Professionalism 102

Like most businesses, lack of professionalism is a rampant problem in the film industry, at all levels. Most of the horror stories I hear about this problem involve actors - an over-developed sense of entitlement, complete lack of preparation, total disregard for others' time and money, unnecessary drama or whatnot.

Actors haven't cornered the market on this though. I recently experienced a glaring lack of professionalism on the production/casting side of the table at two recent auditions: one for a feature film, one for a commercial. 

The Feature Film

The film was an indie feature being cast by the filmmakers themselves (i.e., not by a casting agency) and all roles were paid (which means they had some money and, I thought, experience being professional). After waiting 2 hours past my audition time, I was finally shuttled into the audition room with the director and producers.

The sides provided were part of a conversation among 5 people. When I entered the audition room, I was told one of the filmmakers would be reading with me. Expected. It was late in the day and I guess this person had gotten bored with reading the same several characters over and over, so in the middle of my audition (and without warning), the person decided to skip over all but my cue lines. Not expected.

Now some actors might appreciate that - make it quick, get it over. But I'm in the camp of "acting is reacting" (particularly in a multi-party conversation like this one) and I believe reactions are critical to a solid performance. I felt like half my job had been taken away.

I know this wasn't the filmmakers first time around the block and I know several of them have acting experience. I expected more.

The Commercial

The commercial audition was at a casting agency, one I've been to many, many times. At this particular outfit, the result is almost always the same - hurry up and wait....

....and wait....

....and wait....

Wait times have sometimes exceeded 4 hours. It's almost laughable that they bother giving people audition times. I've talked with several other actors about this agency and they've all had the same experience. 

Of course we all get busy, and behind, and have our days, but the regularity with which this occurs at this agency is astounding. To put it in perspective, there are several other agencies that I also regularly audition with, many of which are casting big-budget features and national commercials. You would think this would be an issue at those places. But it isn't. They are all well-oiled machines - not always perfectly on schedule, but certainly respectful of my time. They expect me to be there at a particular time and I am. I expect them to be ready to see me at the appointed time and they are. Why can't this one shop get its act together?

There. I got it out of my system.

Next!

What are your audition horror stories? Are there repeat offenders that you dread going to? Do you have favorites who are always professionally run?

(photo courtesy of Getty Images)

-- Gabriel Voss

Comments

[M Dixon]

Auditioning in someone's living room while their kids ran around. I was offered the part but needless to say I didn't accept.

[Gabriel Voss]

Impressive that you could even hold it together to give a good performance with the kids running around. Things probably wouldn't have been much different on set.

[Toronto Actress]

I can totally relate!

Here is my latest blog post about "adventures in auditioning":
http://toronto-actress.blogspot.com/2011/02/self-submission-adventures-part-i.html
It breaks down some good indie auditions and some bad ones I've had lately. Most notable this week was the audition where I had to wait for over two hours in 40*C heat, only to audition in a 50*C room, the audition where my reader couldn't actually read (he was comparable to a kindergarten student), someone asking me to describe my experience with hitting guys "where it hurts" in detail (didn't end up going to this audition, thankfully), auditions where the producer thought we were on a date (have yet to write about that one), and many, many more! I guess you could say that I'm quite skilled in the weird audition area! :)

As well, here is one creepy and entertaining audition experience I wrote about in November:
http://toronto-actress.blogspot.com/2010/11/creepy-audition.html

Wishing you many positive audition (and booking!) experiences in the upcoming months!

[Gabriel Voss]

Wow. Thanks for sharing those experiences but very sorry you had to go through all that. As a guy, I'm fortunate to not encounter much sexual harassment in auditions so that's one area I don't have to worry about. Was kind of hoping things were different in other markets but I suspected differently (and you've confirmed). Thank you for the well-wishes and I hope you have continued success in your auditions and career in general.