I've been quite fortunate this week -- so far, I've had 3 auditions and 2 callbacks. And 2 auditions and a callback last week. Pretty cool, huh? I don't think I'll have any more this week (though, it's only Thursday, so you never know), and odds are against me from booking the projects I've read for. Why? 'Cause when it comes to landing acting jobs, the odds are always against you. Combine that with the high I've had at the beginning of the week, I'm a bit of a downswing right now. But don't worry -- I'll be back to normal perky Jon by tomorrow, no problem.
One thing I've been meaning to blog about for a while now is actor etiquette, especially in the waiting rooms at auditions, and my recent spate of auditions have inspired me to go into detail. It's not rocket science, people, it's basic common sense. And by my experiences as of late, it seems that a lot of actors seem to lacking this crucial quality. Let me break it down thusly.
It's An Audition, Not Social Time. A lot of actors seem to think that an audition is freaking social hour. It's not; it's a job interview. Sure, it's a job interview where you have to cry on cue or make a joke or try to shill some orange juice, but that's what it is. So, out in the waiting room, surrounded by a bunch of other actors who also want the same I do, I don't make a point of talking to people. If someone strikes up a conversation with me, I'll be polite. If I do indeed know someone there, I'll make a bit of small talk but that's about it.
At every audition, there's a sign-in sheet. You write your name, union ID number, role you're reading for, time in, time out, etc. Casting directors will usually go by the order people signed in. Sometimes, they'll go by your appointment time. At every audition I go to, I gauge the order the casting director is seeing people, and I'll adjust accordingly. I memorize the name of the two people who are being seen before me. When the first of those two are called in, I use the remaining time to go over the scene, get mentally prepared for scene, gather my stuff, etc. And when I'm doing that stuff? I really don't want to talk to anyone, 'cause it'll throw me off. I didn't drive across town and spend 10 minutes hunting up a parking space to get into passive-aggressive pissing matches with other neurotics sitting in a waiting room. I'm there to get work. Period. So, let me do my thing and I'll let you do yours.
Bring A Book, iPod, Something. For Pete's Sake. I've been at auditions where I've been in and out in 5 minutes and others where I've been there for over an an hour. To help kill the time (or potential time), I'll go over the scene (or sides, in industry speak), and then I'll read. I usually have a book in my messenger bag specifically for this reason. Again, I'm not there to socialize, so reading is fine with me. Or doing Sudoku. One of the callbacks I was at this week was at a commercial casting office just off of Hollywood Boulevard, in the basement of a building built in the 30's. A very cramped basement. There were 3 other spots that were being cast at the same time, and there were easily 75 people crammed into this itty bitty space. I signed in and waited. And waited. And waited. They were running way far behind -- I was there for an hour and a half. I had misplaced by book, but fortunately I had some Sudoku puzzles to work on. Obviously, no one wants to be sitting around for that long just waiting, so in order to occupy my time, I need to be doing something. I'd look around the crowded waiting room, gazing of the sea of annoyed faces of the other actors waiting, most of which with nothing to occupy their time. Which leads me to my next point...
Be Polite To People And Cognizant of Your Surroundings, Jackass. Here are some numbers for you. The average amount of people submitted for a role in a commercial in Los Angeles? 2000. The average amount of people brought in per role for the initial audition for a commercial in Los Angeles? 250. The average number of people brought in per role for the callback for a commercial in Los Angeles? About 20. Think that over a second. The fact that someone actually makes the cut from the submission to the audition is pretty astounding, and then getting a callback on top of that means you're doing something right. So, with the odds stacked against you like that, you'd think that all actors would be pretty appreciative of having the good fortune of going on auditions like that. Well, some are and some just aren't.
As I was waiting the 90 minutes in the Hollywood area basement for the aforementioned callback, I can't tell you how many people just did not have their shit stuff together. Like I said, there were 4 different spots that were casting at the same time. This is typical. In most commercial casting offices around town, several casting directors will use the same office with one main waiting room. They will then have numbered studios located around the waiting room where the different spots are casting. (A lot of film & TV casting offices have a similar set up, especially on studio lots, like Sony, for instance.) In all of them, they all have a big sign indicating which spot is auditioning where. (Studio 1: Buick, Studio 2: McDonald's, Studio 3: Summer's Eve, etc.) I can't begin to tell you how often I'll see some aimless douche or dim-bulb starlet will wander into the waiting room and just sign at whatever is closest, not paying attention to where they are supposed to be. And quite often, I'll hear an actor say they weren't sure which role they're supposed to read for or even which spot they are up for. For TV roles, I always make sure to try to watch at least a bit of every TV show on the air to cover my bases... and at least get an idea of the tone of the show and who the main characters are. It can get pretty embarrassing when you read for a role for a TV show and mispronounce the main character's name 'cause you've never seen it. If you had a job interview for IBM, you wouldn't ask "So.. you guys make computers?"
Stationed at each one of these studios is a casting assistant who's there to prep the actors and makes sure they go in a certain order, etc. The bulk of them are actors themselves, which means they are as broke and neurotic as the rest of us. So, guess what? BE NICE TO THEM. Oy. These are the people who work for the casting director, so acting like an a-hole to them does you no favors. At the aforementioned 90 minute wait callback, I sat around politely, doing my Sudoku, keeping quiet. When the overworked casting assistant needed to tell us anything, I paid attention. When I had to go feed my meter, I politely told her. The rest of the guys around me? They started complaining and whining and rolling their eyes. Surprisingly, the bulk of them didn't bring anything to read or listen to as they waited. So of course, all they could focus on was on how long it was taking. Sure, I wasn't happy with it either, but I'd rather be there waiting to go into an audition than not. And also, I'm not going to air how unhappy I am in front of the casting assistant. I mean, please. Actors are a dime-a-dozen in this town, so coming across as an ungrateful whiny shitheel because some people who may potentially pay you some potentially big money are taking a while makes you even more replaceable in people's minds. And on a side note, I love acting and I love what I do, so why would I want to listen to someone bitch and moan about this job when the huge bulk of an actor's life is going on auditions? UGH.
Now, obviously, a lot of actors are not like this. Not most of them, but a lot of them are polite, courteous, and professional. My other callback this week was full of very nice, warm, business-like thespians who were very respectful and mellow. But it always amazes me that people can be just so goddamn stupid sometimes.
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