March 1st, 2010
Your most important asset as an actor is your talent. It was the British acting legend Sir Laurence Olivier who said that an actor needs ‘the voice of an orchestra and the body of a god.’ It is your talent that you display at your acting auditions and casting calls, and your talent that you need to show off to maximum effect before casting directors and producers.
In addition, however, you want to demonstrate the range of your professional experience and working styles at any acting auditions, and this will not be obvious from the performance of your audition piece alone, or from a ‘cold reading.’
Your ‘curriculum vitae’ provides an instant reference for your abilities and experience in the past, whether your main interest lies in TV auditions or theatre casting calls. However, what makes it good, is how well it reflects your unique qualities as an actor. It supplements whatever you have to offer in performance at the audition. That is why it is important to accompany your CV with a full-size headshot: it’s a simple but effective way of fixing yourself in the minds of the audition panel. Even if you are not right in the part that you are auditioning for at the time, a well-presented CV makes a good impression that can lead to work opportunities in the future.
The expertise that we have at Audition Now is one of the many benefits available to you when you sign up for our SMS alert service, to give you the latest information on acting auditions and casting calls.
Tags: acting auditions, casting calls, theatre casting calls, TV Auditions
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February 19th, 2010
The popular view of acting as being a soft option in terms of work is misguided. If you are seduced by the glamour and fun, then your first experience of auditions will be quite a wake-up call.
You could think of your career as doing two jobs at once; managing the business of finding work and then the actual performing at auditions and parts you’ve already gained, with the former probably taking up more of your working life than the latter. If you are starting out then knowing about the experience of others, and that includes the stars, will help you gauge how your career is progressing. Looking for the next project becomes second nature to seasoned actors, even if the public at large only thinks of them as lounging by a Californian poolside.
For most successful working actors, the hard graft consists of going to auditions and casting calls, and keeping themselves in the radar of theatre and production companies and, most importantly, of casting directors.
This is something that you have to be doing even as you start on your next engagement. It’s no good waiting for one job to finish before you start looking for the next – and remember, it rarely happens that the part just falls into your lap.
At Audition Now we provide you with an up-to-the minute notification service for acting auditions and casting calls: this helps you manage the business side of your career offstage, and allows you to focus all your creative energy onstage.
Tags: acting auditions, Auditions, casting calls, Theatre Auditions
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February 18th, 2010
There is plenty of advice available for actors on how best to present themselves at theatre auditions and TV casting calls. It ranges from practical considerations, such as being sure to turn up fifteen minutes early, to the more creative considerations, such as finding an audition piece that best showcases your talents. Advice can be found through seminars or career-advancement courses; tips can also be found on the web.
However, in a business that is constantly developing and changing according to the latest trends and fashions, some of this guidance can become outdated quite quickly. It is important, for example, to discipline yourself to keep working on new acting audition material: it’s one way your performing style will never become tired and stale.
General advice can be useful, but it applies to everyone, and so is not necessarily very helpful to you and your particular circumstances. Even if you have an agent, you may feel that you need some extra support, pointing you in the right direction when you come to consider your next work opportunities. A great way to stay ahead in this area is always to keep yourself fully informed.
Here at Audition Now we put to good use our expertise in the entertainment industry, helping performers to shape and advance their careers, and keeping them abreast of all the latest acting auditions and casting calls by text or by email. Given our success in the field, we may well turn out to be the best tip you ever get.
Tags: acting auditions, Auditions, casting calls, Theatre Auditions, TV Casting Calls
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February 17th, 2010
Most actors know what it is like to live on the edge: part of their talent is to allow that creativity to come out in their work. Equally, there are few actors who don’t know about the struggles in their chosen career, whether it is looking for the next piece of work, or trying to make ends meet.
What is difficult is keeping the practical difficulties and worries separate from your performing talent. As the great theorist and practitioner of the stage, Konstantin Stanislavksy once said: ‘Never come into the theatre with mud on your feet. Leave your dust and dirt outside.’
As an actor you have to be business-like as well as artistic: you have to give of your best in performance of course, at acting auditions or casting calls, but you have to manage your time and energy to find work for yourself after the present job finishes. This is true even if you have an agent, for only you have your best interests at heart.
This is why it pays to have the practical side of your theatre casting career in good hands.
At Audition Now, our expertise is in looking for the right casting calls or acting auditions for you, and keeping you notified of work opportunities in the pipeline. This allows you to exploit your talents to the full, and, as Stanislavsky said, leave behind ‘all the things that ruin your life and draw your attention away from your art.’
Tags: acting auditions, Auditions, casting calls, theatre casting
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February 15th, 2010
The well-worn cliche ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ is a cardinal rule for actors who are looking to get on in their careers. If it’s the theatre jobs a novice actor is interested in, then it helps to build good professional relationships with directors and theatre managements; in film and television work, it pays to get on excellent terms with acting casting agents and casting directors.
However, much you may know about what’s what in the business, you can help yourself a lot more by getting to know who’s who. If you are starting out on your career, then you will be keen to develop a good relationship with possible agents, and they may be able to help you with introductions to the ‘right people.’ Very often, however, your success will depend on the energy and effort you put into your own networking.
It commonly comes down to being in the loop: acting auditions do not always receive high-profile publicity and many serious projects are small in scale with limited financial rewards. Despite the financial limits of such projects, they may offer immeasurable potential for building good working relationships with the right people.
Here at Audition Now, we offer you information on a wide range of casting calls and acting auditions. Remember, though, that much of what we know comes to us because of who we know. The support we give may make a considerable difference to your career prospects and also helps you to build up your own network of professional contacts.
Tags: acting auditions, acting casting calls, Auditions, casting calls, theatre jobs
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February 11th, 2010
When Humphrey Bogart got his big break onstage to play a homicidal maniac – which in turn led to the start of his film career – he went to audition ‘in character’; dressed in rags, and having not shaved for days. It’s a simple lesson in the value of good preparation for casting calls and acting auditions.
It is always worth doing your ‘homework’ before an audition. Get to the venue fifteen minutes early, for example, so you have time to acclimatise yourself to the space. Every actor knows the value of having a sense of the stage and the auditorium before the show begins, and the same is obviously true for actors’ auditions.
You should also find out what you can about the people you are auditioning for – what other notable work they have done in the past and what their current project is about. It will help you decide on what to perform to them in the audition.
If the audition is for an existing play, then it is worth reading the script and thinking critically about the different characters and the plot. If you know what part you are trying for then as Bogie’s experience proves, there may be no genuine harm in dressing appropriately. Indeed, it may be of great benefit.
At Audition Now we have plenty of guidance available to you on how to make the most of your acting casting calls and theatre auditions, as well as an SMS service to keep you right up-to-the-minute on the latest work opportunities.
Tags: acting auditions, acting casting calls, Auditions, casting calls, Theatre Auditions
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February 10th, 2010
The theatre, TV and film businesses are generally busy, which is good news for actors because there is plenty of work out there. However, work is often sporadic and there is also a lot of competition in the industry, partiuclarly if you want to be on TV or have auditions for West End theatre.
An important rule with casting calls or acting auditions is not to let rejection get you down. This can happen easily, especially if you have spent time researching the play, the programme, the story or the character: it feels like a lot of wasted effort. What aspiring actors must remember is that being turned down is not a personal reflection on them, but on how good a ‘fit’ they were for the part.
It is also important to remember that however many casting calls you have been to, the next one is a unique opportunity in itself, so you must treat it like that, not like just another in a long list. You may well be meeting your auditions panel for the first time. They are as keen for you to succeed as you are: they are hoping that it’s you, the next person coming into the room, that will be the right ‘fit’ for the role they have to fill.
A positive attitude is vital for you to succeed: if you have the talent, sooner or later you will land the right part for yourself.
Here at Audition Now we offer all our expertise to help you find that role, as well as keeping you abreast of all the latest auditioning opportunities.
Tags: acting auditions, Auditions, auditions for West End, be on TV, casting calls
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