The Other Side

My first bootleg headshot, taken in front of a friend's bedroom curtain. I printed this out at Kinko's and actually gave this out at auditions. DO NOT DO THIS! INVEST in a good headshot and prints. 

This week I volunteered at the League of Washington Theater auditions. I wanted to get a peak of what it was like "on the other side" of the audition table.

The Leagues, or LOWTs, are a regional cattle call where area actors are given a ninety second audition in front of a panel of about fifty casting representatives from the area. They walk on stage, slate their name and audition piece, do an excerpt of a monologue, perhaps sing a quick 16 bars, and make way for the next actor to audition. This is very similar to the Liaison auditions I did a few weeks ago. These types of regional cattle calls are a great way to put your face out there and start out the audition season.

As a volunteer I started my day checking actors into their time slot. This granted me the opportunity to see a lot of headshots and resumes! I was very surprized at the inconsistency in form.

Standard headshot/resumes are 8x10, no exceptions, stapled front to back. Color headshots are popular now, and with your name clearly printed on the image. Resumes should be clearly printed in a nondescript font, with your theater experience relevant and easy to read. Resumes are stapled to the back of the headshot, with excess paper neatly trimmed.

I saw some crazy variations. Some headshots were 8.5 x 11 (yes, that is standard paper size, but not acceptable headshot size), or 6x8. Many did not have their name neatly printed on the image, and it was apparent they printed at home instead of ordering their shots from a professional picture printer. Some printed their resume on the back of the picture paper, resulting in a smeary mess of a resume. A saw a perfectly professional 8x10 headshot stapled on the backside center of a 8.5x11 resume.

Resumes were likewise all over the place, but my favorite was when someone included their GPA! We appreciate that you are smart, but we only care about your acting talents.

H/R complaints aside, the most informative part of the day was watching the auditions themselves. A ninety second audition is a challenge in itself, and I wanted to be witness to successful, and unsuccessful auditions, so that I can learn from them and improve my own auditions.

To be continued...