Actor Growth

Guess there is a first time for everything. The other day I went to an audition as a result of an advertisement I read where the production was specifically looking for Asian talent. They had a website and everything and the location appeared to be in the downtown area which to me meant it sounded legitimate and all. I even corresponded with the people through e-mail ahead of time and everything seemed okay.

Once I arrived I buzzed the building in question as there are several companies listed as tenants. To my surprise, no one answered and so I was left debating if this was just a false posting or if the people that were supposed to be there simply didn’t show up.

I wasn’t used to getting a number to contact the casting person before going to an audition as usually I can just contact the agent for all that. But in this case I didn’t have any since I just took initiative to respond to the posting directly. What I did was that I went online with my cell phone and located the phone number of the business in question. When I dialed it though I was simply greeted with an automated voice message.

Therefore, I just left a message expressing how I arrived and there didn’t seem to be anyone there. I further expressed that if they still wanted to call me in I would be in the area for another hour or so. I did send an e-mail when I got home way after and they were telling me that they were there the whole time.

I guess that is a lesson learned that if you reply to postings digitally and that is the only way the two parties have communicated with each other that you should make sure that you have the tools to do the same on the road incase of a mishaps like this. Another day another experience I suppose.

I got a notice today to audition for a commercial tomorrow that is apparently hiring over 100 talent for its shoot. This just made me wonder how many people I am going to see at the audition room as if they are hiring 100 people I can only imagine that there will be at least like three times more people as you need variety to choose from.

This will be interesting to see.

So something interesting happened recently where I saw that a person whom I have worked with in the past where I volunteered as an actor was again shooting another film. As usual he posted a breakdown of the type of actors he was looking for as well as wanting the headshots and resume.

I figured I would just pop him a message to say that I would be willing to help him if he needed while specifically saying I assumed that he knows me enough not to need my package. Sure enough he told me that he would contact me if another person couldn’t do it as he had already cast the part.

Interestingly enough the original person couldn’t be used and so I got the phone call to play a part in his film. This almost reminds of like a casting director who would simply cast people based straight up on past experiences. I guess it is less likely to happen in the more professional realm of work but I guess when you are at a certain level things like this are bound to happen.

Today I got an e-mail about a casting notice for a film that is specifically looking for ethnic people. One thing I noticed is that in the character breakdown it mentions that they are looking for a person within the 20-40 years age range.

These types of postings always confuse me as a twenty year age gap is pretty substantial in terms of the look. Usually I am told that people post it this way because they are still unsure on exactly what they want. I often hear casting directors complain of actors getting submitted for parts where they don’t fit the age range. Postings like this sure don’t help.

I have been getting quite a few project notifications recently from a particular film school here which happens to be the largest one in Vancouver. I volunteered to act in a film for them a few weeks back as it was one of the instructors who was requesting for the talent. So, I thought that if an instructor was requesting for the talent that the project would be professional to work on.

Interestingly enough, I guess as a result of this I have been getting audition notices that aren’t being advertised first. Obviously these are student films and not professional acting gigs, but it sure shows me how this is what is like with real casting directors too. Example, once the person works with you they try to use people that they know first.

I learned some very interesting tidbit just the other day when it came to casting directors here in the Vancouver area and why it seems like it is so hard to break into the scene as an actor while at the same times it’s always the same people that get the auditions all the time. Keep in mind that in many ways it can be hearsay still, but the results kind of match what I see.

Basically there was a person that came from Toronto and he was so shocked to learn that here in Vancouver casting directors actually do a pre-screen where actors would first tape themselves doing a scene so that the casting director can pre-judge them to see if they have the chops or not to come in the room. Normally one would do these types of tapings if you are located in a different city and therefore it’s like a way to save you time.

Then a point came up on how for places like Toronto and even Los Angeles the casting directors there actually see a wide range and large volume of people as they are used to it. So while here you may see like ten people auditioning for a role in other markets there could be like thirty. While I guess you can say population density could have a factor, it’s more of a mentality it seems.

Basically, I was always told that casting directors want to bring in actors that will make them look good. When you think about it the production is hiring them and the more good talent they present to like the director the better they look. At the same time, you can easily see why it’s only the same people that get seen all the time as many are afraid to bring in new talent as they want to play it safe.

I wonder why that’s the case here in Vancouver specifically though. Business sense to me is that the more people you see the more potential you have in discovering new talent. Can you imagine running like a sports team where you refuse to scout for new talent but rather just rely on the same people as the years go by? Must be disastrous if the only time you look for new talent is if say all your existing people are injured or retiring.

I guess as a positive, for here in Vancouver that can show you how once you get your break then chances are you are going to be taken care of better as if the profession is that tight knitted here that means you will get seen more.