Thursday, August 27, 2009
Uploads, Not Open Calls
Backstage: "It's a familiar routine for actors everywhere: Get dressed, check your makeup, fight traffic or subway crowds for an hour or more, then sit in a casting office, poring over sides for the hundredth time as you wait for your name to be called. A few minutes later, you're saying 'Thank you' and heading off to your next chance to hurry up and wait. It's just what you have to do to get a job, right? Well, maybe not anymore."
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2 comments:
While I am definitely not an actor, so my perspective on this is a little narrow. I would think that an increased prevalence of video auditioning, while it may work for America's Got Talent, would be detrimental to the heath of the theater industry. First of all, as someone who has had experience in NYC as on the producer's side of casting, I can say that meeting in person (even for not very long) is very important to the process. Also, I am concerned that, like the online college applications, the ability to audition online will increase the amount of auditions exponentially and water down the actual talent.
Like Chris, my perspective will be narrower than most on this. This is an interesting proposition. Most designers in our industry, and in fact designers outside our industry have websites to display their work, most recent shows, make their resume/CV downloadable -- why should actors have the same ability? I would imagine for a casting agent or director, a doctored 2D video wouldn't even come close to being the same as a flesh interview -- you can't ask them questions, get them to learn a new dance routine, hand them a piece of sheet music, etc. However, the convenience factor on both parties does make this approach appealing. Perhaps this movement might help avoid "cattle calls" and allow the production team some pre-selection or weeding out of their talent pool. I'd be interested to see where this goes.
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