I have to say that this blog post comes to you with a little bit of anger and frustration.
Over my short acting career, I have gone to quite a lot of auditions; as one would do if they were an actor. Most of these auditions have been good experiences. Not only is it fun to go and audition, it is also a great opportunity to network yourself with the other auditioners (if you have read one of my past posts, then you know my opinion on that). Most of the time, the people who you are auditioning for are pretty cordial. Whether they are sincere or not, they still act as if your audition is very important. I think that this is quite important to an actor. It lets the actor know that you are at least trying to give them the time of day when they walk in the room. Often times, the director has already made his decision about casting you the second that you walk in. I'll get more into this idea in a little bit.
Now, the reason that I am so angry right now is that I just had 2 auditions in 2 consecutive nights. Here is what happened:
At the first audition (I am not going to say where), I waited around for about 3 hours to finally get seen. I walked into the room. One of the guys behind the table said, "hello," the very second that I walked in the room. Things were looking pretty good for me. I thought, "These guys seem pretty cool!" I said hello right back. I then went right over to the accompanist. We figured out how the song was going to go, and I turned to get the okay from the producers.
I saw that they were talking with each other. I waited. A good 20 seconds, I waited. I then noticed that they were not going to stop talking. I asked them, "Are you all set?" They looked up from their conversation, and one of the men said, "Ya! Sorry. Go ahead." I sang my song. I said thank you. They responded, "Ya, thanks," and they continued their conversation. I took my music, and left.
At the second audition (again, I am going to leave names out of this), I didn't have to wait as long. It was only about a 20 minute wait. I had to do a song and a monologue. They called me in. I walked into the theater. This time, I had to start the conversation on my own. I said, "Good evening!" There was a slight pause before I got a response, "hello". (This probably wasn't the correct response that they should have given, but that is not the point)
I gave my music to the accompanist. We figured out the logistics of the song together, and then I took my spot under the spotlight. I introduced myself this time. I figured that maybe it was my fault the night before that they didn't pay attention to me. I started my audition.
Now, mind you, during both of these auditions, I was really feeling it. If you are an actor, you know what I mean by that. When you have a great audition, you can just feel it.
Well, I was really feeling it during this particular audition. After my song, I noticed that they did not take their eyes up from their laptops. I started my monologue. I nailed the monologue. THEY STILL DIDN'T LOOK UP FROM THEIR LAPTOPS!
The reason for why I am posting this blog is because I want to make people aware of how insanely rude this is! I am not the only person who thinks this either. Other people with whom I have spoken to about this have also told me how insanely rude they think this is.
I understand. If you are a producer or a director, and you are running an audition all day, it can get really tiring. It can be a rather long day.
But this is your JOB. No matter how long the day can get, you need to treat every person you see with the same respect that you gave the first person that walked in the audition room. Whether you mean it or not, you need to treat the last person you see just as special as the first person you see. These actors put in the hard work to prepare for this audition. They did THEIR job. What if this is audition was something that they really needed? I know that even if I don't get cast in a show, it makes me feel better if I think that I have a chance. I'm sure that other actors definitely feel the same way.
These 2 auditions are not the only times that this has happened to me. Now, you may want to tell me, "Well, maybe you should have a better audition. MAKE them give you their attention!" I can tell you that is not the point in what I am trying to make. The point is that it should not matter how bad the audition was or is, you should still give that actor your undivided attention. Because THAT IS YOUR JOB.
I hope that if you are a director or a producer and you are reading this, you take this bit of advice to heart. Coming from an actor, we definitely notice, and we DEFINITELY don't appreciate it.
If you agree or disagree, or think that I am a jerk who needs to just shut his mouth, please let me know! I would love to hear some feedback from this, especially if you are an actor and have some other horror stories.
Over my short acting career, I have gone to quite a lot of auditions; as one would do if they were an actor. Most of these auditions have been good experiences. Not only is it fun to go and audition, it is also a great opportunity to network yourself with the other auditioners (if you have read one of my past posts, then you know my opinion on that). Most of the time, the people who you are auditioning for are pretty cordial. Whether they are sincere or not, they still act as if your audition is very important. I think that this is quite important to an actor. It lets the actor know that you are at least trying to give them the time of day when they walk in the room. Often times, the director has already made his decision about casting you the second that you walk in. I'll get more into this idea in a little bit.
Now, the reason that I am so angry right now is that I just had 2 auditions in 2 consecutive nights. Here is what happened:
At the first audition (I am not going to say where), I waited around for about 3 hours to finally get seen. I walked into the room. One of the guys behind the table said, "hello," the very second that I walked in the room. Things were looking pretty good for me. I thought, "These guys seem pretty cool!" I said hello right back. I then went right over to the accompanist. We figured out how the song was going to go, and I turned to get the okay from the producers.
I saw that they were talking with each other. I waited. A good 20 seconds, I waited. I then noticed that they were not going to stop talking. I asked them, "Are you all set?" They looked up from their conversation, and one of the men said, "Ya! Sorry. Go ahead." I sang my song. I said thank you. They responded, "Ya, thanks," and they continued their conversation. I took my music, and left.
-----
At the second audition (again, I am going to leave names out of this), I didn't have to wait as long. It was only about a 20 minute wait. I had to do a song and a monologue. They called me in. I walked into the theater. This time, I had to start the conversation on my own. I said, "Good evening!" There was a slight pause before I got a response, "hello". (This probably wasn't the correct response that they should have given, but that is not the point)
I gave my music to the accompanist. We figured out the logistics of the song together, and then I took my spot under the spotlight. I introduced myself this time. I figured that maybe it was my fault the night before that they didn't pay attention to me. I started my audition.
Now, mind you, during both of these auditions, I was really feeling it. If you are an actor, you know what I mean by that. When you have a great audition, you can just feel it.
Well, I was really feeling it during this particular audition. After my song, I noticed that they did not take their eyes up from their laptops. I started my monologue. I nailed the monologue. THEY STILL DIDN'T LOOK UP FROM THEIR LAPTOPS!
-----
The reason for why I am posting this blog is because I want to make people aware of how insanely rude this is! I am not the only person who thinks this either. Other people with whom I have spoken to about this have also told me how insanely rude they think this is.
I understand. If you are a producer or a director, and you are running an audition all day, it can get really tiring. It can be a rather long day.
But this is your JOB. No matter how long the day can get, you need to treat every person you see with the same respect that you gave the first person that walked in the audition room. Whether you mean it or not, you need to treat the last person you see just as special as the first person you see. These actors put in the hard work to prepare for this audition. They did THEIR job. What if this is audition was something that they really needed? I know that even if I don't get cast in a show, it makes me feel better if I think that I have a chance. I'm sure that other actors definitely feel the same way.
These 2 auditions are not the only times that this has happened to me. Now, you may want to tell me, "Well, maybe you should have a better audition. MAKE them give you their attention!" I can tell you that is not the point in what I am trying to make. The point is that it should not matter how bad the audition was or is, you should still give that actor your undivided attention. Because THAT IS YOUR JOB.
I hope that if you are a director or a producer and you are reading this, you take this bit of advice to heart. Coming from an actor, we definitely notice, and we DEFINITELY don't appreciate it.
If you agree or disagree, or think that I am a jerk who needs to just shut his mouth, please let me know! I would love to hear some feedback from this, especially if you are an actor and have some other horror stories.
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