So, I went to an audition this past Sunday. For some reason, I really had to talk myself into going. I’d had the audition time for about a week; I knew it was coming. But starting around Friday, I began inventing excuses I could email the director at the last minute: “I’m so sorry, I won’t be able to make it to your audition. I was cast in something else and it’s filming that day. . . . I lost my voice. . . . My pet rabbit is really sick and I have to take her to the vet. . . . I’m writing you from an alien spaceship – I was abducted.” But I’ve never been one to play hooky, and I knew deep down that I should go whether I wanted to or not.
I was auditioning for a small role in a local film, for which, if cast, I would be paid in catered food on the set, a copy of the footage for my reel, something to write on my resume, film experience (of which I have little), a chance to network and maybe get more work, the opportunity to hone my craft, the enjoyment of helping to create a piece of cinema . . . basically, I would be paid in every currency except money. This is typical for young “professional” actors (“professional” in quotes because what does it really mean to be professional if you’re not paid for your work all the time?) in any city, I think, and certainly cities outside New York and L.A. Allow me to go on a bit of a tangent.
I’ve heard/read “experts” say that actors should view it as their “job” to audition. The competition being what it is, any given actor will not book the majority of roles she auditions for, so her job is to a) train and rehearse and fully prepare for each audition so that she can do her best each time, and so that her best keeps improving; and b) audition, audition, AUDITION. This is her job because it’s what she will spend most of her time doing. When she actually books work, this is the icing on the cake – her reward for doing her job.
I see the point, and I might even agree. But for argument’s sake, can anybody name me another “job” that is so grossly underpaid (unpaid)? Yeah, volunteer work. Or an internship. So I guess being a professional actor is like having an indefinite-term internship in the art of auditioning. Or, you know, picking up trash next to the highway.
No, but seriously, I love being an actor, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. And when I’m still in my pajamas at 10am, rehearsing sides loudly in my living room (sorry, retired neighbor Jim), I’m thankful for that (unpaid) time to rehearse, because I’m ON MY WAY TO SUCCESS!
But what was my point? Oh yeah. My audition on Sunday. It turned out to be laid back, low stress, and fun, AND I got to walk through a nice neighborhood on the way home on one of the first sunny days we’ve had in months.
Another mild digression: auditions are not always laid back, low stress or fun. I’ve auditioned for people who never once looked up from the table at me; I’ve auditioned in a bar that was so loud I couldn’t hear the instructions the director was giving me; I’ve auditioned in a room full of people reading for the exact same role, and followed another girl so breathtakingly good I felt like telling the director to give her the part and save me the trouble; I’ve auditioned in a theatre, in a church, in somebody’s apartment, in an office building, in a hotel conference room, in a hotel ROOM only slightly bigger than my bathroom, in a film studio, in a coffee shop full of customers, in a restaurant with no electricity, in a school . . . and the thing is, I never know for sure, beforehand, what it’s going to be like. So every audition is a bit of a crapshoot, and I’ve got to keep playing if I ever want to win.
Somebody told me that Brad Pitt was discovered because he agreed to help a friend with a scene audition. She needed a scene partner and asked Brad to work on it with her, and he agreed. He wasn’t even auditioning for anything, but the director liked him and he got his break. I don’t know if that’s true, but it supports my point.
If I want to be a working actor, I will seize every possible opportunity to audition, to work, to take a step closer to my dream, because I never know which step will finally lead me there.
PS – I got the role I auditioned for on Sunday. Like I said, it’s not paid. But maybe the next one will be.
I was auditioning for a small role in a local film, for which, if cast, I would be paid in catered food on the set, a copy of the footage for my reel, something to write on my resume, film experience (of which I have little), a chance to network and maybe get more work, the opportunity to hone my craft, the enjoyment of helping to create a piece of cinema . . . basically, I would be paid in every currency except money. This is typical for young “professional” actors (“professional” in quotes because what does it really mean to be professional if you’re not paid for your work all the time?) in any city, I think, and certainly cities outside New York and L.A. Allow me to go on a bit of a tangent.
I’ve heard/read “experts” say that actors should view it as their “job” to audition. The competition being what it is, any given actor will not book the majority of roles she auditions for, so her job is to a) train and rehearse and fully prepare for each audition so that she can do her best each time, and so that her best keeps improving; and b) audition, audition, AUDITION. This is her job because it’s what she will spend most of her time doing. When she actually books work, this is the icing on the cake – her reward for doing her job.
I see the point, and I might even agree. But for argument’s sake, can anybody name me another “job” that is so grossly underpaid (unpaid)? Yeah, volunteer work. Or an internship. So I guess being a professional actor is like having an indefinite-term internship in the art of auditioning. Or, you know, picking up trash next to the highway.
No, but seriously, I love being an actor, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. And when I’m still in my pajamas at 10am, rehearsing sides loudly in my living room (sorry, retired neighbor Jim), I’m thankful for that (unpaid) time to rehearse, because I’m ON MY WAY TO SUCCESS!
But what was my point? Oh yeah. My audition on Sunday. It turned out to be laid back, low stress, and fun, AND I got to walk through a nice neighborhood on the way home on one of the first sunny days we’ve had in months.
Another mild digression: auditions are not always laid back, low stress or fun. I’ve auditioned for people who never once looked up from the table at me; I’ve auditioned in a bar that was so loud I couldn’t hear the instructions the director was giving me; I’ve auditioned in a room full of people reading for the exact same role, and followed another girl so breathtakingly good I felt like telling the director to give her the part and save me the trouble; I’ve auditioned in a theatre, in a church, in somebody’s apartment, in an office building, in a hotel conference room, in a hotel ROOM only slightly bigger than my bathroom, in a film studio, in a coffee shop full of customers, in a restaurant with no electricity, in a school . . . and the thing is, I never know for sure, beforehand, what it’s going to be like. So every audition is a bit of a crapshoot, and I’ve got to keep playing if I ever want to win.
Somebody told me that Brad Pitt was discovered because he agreed to help a friend with a scene audition. She needed a scene partner and asked Brad to work on it with her, and he agreed. He wasn’t even auditioning for anything, but the director liked him and he got his break. I don’t know if that’s true, but it supports my point.
If I want to be a working actor, I will seize every possible opportunity to audition, to work, to take a step closer to my dream, because I never know which step will finally lead me there.
PS – I got the role I auditioned for on Sunday. Like I said, it’s not paid. But maybe the next one will be.
No comments:
Post a Comment