Perfect or Not, Always Submit Your Self-Tape!
Never let perfect be the enemy of the good
(By Javier Guerra)
(Photo: Karolina Grabowska | Pexels)
So, I was listening to a casting director the other day. He was going on and on about how so many actors had not submitted the self-tapes he had requested from them. It was a shocking number of no-show actors.
The audition was simple enough. It had very little dialogue. Very few requirements to fulfill. No reader was necessary. Yet, a sizable chunk of the pool of perspective actors sent nothing!
RELATED: Are Actors Refusing to Hand-In Self-Tapes?
I understand that it can be tempting to blow off the occasional audition, especially now that most auditions are impersonal self-tapes. Sometimes you’re busy. Sometimes you’re unable to deliver a quality tape on time. Sometimes, you’re just downright lazy!
But blowing off an audition is one of the worst things an actor can do. Why? Because of statistics!
It’s (mostly) a numbers game! The only way to win a numbers game is to do lots of numbers.
Some actors book acting roles seemingly all the time. Sure! But they’re the exceptions to the rule.
If you’re not the exception, meaning if you’re the average actor, you’ve got to play the numbers game.
Let’s say, hypothetically, that the average actor in your category has about a 2% chance to book the acting jobs they audition for. That’s about a 1-to-50 booking ratio. That means, generally speaking, you’ve got to do 50 auditions to get one booking!
You’re practically running in quicksand if you begin missing auditions just because you were too lazy or too negligent to put your self-tape together. In theory, each time you miss an audition, you get further and further away from landing a role.
It’s (mostly) a numbers game! The only way to win a numbers game is to do lots of numbers.
(Photo: George Milton | Pexels)
Turn in your self-tape each and every time someone requests one from you, provided you can put together a decent tape.
Even if your tape is not perfect, you’ve still gotta shoot your shot. You’ve still gotta play the numbers.
Plus, even if you don’t book the role, you at least get another opportunity to put your face in front of people who could hire you in the future. Maybe they end up offering you a role in the next project they’re casting for.
That inadvertent booking could feed you for years!
How many paychecks have you missed out on because you were simply too lazy to send in your self-tape?
You don’t know, do you? Well, that’s my point!
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