Let’s be real. These days, for most of us, money is tight. In my work as an actor, writer – I need to find ways to stay competitive while cutting costs. So, like most people, I brainstorm with my friends: where can I get inexpensive quality headshots? How can I save money on mailings? How many classes can I afford to take? What’s the next cost-effective step?
Years ago, I turned a corner and started writing plays. Went to grad school – the whole bit. Now I juggle both an acting and a writing career and – more than three years ago – I started collaborating on a musical.
Collaborating is one of my favorite things – there’s so much to say about that (more than I have space for here). But, of course, the budget crunch in my writing life came to bear when my collaborators and I decided to have a reading of our work. Time so see (and hear) what we’ve wrought.
As you can imagine – mounting a reading (we’re having two) can be costly. There are scripts and scores to copy, binders to buy, space to rent, refreshments to serve, programs to print, casting to be done (without paying for a casting director or hiring an outside producer). So we’re producing ourselves – and I’m learning a ton.
Key lessons arrived this week: with 12 parts to cast (in a multicultural NY musical) I managed to find three Asian singers, an Indian singer, two black actors (one a singer) and assorted women, but the two parts hardest to find were (surprise!) two white men at the center of the show. After months of getting references from friends and colleagues I was still coming up empty. Who knew?
Then, one of my friends suggested Breakdown Services’ Actors Access: the website where actors can electronically post headshots and resumes and producers can put out an electronic casting call without paying a cent. I’m on Actors Access as an actor. Why didn’t I think of that?
So I posted. Very easy to do – and yes – free – if you choose not to submit to agents (if you do you have to pay $30). I took the free route – and created a breakdown with info on our project.
Within a matter of hours I got 51 responses (more are on the way). Some are appropriate to the parts, some not. Here’s where the website lesson for actors comes in. Of the first 51 submissions only 5 had websites. Those actors immediately had the advantage – all the more because I couldn’t afford to do auditions. Here’s why those actors had a leg up:
1) A headshot only shows so much about you: It’s helpful to see other photos. (As long as they’re good photos.) Not only does it show you physically from a different angle, different shots might show other aspects of your personality.
2) More written information is helpful: several websites have reviews posted and most sites have text written by actors about their work. The reviews give a professional barometer of quality (even though it’s subjective) and the text can be another key into an actor’s personality, sense of humor or style.
3) Video can be essential: If two actors have the similar credits, but one has video – I can immediately see how that one actor moves, speaks, responds to others – and how natural they can be in a performance situation.
4) Audio can be essential: Since I’m casting a musical reading, I need to know the quality of people’s singing. A site with several audio clips allows me to hear the singing voice without having to rent a space and hire an accompanist. Voice over audio is good too, as long as it’s professionally done.
5) An indicator of professionalism: Actors with websites seem more professional (unless the website looks poorly constructed or contains grainy photos or badly written text.) That an actor has a website is a sign that they care enough about their career to spend the money. What it looks like might say a great deal about how that actor shows up in the world (and more importantly – at rehearsal and in performance.)
6) Recognition factor: Though I was working through Actors Access for casting these roles, I had gotten lots of word-of-mouth referrals to other actors. When I couldn’t Google those actors or find a headshot or production photo online, I was, frankly, less likely to call. When I could find a photo and I had seen the actor – in a show, on screen or even on the street – it was a plus. Why not give a casting director the chance to see you?
7) Additional contact information: Websites often have an actor’s direct email address or agent info in addition to recent production information and news. (I can’t tell you how many times I called Actors Equity about a particular actor only to find no contact information or out of date information. And I often tried to reach an actor only to find the one contact number (or email) I had was no good.) It’s helpful to have multiple ways to contact a performer – or to be able to read (in an update on the site) that the actor is out of town.
I get the paradox here. I’m producing a reading on a budget – unable to pay to have auditions and here I am suggesting that actors spend money to make things easier for people like me. That might be kind of annoying. But the insight I’m getting is that if I’m looking at the web to cast my reading, surely major casting people (prepping major projects) are checking out websites too. Bottom line: the more great material posted on the web, the better chance of showing your stuff as a prelude to (or instead of) showing your stuff in person.
Now that I know all this, I need to add some bells and whistles to my actor website…
Steve Harper is an actor, playwright, coach and a 20-year veteran of the entertainment industry. Other creative adventures include producing and writing for radio and television, directing film and theatre projects, writing for print and online publication and teaching multiple disciplines. He is dedicated to helping people show up fully in their creative gifts. More information: www.yourcreativelife.net
(c) 2008 Steve Harper all rights reserved