u/leopardlimo

I just wanted to check in and see how many auditions people are getting. I know it’s slow, less episodes & shows are being made, etc. But I was consistently audition at the beginning of this year, and I booked a small part in a Netflix series, then it suddenly dried up. It’s making me feel antsy and like my agent isn’t doing enough (which might just be me trying to gain more control in an uncontrollable industry). I’ve also really been honing in on my training; I feel like the best actor I’ve ever been and I’m not getting the opportunity to show it.

I’ve communicated the lack of auditions with my agent, who basically reiterated what everybody else is saying about it being slow, every audition is an audition for the next audition & to keep sharp.

I just want to know if everybody in the city is going through the same dry spell or if it’s just me.

Hi!

Based in Canada.

A few months ago I booked two short films back to back on my own, both with interesting, contrasting concepts & directors who had a lot of vision. One has already released and the footage is great.

I told my agent about the bookings and we had a phone call, where my agent essentially said that the two I agreed to do was fine, but that it might make bigger casting directors & American casting directors take me less seriously; as my resume would read like, network tv episode, short film, network tv episode, short film, etc. Basically saying my credits would not read as an upward trajectory and that I should only do shorts that are proof of concept for a feature film.

My agent told me they had a conversation with a casting director in the US, in which casting told her to tell their actors to stop doing short films as it taints their resume and makes them be taken less seriously… and my agent was basically regurgitating this to me.

I have many mixed opinions on this; I think short films are great experience, a great way to build your network and to have footage. It’s a group of creatives coming together to make something great. I feel like if I do what my agent wants and stopped doing short films, I’d basically be sitting on my hands waiting for an audition to come in. And we all know based on the current state of the industry… that’s not really an option.

I also get how short films may be seen as “amateur”, but with the current state of the industry what else am I do to?

Honestly, the answer is to probably have a conversation with my agent about it, but I wanted to hear other opinions first and if anyone else has heard the same rhetoric.

Hi!

I’m reaching out to see if there are any Canadians with American representation, whether that’s an agent and/or manager and what your experience getting them & working with them has been like.

The Canadian actors I know that do have American representation have mixed opinions; some love their reps and the opportunities they get to audition for, but others say they receive 2-3 auditions a year and that it feel like the American reps are trying to make money off their Canadian bookings.

I’ve been going back and forth on whether this is the next step for me, I have a few bookings but nothing that would make an American rep leap at the opportunity to sign me.

Thanks!

possibly misleading title and more of a rant, but I had an extremely demanding, exhausting day job for 3.5 years that left me feeling drained, affected my mental health and made me send sub-par auditions (due to burnout).

I finally quit and coasted on savings for a bit, which gave me the free time to fully immerse myself in acting, something I haven’t been able to do since school. I joined a new acting class, felt myself becoming a better actor, and I started attending networking events.

I booked two high-quality short films just by networking and using new techniques in my auditions. Speaking of auditions, they suddenly skyrocketed (1-4 a week!) and I ended up booking a small part on a Netflix series that I’ll be shooting at the end of this month. Keep in mind, I haven’t booked in 2 years.

I had auditioned for the same Netflix series in Spring and I felt I submitted some of my best work yet. I didn’t book it. But then got asked to read for another part in June and was told I booked less than 48 hours after taping. :)

I can’t give 100% of the credit to quitting as I also did the work, but if you’re working a day job that is draining you and affecting your ability to be the actor you want to be, it might be taking an invisible toll on your art.

Of course, the economy is absolutely fucked (it took me 6 months to find a new job); but don’t forget to put yourself first. What I wonder now is what could’ve happened in my career if I decided to be selfish 2 years ago.

Good luck & fuck evil bosses!

Hello,

I’m applying for a really prestigious acting conservatory. One of the requirements was submitting a self-tape from a scene of my choosing.

I picked a scene I really loved, felt showcased my skill set and had a lot of stuff to chew on. It’s a well known scene (Angels In America). Taped with an actor friend, and now I’m stuck between two takes.

TAKE ONE: I love it, felt alive, impulsive. I was making choices and realizing as the character in real time. My actor friend I taped with felt they “didn’t recognize me”. Only issue is at the end of the tape I flubbed a line that I feel is the emotional climax of my character.

TAKE TWO: Slow to start but still good. More beats, hit everything I wanted to hit and made strong choices. Took my time, had inner world & I’m proud of it.

If I didn’t flub Take One, I would send it. But spots in this conservatory are very limited with very talented actors and I don’t know if sending Take One is the smart choice. Take Two is good, but I think I was chasing some of the impulses from Take One.

I don’t know if it’s better to send an impulsive, alive, imperfect take or a technically “perfect” take where I did everything I set out to do, even though as I was filming I felt slightly more out of it.

Which one do I choose? I genuinely keep going back and forth, literally debating splicing the scenes together. I feel either choice, I may regret not picking the other.

Hi! I’m based in Canada.

I’ve been acting for 4 years and have a good relationship with my agent. It’s an esteemed agency, I’m Union, I audition for cool stuff and have booked a few things. There is a ceiling of auditions I can get however, as everything I audition for shoots in Canada.

I recently spoke to a very successful American acting teacher, who gave me the advice to get an American manager ASAP, citing that it’s dead anyways so I may as well have someone else on my team trying to get me seen as much as possible by casting.

I was always taught not to get a manager until I have “something to manage”. I also have heard that visas or lack there-of can be an issue (especially during the current administration, rip). But this acting teacher said if a production really wants you, they’ll make it work.

I’m looking for advice if I really should start to look for a manager and how early/late into your career did you get one? And if any non-Americans have American management, what their experience with that is?