It occurred to me the other day that so many people I meet are curious about an actor's process and they wonder what it's like. This is the first in a series of blog posts on the subject of 7 Ways an Actress Prepares. (I'm a girl, so I use actress instead of actor.) The posts follow me through the process of submitting for the job, securing the job and then playing the role of Mrs. Carter in the stage play "What's Wrong With Angry" opening at Celebration Theatre in Los Angeles (opens in September) If you're already a working actor or actress, this will probably bore you, but if you're just curious about actors and the process of an actor's career, you might find this interesting.
Submitting for the role: This particular auditon came from Actor's Access. I check audition notices a few times a day at Actor's Access. Of the dozens of auditions that are available, actors sort through and find the ones that work for their schedules, their "type" and their career path. The site lists auditions for many professional productions in film, new media, television, industrial films, a few commercials and stage. Professional union jobs, non-union jobs and non-paying assignments are on the site. The auditions listed there are in no way ALL of the auditions available. Just the ones producers have chosen to post online. How many submissions do they receive? From what casting directors report it can be from 500 - 5000 - all depends on the age range, etc.
A typical audition can take about 2 hours of prep time and in Los Angeles there's another 2-3 hour commitment to drive to location, audition, and return home. If each audition is a 4-5 hour commitment - just to be considered for the job, you can see that we have to choose wisely.
The Role: Mrs. Carter - mother of a teenage son - all good there. It's true - After age 30, we're all old enough to be someone's mother or father. It's an understudy role - so if I understudy someone really great, I'll learn a TON.Dialect: British (have to set aside an extra hour for dialect brush-up if I'm called in)
It's a stage production: - It would be fun to be on stage to be big and loud after the film skills of softer voice and smaller movements. Rehearsal process and performance for stage productions is more comfortable for me than for film.
Quality of the play itself: Search the history and read outstanding reviews of it's past productions. I like the story!
The producing theatre: - Celebration Theatre - every production I've seen there is very well done.
Pay rate: Union - so that's all good.
The Director: Many actors first question about a role is "Who is the director?" We want to know it's someone whose style we can adapt to - who we can understand, communicate and work with. A little research reveals reviews of director's work (excellent) He's worked in Chicago (so have I) so there is likely to be similar tastes in theatrical style. Holla! Extra points for Chicago!
The Casting Director: Although we've never met in person, we've communicated while working on another project together - so that's cool. All good, so I click SUBMIT.
Total time to research and submit - on this one about 20 minutes.
Does every submission take that long? No. Most take just a few minutes. The process takes a little longer if I don't know the people involved and a little extra research if the presumed time commitment for the project is extensive. Time is life's most precious gift - so I try to use it carefully. :-)
And then? We wait! (tick tock, tick tock)
