Archive | June, 2010

Oddest Audition Locations

28 Jun

Let’s say you have friends of friends who are actors. Maybe your boyfriend’s an actor. Maybe you’re an actor… Or, maybe, you’re “D: All of the above.”

I have heard of and/or experienced a number of really curious audition locations over the past year or so and thought I’d make a list of them:

  • dance complex (for a movie audition that has nothing to do with dance)
  • 3rd floor of the food court in a westfield shopping mall
  • the recreation/common area of an apartment complex
  • the media studies room in an elementary school
  • random house in a random residential neighborhood (creepy… no, I did not go in)
  • the gym at a high school located in a church (boy was I confused… and I don’t even submit for student films anymore!)
  • the lobby of a casting office on a film lot (not the strangest, but still odd nonetheless)

My Inbox

21 Jun

With so few ways to really measure your successes and progress in this business, it’s important to celebrate all of the moments, big or small, which do in fact indicate that you are on your way… that you’re in the game… that you have a career.

I realized one of these moments today when I noticed that I had three emails in a row in my inbox that were from directors of different projects I am working on or was recently cast in (an indie low-budg feature, a short, and a webseries). It felt really good to see those three emails all together, this little screenshot of my progress. I gave myself a moment to take it in. To celebrate it. Yes, I am working on my career. Yes, I am castable. Yes, I am actually an actor!

It’s so important to pat yourself on the back every step of the way (because if you don’t, no one else will… people outside of this career path just ask “So what have you been in? Anything I’ve seen?” and everyone in it knows it doesn’t necessarily work that way). We don’t have a simple corporate ladder to climb, steady salary increases or fancy new job titles every few years. For us, it’s kind of all over the place so progress is hard to measure. We got to dig a little deeper. Today, it came in the form of my inbox.

Even When You Make It, You Don’t Make It

10 Jun

We all know this business is tough. Yeah, and the sky is blue. Not asking for sympathy, just sayin’…

It’s hard enough to get an audition.

Then to give a GOOD audition.

Then to get a callback.

Then to give a GOOD audition, again.

Then to get the call that you got the part! (wahoo! but don’t get excited just yet…)

Then to hold on to that part. (They went a different direction, the funding fell through, no more movie.. etc)

Then to get to the actual filming of it. (but, hold on, we’re not there yet…)

And then, to get your scene, your part to be a part of the final product. (how often do scenes get left on the cutting room floor)?

And then, if you get all of that… but then for the film to actually get completed and for you to see the result of allll your heard work in getting there!

I was thinking about this after auditioning for this indie short at Film Independent a couple months ago. When I arrived there were a slew of 20-something attractive females and I thought to myself, is this worth it? I have shit to do… I had an appointment time but they were running way behind. Some girls said they’d already been waiting for over an hour. But I stuck it out, even after they handed me a brand new set of sides at the last minute when I’d already prepared the sides they had sent me when accepting the audition days prior. Finally, I was called in, did my thing and rushed to my next appointment never thinking about it again. A few days later I got a call for a callback. I was surprised and excited. There were so many girls there! Then after the callback I got the call that I got the part. Yay! An actual part in an actual film from an actual audition. I mean, c’mon, you got to celebrate these moments. And then, days even weeks went by and I didn’t hear anything more. It seemed, after all that, it wasn’t going to happen after all, for whatever reason and I felt a little crushed. Of course, as soon as I got over it, I get an email re: script revisions, table read, workshops, etc. But, it got me thinking… even when you think you’ve made it, you didn’t necessarily make it!

Model Type

3 Jun

I do my best to submit each morning to all the major casting sites: Actors Access, LA Casting, Now Casting. I’ve noticed a pattern. Doesn’t take a genius to know that this is an image-driven industry and that sex sells, so I’m not saying I’ve discovered anything revolutionary here. However, that doesn’t make it okay. As I scroll threw all “roles fit for me” I see description after description that all relate to youth, attractiveness and sex appeal. Sometimes subtly, often times blatantly (i.e. nudity required).

Here is a real sample, just from the breakdowns today:

CHASTITY: “She is a very pretty woman who…”

MOLLY: “Early 20s, bombshell, very attractive, Hometown Hottie type.”

LAURA: “Classical naturally beautiful American girl who is sweet, sexy, intelligent and sincere…”

ASHLEY: “18 year old beauty with an innocent style..”

GLORIA: “Well built. Fair skin. Thin body. Model type.”

JENNY: “Smoking Hot Sport’s Illustrated/Playboy/ Maxim type swimsuit model. Actor must have strong improvisation ability as well as a beautiful bikini body. *There is nudity with this role. We are looking for GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS AND SEXY GIRLS WHO CAN ACT!!!”

Where’s the diversity here, I want to know? And what the hell does beautiful, sexy or attractive mean anyway?

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the role that sexuality or attractiveness can take in a character and in a story. And I absolutely do not judge anyone who takes one of the above parts. I mean, I’m a actress. I get it. I submit for these roles every day and when those stars align to actually grant you one of these parts, I’m 99% sure I’d take it. Just last summer I did an indie horror flick playing the part of “Lillith” who I’m sure had a character description very similar to the ones above. And yes, there was even a little skin bearing.

But, let’s just say I were to weed out all the breakdowns that mention nudity and sexual situations and “model type”, it’s slim pickings let me tell you…