Auditions - Cutting to the Chase!

I’ve been casting for a number of years.  I’ve been a Casting Executive at Warner Bros. Television and at Fox Broadcasting. And today I continue to work as an independent casting person and acting coach.  And over the years I’ve watched the casting process morph -- not always in the most user-friendly ways.  It’s hard enough booking any job these days.  I always say that we used to have a ‘talent pool’ but now we have a ‘talent ocean’.  And we do.  There are more SAG/AFTRA and Non-SAG actors than ever before.  There are also more opportunities due to the huge increase in venues; i.e. cable, web series, and on and on... 

But what’s happened - as you all know, is that more and more you’re being told to “go put yourself on tape”.  This is a wonderful opportunity if you’re, let’s say, in Chicago and I’m in L.A.  But if you’re here and I’m here, it’s really so much better for you to come into the office to meet -- and let us put you on tape.  Doing it yourself allows no opportunity for you to ask questions or more importantly, be given direction.  And so many times when I’ve had an actor in, even just a tweak of direction has made all the difference in an actor’s performance and even in booking the job.

What I’m getting at is that your auditions have to better than ever before.  As always you need to grab everyone’s attention from the get-go.  Your opening has to catch the room’s attention - and you need to hold it until AFTER you leave the room.  In other words, you want a very positive impression to stay in the room after the door has closed behind you. The same holds true when you’re NOT in the room --your taped audition has got to make everyone in the room pay serious attention to who you are and remember to keep you in the mix.

When I work in my classes or privately with actors, the whole idea is ‘What would you take to the audition on your own, and how much better can we make it”.  And we do!  Your Cold Reading ability has got to be at the 10+ Level more today than ever before.  You need to light up the room when you enter and leave us wanting more. 

I feel bad that so many casting people don’t take the time to do general interviews any more.  Casting is an art and it makes me sad that too many casting people don’t have the desire to meet actors in person.  I know that time is short, but actors deserve a lot of respect and credit for all the work that goes into getting the audition and booking the job!

I wish you all the best of luck in your auditions.

Melissa Skoff   Casting Director, Acting Coach, Producer www.melissaskoffacting.com