Short notice...

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	Topic: Short notice...
Posted : 17/03/10 / Views : 744 / Replies : 6 /
Geraldine.Allen 141 posts last on: 07/02/12 send private reply	I had a phone call in my lunch hour today asking if I was free for a commercial casting tonight...of course I said yes....all I needed to do was look 'East London'...Well like most of us, I have to work full time between jobs to pay rent....so no time to raid my wardrobe...just a quick trip to the shops at lunch to cobble together an outfit...now I'm sitting here ready to go thinking that perhaps I'm looking a bit stupid!...I'm a west london girl...I don't have a clue what happens in the East!! So I just wondered what's the best outfit you've had to cobble together with short notice and did you get there and feel stupid...or fit right in? No doubt...I'll be filling you in with the outcome tomorrow!!!

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	Reply #1
Posted : 16/03/10
anonymous	Well...East London again!! And I'm a vintage-charity-shop-electric-blue-leopardskin-80s-dress-and-ballet-pumps sort of person, so i was challenged, like you. My character was an east End single Mum, innit. So I went for my Primark slightly bobbly black cardi, big gold hoops, skinnies, Adidas trainers and a T-shirt. And lots of mascara!! It worked. The most hilarious advert I saw for a casting was "Expenses only. Stills photo shoot for well-known shopping mall. You will need to do your own hair and makeup and bring a choice of six DESIGNER oufits" Ha Ha!

Reply #1

Posted : 16/03/10

anonymous

Well...East London again!! And I'm a vintage-charity-shop-electric-blue-leopardskin-80s-dress-and-ballet-pumps sort of person, so i was challenged, like you. My character was an east End single Mum, innit. So I went for my Primark slightly bobbly black cardi, big gold hoops, skinnies, Adidas trainers and a T-shirt. And lots of mascara!! It worked. The most hilarious advert I saw for a casting was "Expenses only. Stills photo shoot for well-known shopping mall. You will need to do your own hair and makeup and bring a choice of six DESIGNER oufits" Ha Ha!

	Reply #2
Posted : 16/03/10
Geraldine.Allen 141 posts last on: 07/02/12 send private reply	Brilliant! Well you'll be pleased to know that during my casting I managed to accidentally unplug the studio lights with my foot...I'm just a comedy sketch waiting to happen!

	Reply #3
Posted : 17/03/10
ddagwood 52 posts last on: 6 hours send private reply	How do people dress in East London? Odd because apart from the obvious and depending on the size of one's pocket, I don't see where the denizens of East London dress any different than say someone in Hendon, Greenford or Camberwell or any other of London that is not Sloan Square, Belgravia or Kensington. And even in those areas, I don't see a difference. But then I am not checking for designer labels every time I meet someone. I think as individuals and actors, we need to use a bit of commonsense when these kind of requests come up. For instance, you were working all day. Don't you think you should have mentioned that little fact? Why would you need to raid your wardrobe for an East London look? Whatever that may be. We all want to get on in this business but sometimes we need to know what is flannel, nonsense and a genuine request. Would the person have noticed a difference in the way you dressed? I doubt it but you could always how does someone in East London dress? For myself, I would have asked where the audition was and if it was convenient for (given it was short notice,) I would have probably attended. However, the fact they were asking for an East London look would have told me straightaway, not to bother.

Reply #3

Posted : 17/03/10

ddagwood
52 posts
last on: 6 hours
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How do people dress in East London? Odd because apart from the obvious and depending on the size of one's pocket, I don't see where the denizens of East London dress any different than say someone in Hendon, Greenford or Camberwell or any other of London that is not Sloan Square, Belgravia or Kensington. And even in those areas, I don't see a difference. But then I am not checking for designer labels every time I meet someone.

I think as individuals and actors, we need to use a bit of commonsense when these kind of requests come up. For instance, you were working all day. Don't you think you should have mentioned that little fact? Why would you need to raid your wardrobe for an East London look? Whatever that may be.

We all want to get on in this business but sometimes we need to know what is flannel, nonsense and a genuine request. Would the person have noticed a difference in the way you dressed? I doubt it but you could always how does someone in East London dress?

For myself, I would have asked where the audition was and if it was convenient for (given it was short notice,) I would have probably attended. However, the fact they were asking for an East London look would have told me straightaway, not to bother.

	Reply #4
Posted : 17/03/10
heathertracy 6 posts last on: 07/02/12 send private reply	I was once up for an 'East End single mum', so did the whole Primark thing, leggings, hooped earrings, Croydon face-lift, etc. (I live there, so it's an pretty accurate image) - only to find that my agent had got the brief wrong and I was actually reading for the role of a nurse. Needless to say, I didn't get the job!

	Reply #5
Posted : 17/03/10
anonymous	To be honest ddagwood is right, any good CD should be able to look at an actor and see beyond what they look like "normally". Wardrobe and makeup are where we mostly get our "look" from, it's the character acting that should count :)

	Reply #6
Posted : 17/03/10
leeravitz 1543 posts last on: 18 hours send private reply	Whether or not dressing up is relevant or not tends to be entirely down to the casting department, in my opinion. Although it can happen that the wrong information is passed on (!), by and large, the rule of thumb is: if they are asking you to appear with a specific look, you do your best to meet it, because it may well be the CLIENT, not the casting director, who has the final say, and the appropriate lack of imagination, to see beyond your appearance to the quality of your acting. The more commercial the role the likelier this is to be true. And it is worth remembering that what a casting director may see in a studio space is frequently viewed by the client on a small screen elsewhere. On the other hand, if the casters don't seem unduly bothered by the look and have asked you to 'come as you are', then they mean that - whoever is considering you wishes to see you in a 'day to day' mode, and will base their judgement of you on that principle. But I would never assume anything on this basis: I would try as hard as possible to find out for yourself (or get your agent to chase up) any requests for the need for costume at audition or to ask about whether or not a part that sounds like it is periodcharacter etc. would be better seen in costume. I have never known a casting department who aren't happy to field enquiries like that, because they have chosen you to attend the casting, and would like the clients to be impressed with what you are offering so they will be eager to help you to present in the right way. For stage work, this tends to be much less of a concern: I think it's very rare that you will ever be expected to go to a stage audition in a costume (and it may be counterproductive, actually, to do so). As to 'East London', I assume they were thinking 'Eastenders', which I supppose equates in their mind to low status, poor and urban looking, rather than, say, rural. A bit ambiguous, but I assume they are using it as a shorthand. Although it's basically a generic cliche that doesn't necessarily have much to do with actual reality, I think you can sense what they are getting at - in the same way that if they said they wanted you to appear in the guise of a Knightsbridge lady or a West Country farmer you could probably work out the sort of look they were aiming for. But, really, they should have been more specific. But, equally, you should never be scared to chase them up on these details when they've left you unclear - it helps everyone if you can get the brief right! :)

Reply #6

Posted : 17/03/10

leeravitz
1543 posts
last on: 18 hours
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Whether or not dressing up is relevant or not tends to be entirely down to the casting department, in my opinion. Although it can happen that the wrong information is passed on (!), by and large, the rule of thumb is: if they are asking you to appear with a specific look, you do your best to meet it, because it may well be the CLIENT, not the casting director, who has the final say, and the appropriate lack of imagination, to see beyond your appearance to the quality of your acting. The more commercial the role the likelier this is to be true. And it is worth remembering that what a casting director may see in a studio space is frequently viewed by the client on a small screen elsewhere.

On the other hand, if the casters don't seem unduly bothered by the look and have asked you to 'come as you are', then they mean that - whoever is considering you wishes to see you in a 'day to day' mode, and will base their judgement of you on that principle. But I would never assume anything on this basis: I would try as hard as possible to find out for yourself (or get your agent to chase up) any requests for the need for costume at audition or to ask about whether or not a part that sounds like it is periodcharacter etc. would be better seen in costume. I have never known a casting department who aren't happy to field enquiries like that, because they have chosen you to attend the casting, and would like the clients to be impressed with what you are offering so they will be eager to help you to present in the right way.

For stage work, this tends to be much less of a concern: I think it's very rare that you will ever be expected to go to a stage audition in a costume (and it may be counterproductive, actually, to do so).

As to 'East London', I assume they were thinking 'Eastenders', which I supppose equates in their mind to low status, poor and urban looking, rather than, say, rural. A bit ambiguous, but I assume they are using it as a shorthand. Although it's basically a generic cliche that doesn't necessarily have much to do with actual reality, I think you can sense what they are getting at - in the same way that if they said they wanted you to appear in the guise of a Knightsbridge lady or a West Country farmer you could probably work out the sort of look they were aiming for. But, really, they should have been more specific. But, equally, you should never be scared to chase them up on these details when they've left you unclear - it helps everyone if you can get the brief right! :)

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