Acting How To: Tips For Getting Auditions
Answers to various acting questions I get from aspiring actors and actresses.
Q: I'm just getting started in acting. Any tips on how to get auditions?
A: As far as getting auditions as a new actor or actress, www.lacasting.com and www.nowcasting.com are two good places to get started. They have tons of audition listings that are updated all the time. As far as hot to actually get the audition, that's a whole different ball game.
It's really pretty subjective what casting people are looking for and, just due to the volume of submissions, it's pretty easy to get overlooked. As a tip, I'd say to try and realistically look at yourself and figure out what you can really go out auditioning for.
As in, if you're not a "surfer" type, don't submit for "surfer" type acting jobs. As lame as this may sound, the closer you are to a preconceived notion of something, the more likely someone will call you in for those kind of roles. Think about actors or actresses that are really cherubic or goth or tatoo'd or whatever.
They fit a general idea of what people might be looking for in roles that are appropriate for those "types". After you can start proving yourself as an actor or actress in booking acting work from those sort of "open call" kind of listings, an acting agent will be the next stop.
This is http://www.breakdownservices.com, which (theoretically) only goes out to "legitimate" talent agencies. That's where most of the "juicy" roles for film and television get cast for. You'll probably need to be SAG or AFTRA by the time you get to this level. I've heard of actors booking work themselves by self-submitting through "hijacked" copies of the breakdowns (like where some agent gives a copy to his girlfriend, who then gives copies to her friends kind of thing), but as a general rule I think this is pretty frowned upon.
The best tip I can give is to just keep submitting and to not take rejection and not hearing back from your submissions personally. There's no real, guaranteed "how to" in the auditioning world, other than be the best actor you can be and know as much as you can about the technical requirements of film and television business.
Best of luck out there!
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As always, if you have any questions or thoughts, or would just like to share some of your successes, please feel free to drop me a line. I actually answer them.
Best of Luck out there and remember, you can't fail if you don't quit.
D.L. White