Do you get enough auditions every week or do you feel like you could be going out much more often? Is your agent pushing you hard enough? What can you do on your own to get more auditions? The cold hard truth is: regardless of how incredible you are at acting, that does not guarantee you’ll get to audition all the time. What matters is – how proactive you are, how pleasant you are to work with, and how well you perform in the room.
Here are 5 ways to get an audition:
1. Make sure your online casting profiles are up to date.
You must, must, must keep your profiles up to date at all times!
– Update your credits: this means adding new ones and taking down old ones like a student film you did in 2004.
– Go through your headshots on Actors Access and make sure you have updated headshots that look like you! If the headshots you have on there are from 10 years ago you probably need to upload some recent ones. Make sure you have a variety of headshots that could be used for commercial and theatrical auditions (including TV & Film).
– Go through your reel footage: Make sure you have a good reel on there that could showcase your acting skills. You can also make a very professional self-tape that you could upload and use for now until you get enough footage to put together a professional reel. Pick a scene and film it. Make sure you’re using a professional self-taping set up, whether that’s at home, a friend’s place, or a studio. It might cost you a bit, but it’s worth it to get that professional looking self-tape. If you’re not getting any auditions, choose something that plays into your type. Want to audition for Homeland? Pick a scene from Homeland, and put that down. Want to audition for Riverdale? Pick a scene from Riverdale, or another similar genre series and put that down. Once you’ve put down a solid tape, upload it to Actors Access. Make sure your self-tape is no longer than 2 mins.
2. Check your stats to make sure they’re correct and up to date: Make sure your weight, hair color, eye color are up to date. If you’ve recently learned a new skill, like snowboarding or horse-back-riding, then add that skill. Be honest, exaggerating your skills can only hurt you when you get called in and have to prove them.
3. Set up a meeting with your agent.
It’s important to check in with your agent every month – whether you’re auditioning or not. They won’t reach out to you and tell you to get a new reel, or update your headshots. You need to reach out to them, make the first move, and then they will advise you and you can come up with an action plan together. Ask for feedback – “Are my self-tapes up to standard?”, “Do my headshots need refreshing or are they working?”. First of all, it’s important to be at the forefront of your agents brain. They have a lot of clients to look after, and the more you fade into the background, the less likely you will spring to mind when they’re submitting actors for roles. Honestly, the more you keep in touch with your agent, the more auditions you get, the more work you get, and therefore the more you keep in touch with your agent. It’s a cycle – and if you’re not in the cycle right now, then make it happen and get in the cycle. Give him or her a call, and ask if you can pop in to their office for 20 minutes tomorrow. Agents love talking to their actors! You should not feel like you’re wasting their time. Here’s where that self-tape you just put down comes in handy – when you go in, show them the new tape. Get some feedback, and then upload it to your casting profiles. Agents LOVE to get new material from their actors, and they will use it when submitting you for roles.
4. Submit yourself on casting platforms.
Don’t just rely on your agents to do all the work. You should be submitting yourself every day on all casting platforms even if you have representation. Make sure to include a note in your submission with your recent bookings or major credits, news like signing with a great agent or manager, your social media following (if you have more than 10K on any one platform), if you have special skills that this role requires, why you would be perfect for this role and if you’ve met them through a class (don’t forget to say when & where the class was held). Honestly, any message can help you stand out from the actors that don’t write messages. Choose a headshot that works best for this project, include your reel or a professional self-tape and off you go.
5. Meet casting directors in person.
It’s very important to create great long-lasting relationships with casting directors. You can do that by following up after a call-back or a booking with a Thank You card or meeting them in-person via casting director masterclasses. Most casting directors teach classes where they share their industry knowledge and teach actors proper audition techniques. They can review actors headshots/resumes and give great tips on how to make actors audition stand out. It’s a great way to meet casting directors in-person and showcase your acting skills and talents in a class environment.
