OPINION
Same-Day Auditions Feel Disrespectful
Don’t they understand that we all have lives?
(The Anonymous Actor)
(Photo: Andrea Piacquadio | Pexels)
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m certainly grateful for each and every audition I get. I’m happy when a casting director sees my headshot, thinks that I could fill a role and invites me to audition at the last minute.
But am I wrong to find same-day auditions just a little bit disrespectful of my time? I mean, I do have a life! I don’t think it’s very appropriate to ask me to drop everything I have planned for the day and put together a self-tape.
I’m a single father with a million and one responsibilities. I have a full-time job that pays most of the household bills. I have personal activities to take care of. I also do a lot of work for my church.
I get a little miffed when a casting director expects me to drop everything and send them a self-tape within a few hours.
So, I get a little miffed when a casting director expects me to drop everything and send them a self-tape within a few hours.
Of course, I could choose not to do it and cancel the request. But if I do that, my agent might become upset, since I didn’t book-out and declare myself unavailable for that day.
I have a good agent. I don’t want to run the risk of getting dropped. Then, I’ll have to start looking for a new agent, one who may not be as good as the one I have.
So, what choice do I have? I have to abruptly suspend my life. All of my plans come to a screeching halt, just like that!
Look, I know it’s not always the fault of casting. Schedules and dates get pushed back or moved up for any number of reasons. Sometimes, it just can’t be helped. Also, I get that sometimes casting is dissatisfied with their choices and want to grab a few more options, belatedly.
But there are times when I feel like a casting director just haphazardly threw my name into the mix, not because they saw something particularly special in my headshot or reel.
Don’t they understand that actors have lives, too? Don’t they understand that we cannot always afford to be full-time actors?
Those are the kinds of disrespectful situations I’m speaking of. When you just get thrown into someone’s casting process, at the last minute, just because…
Don’t they understand that actors have lives, too? Don’t they understand that we cannot always afford to be full-time actors? Do they not understand that, although we appreciate the opportunity, we can’t always drop everything to meet that opportunity?
I know I’m ranting a bit here. But my last same-day audition made me write this. It ruined my whole day. And it didn’t even seem like I fit the character description! It was as if I was thrown in on a whim or to meet a certain quota.
It felt like a total lack of respect for my time.
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