Confessions of a Casting Director

by Jen Rudin

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  AGENT’S

  CORNER

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  What can a new client expect their first year in the business?

  The first year is spent gaining fans, getting into the audition room, and building relationships with casting directors, directors, and writers. Take classes. Do a showcase where you can show those casting directors your work. This way, you don’t walk into the audition room with the weight of the world on your shoulders every time, desperate to be hired. Instead, look at each audition as an opportunity to meet someone new to add to your fan base.

  —MICHAEL KIRSTEN,

  Harden-Curtis Associates

  What Does a Manager Do?

  A manager is an individual (or company) who guides and brings added value to the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry. The manager is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day business affairs of artists and advising and counseling them concerning professional matters, long-term plans, and personal decisions that may affect their career.

  A manager helps with scheduling issues, which becomes important when you’ve got multiple auditions in one day. He or she reads scripts. When you’re just starting out, a manager can get you in the door. Managers have time to call casting directors to get feedback on your auditions, and they can informally establish connections with producers and studios. Technically managers are not allowed to procure work for actors or negotiate contracts—that’s the agent’s job—but they often do, and they can also help their clients find an agent or decide when to leave their current agent and how to find a new one. A manager gets paid 10 to 15 percent of the client’s earnings. Often they will want to commission the actor’s earnings on all jobs, including commercials and voice-overs. The larger percentage is because they are supposed to be focusing on the “added value” concept. Keep in mind that having both an agent and a manager can cost you as much as 25 percent in commissions.

  Because of the big picture and added value concepts, a manager may offer an actor a three-year contract instead of the typical one-year contract with an agent. Make sure you really like the manager before you sign. Have multiple meetings. How you want to proceed is completely your decision. Getting locked into a three-year deal with a mediocre manager may be worse in the long run than having no manager at all.

  The Agent or Manager Interview

  Here are some questions to consider asking your potential agent or manager:

  •How many clients do you represent?

  •How many are my type (i.e., age, hair color, ethnicity)?

  •Do you start by freelancing with an actor?

  •How do you feel about a client continuing to submit for projects through Actors Access, Backstage.com, or Casting Networks? Will you want to commission a job I got on my own?

  •Do you like my current headshots? If not, can you recommend any photographers?

  •Who are your favorite acting, voice, or dance teachers? (An agent should never force you to go to a particular photographer or teacher, but they may have some whose work they admire or whom they have sent clients to over the years.)

  An agent will often ask an actor the following questions:

  •Which casting directors know you and your work? (Consider making a list in advance of the manager meeting, so you can share names.)

  •What types of roles do you see yourself auditioning for?

  You should be able to answer these questions confidently and clearly, so be sure to prepare your answers ahead of time.

  Monologues

  An agent may ask you to perform a monologue when you meet with him or her.

  •Choose a monologue from a published play or screenplay. Do NOT perform a monologue you’ve written. Instead, go for writers like Neil Simon, Beth Henley, Nicky Silver, August Wilson, or John Patrick Shanley. No professional agent, casting director, or manager can assess your talent if they don’t know the material. Visit www.samuelfrench.com. This site lists published plays and is a great resource for looking up titles.

  •Know the author and the title of the play. You come off as flaky if you don’t know this basic information.

  •When performing your monologue, be clear who you’re talking to. Sit or stand. Don’t overblock your piece. For dramatic monologues, be careful of curse words and sexual content, as these could easily offend someone.

  •No tears. Unless you are asked to perform a serious monologue, opt for one that’s light and funny. Just because you can cry on cue doesn’t mean you’re the next Meryl Streep.

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  STAGE MOMS’

  CORNER

  * * *

  Often an interested agent or manager will interview your child first to get a sense of his or her personality. They want to see how your child interacts in a room with strangers, since this is essentially what happens when they go to an audition. After meeting with your child, they usually chat for a few minutes with the parent. This is your time to show the agent that you’re a responsible and organized parent, and ready to make the commitment to start your child’s career.

  My agent pal Kerri Krilla at Cunningham-Escott-Slevin-Dipene Talent Agency (CESD) keeps a list of some of the funny lines she’s heard when interviewing young actors. Her favorites include:

  •“Do you think you’ll invite me to your birthday party?”

  •“Do you like this job? Do you get paid or is it just for fun?”

  •“After I leave here I think I’ll take a nap, because you asked a lot of questions!”

  Of course, a child can get away with saying these adorable things. But these are not acceptable conversation points for an adult actor!

  * * *

  AGENT’S

  CORNER

  * * *

  What do you look for when signing a new client?

  Someone who has a lot of skills and can negotiate between genres. Someone who is personable and confident.

  —DON BIRGE,

  Stewart Talent,

  www.stewarttalent.com, New York

  JEN’S LAST WORD

  Meeting agents and managers can be a scary process for actors. You’ve got to learn how to master these meetings to keep moving forward in your career. Here’s my advice:

  •Be yourself.

  •Do your research ahead of time so you know how many clients the agency represents and some of their well-known clients.

  •Know your career goals and what you feel you can add to the equation. It’s always easier for representation to service a client when each client, actor, and agent or manager has clear goals in mind.

  •Flattery can go a long way. Pay an agent or manager a compliment if it’s genuine: “I love your glasses” or “We share a mutual friend who says you’re the best agent . . .”

  •Smile, keep calm, and be confident!

  * * *

  CHAPTER THREE

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  LEAVE EARLY AND BRING A RAINCOAT

  BASIC AUDITION PREP

  I’m twelve years old and at the final audition for an off-Broadway play about a runaway girl. So much is riding on this particular callback. Starring in an off-Broadway play could potentially garner me a New York Times review. Plus, I want to prove to my manager that I can play more than just the funny friend. Then I see my nemesis across the waiting room: the stuck-up skinny girl from theater camp who often curls her hair at auditions with her portable curling iron. The girl who’s already been a series regular on a short-lived TV show and just landed the coveted role of the abused daughter in a TV movie.

  Our eyes lock. She waves at me, gliding over in her Benetton sweater and the newest designer jeans. She’s just finished her callback and asks if I wanted to go over the scenes with her. I nod yes, feeling at once intimidated and stylishly deficient in my plain overalls. She sits down next to me and proceeds to give me direction on the scenes. Her direction is entirely different from what I’ve prepared and what the script calls for. As she leaves, she whispers: “You should always
do what the director says.” Just then, the casting director calls my name. I push my purple glasses up on my nose and walk into the audition room. I’m nearly done performing the first scene when the director says those dreaded words: “That’s all we need.”

  I buried this story until it resurfaced twenty years later in a hypnosis session in Los Angeles. Once the story crystallized clearly, I realized that she’d intentionally distracted me that day and ruined my concentration on purpose. Today I share the details of this cautionary tale at every audition workshop I teach. There’s very little another actor (or parent) can say to you at any moment in the often toxic waiting room that will make you feel good about yourself. Be careful. Protect yourself. Show business can unfortunately be a nasty business at times. Leave early and bring a raincoat—metaphorically and literally.

  Leave Early

  Auditions are stressful and often last minute. Yes, there may be times when you get a call in the morning from your agent asking you to show up in an hour for a shampoo commercial. You can’t control your given appointment time, the audition location, congested traffic, a slow subway train, or a long wait in the crowded waiting room. And once you’re in the audition room, you can’t control the director, who may be eating sushi or texting during your audition. There are a few things you can control: arriving to the audition early (ideally ten minutes before your scheduled time) and being as prepared as possible.

  AUDITION STORIES

  EPIC SUCCESS

  * * *

  The audition for Broadway’s Billy Elliot the Musical was only my third audition, so I didn’t have much experience. For the audition, we were asked to sing a song in our head voice. I decided for some reason to sing “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” which is about as opposite to a pretty head voice song as you can get. Every single girl was singing “Castle on a Cloud” from Les Mis. I’m not exaggerating. I sang and belted my little heart out, smiling throughout the full song. While I was singing, one person started stamping their foot, and another started giggling. By the end of the song, the one that had been giggling was laughing so hard that he fell out of his chair. Someone had to help him up. I was so excited because I knew that it must have meant something! I have no idea what possessed me to sing that song, but it ended up working in my favor. Later that day, I got another callback, and a few months later, I was offered the role.

  —IZZY HANSON-JOHNSTON,

  age fifteen,

  www.izzyhansonjohnston.com

  Schedule Backward

  Just as we made a budget in chapter 1, I also suggest making a schedule for the twenty-four hours leading up to the audition.

  Here are some issues to consider when making your schedule:

  •How will you get to the audition?

  •What plans/meetings/work shifts do you need to reschedule in order to attend the audition?

  •If you have children, do you have someone to look after them during the audition time?

  •What time should you leave your home or job so that you arrive ten or fifteen minutes in advance of your scheduled audition time?

  •Do you need to schedule sessions with your audition coach, acting teacher, or vocal coach to go over the audition material?

  •Check the weather report. If you need to wear your red Hunter rain boots, plan to carry an attractive bag to hold your audition shoes.

  •Figure out necessary hair and wardrobe issues. You’ll need to plan ahead in terms of your appearance. To look your best, it’s important to handle any dry cleaning, laundry, or ironing prior to the audition day.

  Sounds exhausting, right? Perhaps at first. But learning to schedule your time will help you manage your audition needs, and you may start to see benefits in the rest of your life. Your number one priority is to do everything you can to be as prepared as possible for any audition in any circumstances.

  Bring a Raincoat

  My passion is long-distance cycling. In 1996 I rode my bike for four days and 375 miles from Boston to New York to raise money for AIDS research. There was a torrential storm on day three in rural Connecticut. I’d forgotten to pack rain gear, so I had to ride more than eighty miles wearing a trash bag over sopping wet cycling clothes. The following year, I did the ride again and packed my raincoat. The weather was perfect.

  Moral of the story? Don’t get caught in an unexpected storm. Bring your metaphorical raincoat with you to every audition by being as prepared as possible. Protect yourself against the audition elements.

  AUDITION STORIES

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  The Audition That Changed My Life

  In the summer of 1997, I was doing community theater in Connecticut and I decided to try my luck at the open calls at the professional theaters in the area. The first one, at Hartford Stage, was a bust. But a week later I tried out a new monologue for the audition at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, and suddenly it all clicked. The next day I had a callback for the new artistic director, Doug Hughes, and he cast me in my professional debut, She Stoops to Conquer, and three other shows that season. So in one audition, I got four great credits and my Equity card. And fifteen years later, I made my Broadway debut in An Enemy of the People, directed by the very same Doug Hughes.

  —MIKE BOLAND

  AUDITION DOS AND DON’TS

  DO create a “portable office” in the car. Include extra snacks, water, clipboards, pens, pencils, highlighters, extra head shots, résumés, a hair brush, and bobby pins. If you’re a stage mom, keep the backseat as a clean and organized space for your child to spread out and do homework in the car. Great way to multitask during traffic.

  If you arrive early, DO use the extra minutes to do final vocal warm-ups and any extra primping in your car. You want to look your best for your audition. As a rule, my mother never left the house without her lipstick applied, just in case she ran into Paul Newman at the supermarket. So go ahead and apply a little gloss in your rearview mirror in honor of my mother (and Mr. Newman).

  DO keep an extra outfit for you (and your child) in case one of you unexpectedly spills a snack or gets carsick in the Lincoln Tunnel.

  DO research the people who are in the audition room. Use Google or www.imbd.com to look up résumés and credits of industry professionals.

  DO carry a set of earbuds or noise-canceling headphones in case the waiting room gets loud.

  DO learn the script the way it is written. Don’t paraphrase or add in any extra words. It’s insulting to the writer, especially if they’re in the audition room. Remember that the writer toiled for months to craft a script that the network and producers signed off on. The last thing anyone wants is for you to come in and rewrite.

  DO make the acting adjustment if the casting director or director suggests one. This means we like you and want to see if you can do it a different way. We need to see that you have the skills to think quickly and make changes on the spot. If you can’t do this in the audition, then you certainly won’t be able to in rehearsal or on the set.

  DO practice reading aloud every day so that you can be on your game if the casting director asks you to read a different scene on the spot.

  DO be prepared to stay. The casting director may ask you (or your child) to read for an additional part. Be flexible. Good thing you are reading aloud every day, as mentioned above.

  DO remember that the waiting room, elevator, and bathroom are public spaces. Save gossip and any postaudition meltdown for Starbucks or after-hours drinks with friends.

  DON’T vocalize in the waiting room or in the stairwell.

  DON’T apply your makeup, hair spray, or perfume in the public waiting room. Someone next to you might take offense, claiming that they’re sensitive to smells. Avoid these awkward situations and touch up makeup in the privacy of your home, your car, or the restroom.

  DON’T be nosy and try to read the names of the actors who signed in on the sign-in sheet. It can make others feel uncomfortable if you’re stalking the list, and it’s really none of your business.

&
nbsp; DON’T expect to find extra time to run lines in the waiting room. Casting may be running ahead of schedule.

  DON’T tell us you’re sick, contagious, or have a miserable cold. Sometimes the best auditions are the ones when you don’t feel your best but somehow tap into a magical energy from deep inside.

  DON’T shake hands in the audition room unless someone from the creative team offers to first. I’ve gotten the stomach flu a few too many times after a long day of auditioning kids.

  DON’T be that actor who once auditioned for me and gushed how much he loved Shrek. If he’d done his homework and actually looked me up, he’d know I’d worked for Disney Animation, not DreamWorks.

  DON’T wear a costume to an audition unless requested to. I’ll never forget the girl who came to an open call in Texas for The Little Mermaid on Broadway dressed in a shimmery blue mermaid dress. It’s better to wear something that merely suggests the character. Use your good judgment. If the play takes place in the 1940s, wear a skirt and blouse, not your skinny jeans and Jimmy Choos.

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  “You’re Wearing That?”: What to Wear

  Over the years my clothing style changed from preppy, to punk, to hippie, to grunge, to all black, and back again. My mother would often look at my outfits when I was on my way out the door and mutter: “You’re wearing that? Well, it’s a look.”

  Make my mother happy. You should have a few go-to audition outfits that work. Everyone’s color palette will differ, depending on your particular skin tone and hair and eye color. Choose colors that make your eyes pop. You can get your colors “done” by a professional stylist or costume designer. Or just experiment and take a few photos in various outfits to determine which colors suit you best. Aim to have a few outfits that you love. Stick with these and then rotate out depending on the season or style trends.