This is the first column in a series covering the tremendous amount of information provided by a collection of A-list casting directors and agents at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Performers Peer Group Road to Success Series event: Navigating the New Hollywood Landscape for the Working Actor (produced by Conrad Bachmann and Alex Georgiev). I had the great fortune of moderating this amazing panel consisting of casting directors Chemin Bernard, Richard Hicks, Jane Jenkins, Ellie Kanner, Sonia Nikore, and April Webster, plus talent agents Chris Barrett, Glenn Salners, Robin Spitzer, Mitchell K. Stubbs, and Jeff Witjas.

In addition to topics such as technological advances in casting, the importance of personal relationships in getting seen, demo reels and self-produced short films, the pace of casting (and how it varies based on the type of project), and the magic that is an actor’s best work, the panelists discussed the filtering process, which is what this week’s column will summarize.

What is a filtering process and why do casting directors and talent agents need one?

Let’s start from the end result: a project with a locked cast list (and let’s assume no recasts for the sake of this example). In order to get to that end-product, actors are filtered through a director and producers (and network executives, ad agencies, etc., as applicable) after being filtered through a casting director (after being filtered through a pre-screening process to get to that casting director). If the actors are represented by talent agents, they have also been filtered through a selection process in order to get signed by those agents.

So, let’s first look at the agents’ filtering process, as described by the panelists.

Mitchell mentioned that he had to learn which referrals to rely on, in choosing to meet with actors about potential representation. He told us about one client who tends to come into his office every week after his acting class with yet another classmate’s headshot and resumé for his consideration. Since Mitchell keeps a small roster, he carefully chooses which actors to meet, and often finds it’s the clients who rarely refer someone whose referrals hold more value. Of the meetings with potential clients Mitchell takes, 99% of them come from referrals. Glenn described referrals as a filtering process of its own. He suggested that the most valuable referral comes from a casting director or a manager who has nothing to gain from the outcome of the meeting between him and the actor being referred.

Since actors who are signed by agents have already been through one level of the filtering process in order to get signed, the agents’ pitch calls and submissions to casting directors start the next stage of filtering.

This is where relationships between agents and casting directors are vitally important. Despite all technological advances, according to Jeff, “Nothing takes the place of an agent getting on the phone to pitch an actor to a casting director.” An agent who has perhaps steered a casting director toward actors who aren’t ready for the level of the role being cast more than a few times may not be as fine-grade a filter as an agent whose clients are consistently right on. Switching metaphors for a moment, an agent who submits too many actors may be seen as using a shotgun approach rather than using a laser to aim.

So, just as an agent will consider some referrals more valuable than others, a casting director will consider some agents’ pitches more valuable than others.

After a casting director determines which actors will be auditioned for a role, another filtering process begins. This one will be based on what goes on in the room more than anything else. Sonia mentioned that, regardless of the pitch your agent gave, your credits, what’s on your demo reel, or what your headshot looks like, “the audition room is the great equalizer.” Once you get into that room, your work there is all that matters for the next level of filtering. “I’m focused on the actor at that moment and nothing else,” Ellie said, of where her priorities lie during auditions. April mentioned the importance she places on “creating a safe place” for actors to do their best work.

Since the audition room is the only place in which an actor can have an impact on the filtering process, for the most part, it’s vitally important to do well there!

So, how can you stand out, once you get into the room, so that you have a shot to make it to the final level of the filtering process? “Know who you’re coming in for and the context of your scene,” Jane advised. “Know the material. Understand the beats. And just because you have one line doesn’t mean you can throw it away. If that one line is to Tom Hanks, you’ve got to be as talented as Tom Hanks to share the screen with him.” All casting directors on the panel agreed that a strong choice is always best. “So many actors choose to be safe and play it very middle-of-the-road. Even if you make the wrong choice,” Jane continued, “you’re better off having made one.”

“Many actors have not mastered the audition process,” Jeff added. He admitted that show business is fun (as it should be), but that it’s also intense. Actors need to be masterful at auditioning. Otherwise, how will anyone know how good you can be? Everyone agreed that making a good impression during auditions is vitally important, as many actors are brought in on future projects based on their commitment and talent at previous auditions (even when they didn’t get a callback).

After the audition, the casting director’s job is to filter the choices for each role down to a handful of actors (a much more manageable number of choices to present to the folks at the next tier of the decision-making process than the dozens seen at auditions, or the thousands of actors submitted for the project).

So, how can actors survive the filtering process? Persistence, professionalism, talent (of course), consistency, and magic. More on that aspect of your job (and your gift for doing it) next week!

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/000234.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.