A friend and I have been auditioning for various plays, films and projects in NY for about 2 months now. We've acted for years, but have little experience with the professional circuit, so every so often we come up with questions of ettiquitte or protocol that we find ourselves unable to answer. We thought it'd be a good idea to compile a list of these questions and post them here, in hopes that professionals could take the time to field a couple of them, just to help some newbies out. If any of these questions need further clarification, let me know.

How much time before you can be sure you didn’t get the part? For film and for theatre?

How do casting directors decide from hundreds of headshots/auditions after it's over? What really grabs their attention?

How loose are the rules for appointment only auditions? Is it worth going anyway?

Does it matter if the size of the headshot doesn’t match the resume?

If you’re reading sides with the casting director as a partner in your audition, do you make eye contact, treat him as anyone?

What’s a good way to get noticed if you get seen at an Equity show audition?

Does “leaving a headshot” ever do anything?

Is it worth it to join an actor’s group with membership dues at this stage in our careers?

What auditions wouldn’t we be able to find in Backstage?

Casting directors often ask if you have any questions. Does it hurt you if you don’t?

Is a casting director taking time to give you all the details of a project after your audition a good sign? It’s happened several times, but we never hear from them.

Can you put “Extra” work on a resume?

Does it hurt you to re-submit once or twice to a single casting call?

How loose are age ranges?

How much should you explain about your audition piece, if at all (musical and regular)?

What specifically should I be indicating with a cover letter?

Is it appropriate to have your audition piece be from something on your resume? Does that seem lazy?

Do you need a high quality resume paper if it’s stapled to the back of a photo anyway?

Can you get away with writing your own audition monologue?

If you’re auditioning in a spacious empty room, do you want to use a piece that highlights your ability to move and use your body? Or can it be more subtle, reserved?

What defines a comic monologue? What separates that from telling a funny story?

Aside from appearance, what’s something an actor could do that would irritate a casting director before even getting to a monologue? What are audition no-nos?

If either your film or theatre credits are somewhat lacking, is it better to include small potatoes work or leave it out entirely?

Do casting directors prefer to hear a prepared monologue, even if they have sides available?

Wow, those are all really great questions! Would love to see some feedback from the experienced actors on the board and from the Backstage columnists too (hopefully they are checking the other forums every so often). Thanks for taking the time to come up with these questions!

I'll answer some of your questions. The ones that I didn't answer are probably ones that pertain to theatre, which I think is a big waste of time if you're in L.A. and working towards a film/tv career. It's great if you're in NY, but I don't work in NY.

How do casting directors decide from hundreds of headshots/auditions after it's over? What really grabs their attention?

You have to ask CDs personally. They're all going to say something different. Of the many that I've spoken to:
-NO character shots/specific looks. It's an insult to CDs who are paid to use their imagination and see you as being able to play different roles based on one general headshot. Ie. a suit look saying lawyer, detective, business man, FBI, etc. or a casual look that says college, high school, boy/girl next door, etc.
-No to landscape cropping.
-No chopping off the top part of your head. A little is okay but to the forehead is not.
-No really close up shots where you barely see some of the body. They want to see at least part of your upper torso so they can get a general idea of what you look like physically.
-NO Kevyn Major Howard (his work usually has stuff that agents and CDs hate). He sneaks in his signature in the photo (you can't remove it or he'll sue you) so CDs know.

How loose are the rules for appointment only auditions? Is it worth going anyway?

If you believe that you're right for the part(s) that you want to audition for, you can usually ask the person at the front desk if it's alright if you can read. If they say yes, it's not crashing, and okay. If they say no, then leave.

Does it matter if the size of the headshot doesn’t match the resume?

All headshots are 8x10. Get a good paper cutter and cut your resume to match the size of the resume.

If you’re reading sides with the casting director as a partner in your audition, do you make eye contact, treat him as anyone?

It's important that the camera sees your face. If the reader is close to the camera, then it's okay to make eye contact. Always ask "where's my eyeline"

Does “leaving a headshot” ever do anything?

Find out if that Agency/CD allows drop offs. If you do drop something off, follow up 2-3 days later with a postcard that has the same exact headshot that you dropped off on it.

Is it worth it to join an actor’s group with membership dues at this stage in our careers?

What kind of groups are you talking about? NY/LA Casting and actors access are the only online submission sites worth paying for.

What auditions wouldn’t we be able to find in Backstage?

Backstage isn't the one-stop shop to find auditions. LA/NY Casting and Actors access have stuff that I never see in Backstage. Agents have access to auditions that the general public does not have access to.

Casting directors often ask if you have any questions. Does it hurt you if you don’t?

Nope.

Is a casting director taking time to give you all the details of a project after your audition a good sign? It’s happened several times, but we never hear from them.

There's no way of knowing. Always assume it's a good sign. If you think negatively, then the outcome will be negative.

Can you put “Extra” work on a resume?

NEVER! They know! I heard a story where some guy did that. He later auditioned for a CD. The CD saw his resume and asked "have we met?" The actor said "I don't think so." The CD said "we must have, I worked on this movie." The actor said "umm, I actually was just an extra." The CD says "goodbye."

Does it hurt you to re-submit once or twice to a single casting call?

When I see something that's both on LA Casting or Actors Access, I submit on both sites and sometimes get a call to audition for the project.

How loose are age ranges?

It all depends on the person. There are people who claim to look 20's when they are clearly in their 40's, yet there are some that actually can pull it off.

How much should you explain about your audition piece, if at all (musical and regular)?

What do you mean by this?

What specifically should I be indicating with a cover letter?
Most agents that I talk to don't even read this. If they do, they want it very concise and preferably less than a page.

Don't talk about your resume or how you've always wanted to be an actor and decided to move to the city to pursue it. It's redundant and cliche.

A letter like this is sufficient:
Dear (insert specific agent's name),

Hello my name is John Doe. I am currently seeking (insert either commercial or theatrical depending on the addressed agent) representation. Please find enclosed my picture and resume for your consideration. I look forward to meeting you soon! Thank you.

Sincerely,
(sign your name here with a BLUE Ballpoint pen so it's more personal)
John Doe
(917)XXX-XXXX

Is it appropriate to have your audition piece be from something on your resume? Does that seem lazy?

If you use something that's on your resume, it better be polished and DAMN good.

Do you need a high quality resume paper if it’s stapled to the back of a photo anyway?

If you mean like parchment paper, no. Bright white printing paper that you can get from Office depot or Staples is good enough.

Can you get away with writing your own audition monologue?

Better be damn good. The best ones are in plays and literature. Stay away from movies. A lot of people have probably seen that movie and will start comparing you to the actor and the ways he or she did it. Don't want that.

If you’re auditioning in a spacious empty room, do you want to use a piece that highlights your ability to move and use your body? Or can it be more subtle, reserved?

In L.A., auditioning is mostly cold reading, which means you stand in one spot and make sense of the script within the limited space and do less physically. I don't know about theatre auditions.

What defines a comic monologue? What separates that from telling a funny story?

Look at the author and his or her works. Is that author known for writing comedy or serious drama?

There are story monologues and scene monologues. I prefer the latter. There's more to work with.

Aside from appearance, what’s something an actor could do that would irritate a casting director before even getting to a monologue? What are audition no-nos?

-Don't shake a CDs hand unless he or she offers first.
-Early is on time. On time is late. Late is unheard of.

If either your film or theatre credits are somewhat lacking, is it better to include small potatoes work or leave it out entirely?

What does "small potato work" mean, Dan Quayle? If you have very few credits, then have a lot of training from some of the best places to show that you're serious.

Do casting directors prefer to hear a prepared monologue, even if they have sides available?

From my experience, no. They want to get out of there asap so the sides are usually enough. If they want me to recite a monologue, they would have told me before I got there. But of course, be prepared.

quote:

Originally posted by ELDORADO59:

How much should you explain about your audition piece, if at all (musical and regular)?

What do you mean by this?

I'm not sure if this is what Fagan meant, but what I take it to mean (and what I have wondered also) is should you set up your monologue (give some background on it or the character and/or tell where it is from) before you present it or do you just go right into the monologue without any introduction?

And thanks so much Eldorado59 for taking the time to give such a detailed and informative response!

quote:

What specifically should I be indicating with a cover letter?

Who referred you.

quote:

Originally posted by njndd:

quote:

Originally posted by ELDORADO59:

How much should you explain about your audition piece, if at all (musical and regular)?

What do you mean by this?

I'm not sure if this is what Fagan meant, but what I take it to mean (and what I have wondered also) is should you set up your monologue (give some background on it or the character and/or tell where it is from) before you present it or do you just go right into the monologue without any introduction?

And thanks so much Eldorado59 for taking the time to give such a detailed and informative response!

No. CDs want to give get out of there asap. Just say the title of the monologue and go into it. You should have a fair idea about the events before or make it up and bring that into your performance.

First off, thank you so much for your help!

And yes, NJNDD is right. My friend wanted to know if she should take the time to say who the character is and what the context of the piece is, especially if it's somewhat obscure.

quote:

Originally posted by Fagan:
First off, thank you so much for your help!

And yes, NJNDD is right. My friend wanted to know if she should take the time to say who the character is and what the context of the piece is, especially if it's somewhat obscure.

I think the more obscure the better. If you pick something very recognizable like Shakespeare, then they're going to be looking at you with a microscope.