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| Topic: An Open Letter to anyone holding auditions. | ||
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| This is a piece I've been meaning to write for a while, but today had an infuriating experience at an audition which prompted me to go ahead with it. Namely, the sheer amount of auditions that are badly organised (if at all), not at all punctual, unfair or just seem to be worked out according to bizzaro-logic. I'll mention no names and want to stress that this is in the spirit of information and improvement rather than a simple tirade, so here's the gist of today: I was called down to Deptford (an hours travel) for a 4:45pm audition. I arrived early, and was given a number (I was well over 200th) and told to wait. I worked on the script, which had a spelling or grammatical error in every single line, the word 'farther' (meaning father) was used 3 times. At 5:45pm I was getting short on time before needing to head to work. I was told I'd have to wait at least half an hour/ forty five minutes yet, even though it was already an hour late. I left, without having auditioned. A whole afternoon wasted. This isn't even that rare an occurrence. Other lowlights include: - having a highly emotional audition in a corridor, and being shushed by the director midway through. - Being told at the end of an audition that the shoot would be tomorrow and I'd need to be free all day (I wasn't). - Being asked which role I'd like to play, then being told a "name" was being line up for that role and immediately thrown out (literally. physically.) - Being invited along with EVERYONE who applied for the film (over 500 people showed up) queuing for three hours in order to be asked three questions and discover that no one actually auditioned, it was to see who they wanted to audition for real. - Panels texting, smoking, answering phones and leaving me acting to nothing. I'm sure everyone else here could add their own stories to the list. But these have largely become accepted pitfalls of the auditioning process, and we, the actors who suffer from it all, just have to go along with it. This seems to tie into the implication that actors have no power and are simply at the mercy of the whims of the decision makers, a belief system the other side of the desk usually also run on, and I really don't think it has to be this way. As actors, we have made a commitment to our chosen profession. We have spend thousands of pounds and given years of our lives to training, to say nothing of the photo's, showreels and other demands on our lives and wallets. Yet people holding auditions often seem to be making it up as they go along. A friend of mine with no formal experience recently wanted to hold auditions for a film, and decided to get all his potentials into a room for a whole day, and have them stand in a circle and watch each other read a three line scene until they were all done, with an hour set aside for telling them about the film and setup. He could have held ten minute slots and included the details in an email (what I would call the Professional way) and got the same results while inconveniencing people a lot less. Actors spend hours learning and perfecting audition technique. It is not fair that they spend that on people who don't even know what auditions really are. The people put in the positions of power are the ones with no training or experience. Now fair enough, I've never come across a course on 'How to Hold an Audition', or advice for the other side of the desk. I've been on audition panels and been forced to go one what I know, which is quite a lot after all these years, but a lot of independent film makers or students have no such training to draw from. So I hope the tips posted here can go some way to rectifying that. So here are all the tips I can think of, after many auditions, both good and bad, and from both sides of the table. | ||
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| Reply #1 | |
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| Posted : 13/07/10 | |
| Jamie sounds like you went through a nightmare. I'll be honest if it's a poorly organised audition it normally says the shoot will be poorly put together too. Given the numbers of other auditionees I'd of left it sounded as if the overall affect was to generate publicity not cast!! It's a two way street don't go or stay at poor castings / auditions !! Rate yourself and don't let your time and money be wasted!! | |
| Reply #2 | |
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| Posted : 13/07/10 | |
| Spelling and grammatical errors on a script say so much about the ENTIRE project... And Guy is right, if the audition is that badly organised, just imagine the state the shoot will be in -! Try to get them to send you the script before you go to the audition, at least you can then get a heads-up! Good luck x | |
| Reply #3 | |
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| Posted : 13/07/10 | |
| You poor thing it sounds like a terrible day for you, Put it down to experience and lets hope that you don't go though that again! lets hope some lessons are learned from the casting side of things. | |
| Reply #4 | |
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| Posted : 13/07/10 | |
| Thanks guys. You're right, the audition is a taster of things to come, you audition them as much as they audition you. But surely no one WANTS to come across as an amateur? So here I'm going to post a list of most frequent missteps that I come across, not individual mistakes or quirks, but things that inexplicably occur time and again. I don't want to come across as arrogant or dictatorial, and I'm not going to preach about how an audition "should" be done. There are many different ways of working and directors look for many different qualities, so almost everything has a place. Anything I list here will be something I just can't think of a way to justify. | |
| Reply #5 | |
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| Posted : 13/07/10 | |
| WHEN POSTING JOBS -Be clear. Many posts for plays have no details on the story, run time, venue, or characters. How are we supposed to know if the project is right for us? If it's something we want to do? The only people that would apply to this are people simply looking for work. Ask yourself, do you want actors who are excited to work with you, be part of your project, and know that they can really give to what you have going on, or just desperate people who'll go for anything? If you answered the former, give them details to get excited about, let them know how great your project will be. -Similarly with characters. Nothing is less inspiring that a post for just 'actors'. Where's the role we can fall in love with, or the hook that makes us realise how well suited we are for the part? Of course, sometimes (I.e devised pieces, ensembles ect) this IS appropriate. -A common one. Please use correct, legible English. If English isn't your first language, try to find someone to help. AT THE AUDITION -Try to have it somewhere private. I mentioned the corridor audition. I also had some people years ago want to audition me in the corner of a Starbucks. If you can't find an audition venue of some description (even a house or flat is fine at a pinch), don't hold auditions. You're not ready. -Naturally- be punctual. If you say a specific time, try to keep to it. Overrunning by 10-15 min is an acceptable difficulty of auditioning, akin to an actor fluffing a line, but understand that actors have lives and commitments. Too many people think that actors should simply wait indefinitely for the auditors. More than 20 mins is a problem. At yesterdays audition there weren't even any apologies given, it was just assumed that over running was fine. -Another seemingly obvious one. Actually audition people for the role! A lot of people just ask for any old monologue, which may or may not be relevant to the part. (assuming there is a specific part, this is fine for devised or open pieces) I was once give a script to prepare for a short film, turned up, and was told to put the script down and sightread a tongue twister from a Victorian novel. They learned absolutely nothing about me as an actor or person. At a GOOD stage audition I was given three excerpts to work on, then told to choose two to perform. The saw me act fully, got to know me, and saw which pieces I would choose given a choice. I felt I'd be allowed to do my job, and felt good about them even thought I ultimately didn't get the role. -There is a difference between acting and auditioning. On set or stage you have usually had a script for some time, learned it and worked on it. You can't get a finished performance the moment you put a script in our hands. Film students especially take note- This is not how actors work! Watching a first read is fine, but don't use that as a basis for a whole audition.This may be more appropriate for TV, where sides are being written and re-written constantly, but if it's not then don't do it! Send out excerpts before hand. You must've had actors ask for them. -I may sound like I'm imposing high standards. That's because I am. Which leads to the most important tip- you should too! Expect no less that the same from actors. You've given them your time too. If actors show up really late you are well within your rights to turn them away. If they aren't giving it in the audition, don't bother to read the script ect. -don't waste YOUR time on them. If you run your auditions to a high standard you can reasonably expect the same for your actors, and you can quickly whittle out those that don't meet them. I'm sure auditors everywhere could write similar lists as this for actors, and I would welcome it. Those are the first things that come to mind. I hope that I'm not committing career suicide for daring to speak out, but playing along is getting me face stomped so I'll risk it. If anyone else has any such experiences or wants to add anything, actors or auditors, please post them! Thanks for reading. | |
| Reply #6 | |
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| Posted : 13/07/10 | |
| I totally agree with all of the above! Anyone, who's ever attended a professional audition knows what you are talking about.. Cheers, Brigitte Millar | |
| Reply #7 | |
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| Posted : 13/07/10 | |
| Asking people to treat actors with a bit of respect for auditions is not career suicide it is just good manners! at the very least as you say it works both ways, they want actors who will be professional then so must they be, if they are and we are not then as you say they are within there right to be annoyed but the whole process is and has to be a two way street. we are not just actors we are profession people with needs and commitments just like you! so well said that man! | |
| Reply #8 | |
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| Posted : 13/07/10 | |
| ....I'll put up with all that crap throughout the entire process if the script works,the crew work & I get paid (on time!) It tends to all come down to 'your gut feel'with each prospective project. | |
| Reply #9 | |
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| Posted : 13/07/10 | |
| I'm of the opinion that you can tell through brief email conversation, or even purely through the casting call and breakdown whether you should anticipate a professional setup. If you aren't sure, or if you aren't auditioning in front of a vaguely reputable company / casting director then I'd say a "nightmare scenario" is a risk which goes part and parcel with the profession. | |
| Reply #10 | |
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| Posted : 13/07/10 | |
| To (sort of) second Sam's point, I would agree that there is a lot of information you can rightfully derive from the auditioners once you have been offered an audition (they may keep their cards close to their chest before this, and that, I suppose, is their prerogative to some extent before they cast you - although I agree there should be a good, intelligible breakdown available at the application stage!). At this point, finding out where they are planning on holding the audition, how effective they are in guaranteeing you a time slot, how interested they are in addressing your enquiries as an individual (for instance, I will never attend any audition where a specific personal application sent by myself has been acknowledged with an offer of audition that begins 'dear actor' - it guarantees that no actual attention has been paid to the details, and there is no dedicated casting team in place), how flexible their scheduling is (i.e. whether they can work around your own needs or not), what the audition will comprise (at the very least, whether you are expected to prepare, to cold read, etc. etc. - even if no explicit detail is given), who you will be seeing on the panel at the audition etc. etc. All of these are of bona fide interest to you as a working actor, and most reputable auditions will automatically give you most of this information as part of the process that works towards bringing you in for the audition. That you actually have to ask for it in the first place is a bad sign to a certain extent - but sometimes even good companies aren't thinking about these details because they have so much to do. And it *is* within your remit to ask. If you can't get satisfactory replies from the company at this point, then it is a sure sign that the whole setup is hokey, and the audition should be declined! Once there, of course, there are always additional problems that may intervene, but I have to say even some of my worst auditions (e.g. standing on a ship attempting to project lines to the quay in the middle of extensive on-ship repair work) did not come as a total surprise to me - I knew what was expected before I agreed to attend (in this case, the project interested me, although the audition was very hard work). And I only knew these things because I had made detailed enquiries beforehand. | |
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