SUBMITTING YOURSELF FROM HOME

If you are truly adventurous and able to afford a quick trip to Hollywood (frequent flyer miles, anyone?), you may occasionally want to submit yourself for some of the projects you find listed in Backstage. If you have the equipment and capability of taping an audition from home, there may be the rare casting director willing to go along with that idea. If you can up-load that audition to a website (even YouTube or MySpace can be used for this purpose), all the better.

When you make your submission (and it had better reach the casting office overnight!), be prepared for the remote possibility that they will call and tell you that you have an audition TOMORROW! It’s at this point that you must tell them you’re out of town “at the moment”, but could send them a taped (uploaded?) audition. Tell them that you’re available to come to the callbacks or, if they’re planning to book directly from your audition, OF COURSE you’re available for the job. (ONLY say that stuff if you mean it. Duh.)

But do not fool yourself into thinking that it will happen very often, if at all. It won’t. Casting directors don’t need to reach outside of Hollywood for more actors; they already have literally hundreds of choices for each role right here at their disposal and they will always prefer meeting and auditioning actors in person.

Bear this in mind, too: The vast majority of projects you will find in BSW are either non-paying or so low-paying as to be almost ridiculous. Would you really be willing to fly to L.A. and put yourself up in a motel just for the possible chance to work for free (or worse, after expenses, to be out-of-pocket)? In our opinion, you should only consider doing that if it would not be a financial hardship and if you can look at it as a mini-vacation/adventure/learning experience. Otherwise…fuggedaboutit!

*When we say “home”, we mean those of you living outside of L.A.