel discussion held as a part of that showcasing process each year. There’s such pressure to decide, when you’re coming out of a program like yours, whether to go to New York or work in Los Angeles, and it’s so cool to be a part of the Q&A that helps you awesome MFAers make good decisions about where to go after graduation and what to expect once you get there.
Of course, no matter where actors choose to pursue their careers, there will always be that question of “What if?” when there is this other place where some of your classmates will certainly choose to go. But you can’t possibly know what your experiences would’ve been, had you chosen to pursue this business in New York instead of Los Angeles. No one can know.
I know you didn’t ask about that issue at all, but I’m bringing it up because I think it’s absolutely in the same ballpark as what you are asking about: “What could I be doing differently to get better results?”
It’s impossible to know. No one can know. You may actually be doing everything right and the only “missing” element is patience. Actors can go nuts attempting to change representation, change headshots, change hair color, change names, change their weight, change their demo reel, change their primary type, and on and on and on… when perhaps all they need is TIME to start showing up consistently on the radar of casting directors. Too much change can actually derail whatever progress you have made with casting directors. I actually just screamed at my computer screen while looking at submissions on a breakdown a few weeks ago, because an actor whose work I’ve loved since I first became aware of her in 2004 is now on her third new name since I’ve known her. Sheesh! Stop changing your flippin’ name! It’s ridiculous!
So, that’s the first thing: I caution you against changing too much without giving things a chance to just “work out” on their own.
The second thing I want to mention is that a demo reel is essential for all of the reasons I’ve covered in many, many, many, many, many previous columns. Absolutely nothing should hold you back from getting that reel put together and in front of people — NOW. When our job is all about risk-assessment (which it always is), your ability to show us exactly what you deliver on screen is going to make a huge difference, when everyone else only has a headshot and resumé to show us what they can do. Get your tape together. Right now. Do not delay. It will make a difference. Trust me.
Third, I think it’s great that you have an MFA. And I think it’s super cool that you have theatre credits. Here’s the bad news: I’m one of only a dozen or so Hollywood CDs who gives a crap about an advanced degree or stage credits. MOST casting directors want to see your current training with instructors who pull great results ON CAMERA out of their students. And they all want to see what you can do on a set, not what you can do on a stage. Another reason that demo reel is so vitally important to your success, here.
As for the race issue, I have noticed more and more “ambiguous ethnicity” casting going on. This seems to be a great time to not really fit into any one specific race-based category. Of course, most casting is almost entirely Caucasian, so no matter what progress has been made in recent years to see our entertainment more correctly mirror the picture of our society as a whole, it’s still going to be an uphill battle to get seen for most projects, as an actor who is a member of any minority group. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible! There are roles going to actors who look just like you every single day. So, why not you?
Give it time. It takes a good couple of years to really land on and stay on the radar of casting directors in Hollywood. No matter how skilled you are as a performer, no matter how hot your look is right now, no matter how much your agent hustles and pitches to get you seen, no matter how beautifully the stars are aligned for your career to take off… it just takes time.
If you only started pursuing acting fulltime at the professional level in Hollywood after you graduated less than two years ago, you are just now are hitting that big “18 months in and ready to quit” stage. Weather this bit of doubt you’re facing and use your energy to get that demo reel done. By the time you’ve been at this non-stop for two years, you’ll begin to see a difference. You are just months away from the turning point. Hang in there! And keep me posted. 🙂
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/000850.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.