Deadlines Are DEAD-lines
Going past deadlines may not get you shot, but they can certainly kill opportunities
(by Jim Webb)
(Photo: Markus Winkler/Unsplash)
Once upon a time, prisons didn’t have high walls with barbed wire fencing at the top to keep prisoners from escaping. No walls were necessary at all.
They had what were called “deadlines”. It was a line that the prisoners understood was not to be crossed. Crossing that line meant the prisoner could be shot dead!
Today, the word “deadline” has a much less sinister meaning. A deadline today is simply a date or time in which something is to be completed or turned in. Anything done or submitted after that date or time will not be accepted.
While no one is killed when they cross today’s deadlines, the word deadline is still very much appropriate, because missing your deadlines can kill opportunities. And this is true for actors, too.
The acting world comes with all kinds of deadlines, some implied and some explicit. Meeting those deadlines keeps opportunity alive. Failure to meet these deadlines kills off opportunity.
Some examples:
Deadlines for submitting for auditions
Submitting for auditions past the deadline can kill an opportunity.
When you self-submit for auditions on casting sites, they almost always come with an explicit deadline. You must submit your profile by the stated date for your submission to be considered.
They also come with an implicit deadline. The implicit deadline is ASAP, meaning the sooner you submit, the better your chances of securing an audition. With hundreds of other actors submitting, the only way to ensure that your submission will be considered is to get it in as soon as you receive the breakdown.
Always submit for auditions as soon as you receive the breakdown.
Deadlines for confirming auditions
Confirming auditions past the deadline can kill an opportunity.
When your agent sends you an audition, you should make every effort to confirm it as soon as possible. This helps everyone out.
Your agent doesn’t have to wonder if you received the breakdown or wonder if you have questions that need to answered. And the casting director doesn’t have to wonder if you’ll show up to the audition or
submit a self-tape, or if they need to put another actor in your place.
Always confirm your auditions ASAP.
Deadlines for sending in your self-tape
Sending in your self-tape past the deadline can kill an opportunity.
When a casting director gives you a deadline for submitting a self-tape, take it seriously and meet the deadline!
Imagine being a casting director, waiting patiently for an actor you’re excited about to submit a self-tape for a role you know they’ll crush. The only problem is, they don’t respect the deadline you’ve given them to get the tape to you. They send it in pass the deadline (or don’t bother to submit one at all).
How would that make you feel about that actor? How likely would you be to consider that actor for a future role?
Sending in your self-tape early also gives the casting director time to redirect you, thus, improving your self-tape before the deadline.
Always submit your self-tape as soon as you can, without sacrificing quality.
Deadlines for arriving at audition locations
Arriving late to an audition can kill an opportunity.
Always arrive earlier than your scheduled audition time. Arriving early makes you look like a professional. It gives you a chance to possibly schmooze the casting director or casting assistant. It also gives you a little more time to prepare and shake off audition nerves.
Arriving early makes you look like a professional and gives you more time to shake off audition nerves
Arriving late can have the opposite effect. It can leave a bad taste in the mouth of the casting director who might have been expecting you to arrive when you were scheduled to arrive. It gives you less time to prepare. And if you arrive too late, you might not get to audition for the role at all.
Always arrive at your audition location early.
Going past your deadlines may not get you shot. But, as you can see, they can certainly kill opportunities.
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