Casting Calls and Audition Notices

All I want to do is abandon my laptop. I have had almost two months of minimal productivity and in my soul I want that to continue but my OCD tendencies are preventing me from doing so before I post a few practical resources for actors.

I have a blog called Casting Calls Wa and it collates all the audition notices and casting calls from various forums and puts them in one place. Hopefully the format is easy to read and use but if not, let me know and I'll gladly take any feedback that makes it user-friendly. In the meantime let me include a list of the places I go to look for auditions... just in case I go AWOL again. (Don't worry, I'll try harder not to.)

•  http://www.starnow.com.au/ this site can be helpful for providing clues to WA productions but ultimately, unless you're paying the subscription fee ($5.99 for 6 months is their best deal) you won't have a lot of luck here.
• https://www2.at2casting.com/join/artist/info is another subscriber's site which I've heard is quite good but I haven't subscribed to myself because of my stubborn unwillingness to avoid paying money before I make it. (I know what they say. "You have to spend money to make money... yadda yadda... I don't care.) 
• http://www.i4casting.com.au/index.html is a casting director's site which you should get in contact with to get your name out there. It may not be fruitful but being known by a secretary or intern is still better than not being. 
• http://castingsandauditions.com.au/ is a national casting forum that regularly has theatre productions and sometimes local film productions. 
• http://www.d2a.net.au/ is another very useful national casting forum that has both theatre and film projects. 
• http://www.open-casting-calls.info/ is only truly useful if you're in the USA but it's nice to dream and know what's in production. Because what if being in the next Star Wars film only meant a journey to LA. Wouldn't you do it? (Don't answer if you're not a fan.)
• http://www.auditionsfinder.com/ is another USA based auditions site. It's got casting calls for blockbusters, high-budget series and lots more. Mostly seeking extras and again, not the most useful for a WA actor!
• https://www.fti.asn.au/forums/cast-crew is our widely used, local Film and Television institute classified forum. This is free to sign up to and easy to use. As it is through a training and education institution most of the projects submitted are for student productions but it does have broader use and often music videos or independent film-makers will submit their casting calls there, too. Hard to come by paid work, however. 
• http://www.facebook.com/castingcallsauditions?fref=ts is the first of our Facebook pages dedicated to auditions and casting calls. However, it is predominantly for USA use. 
• http://www.facebook.com/Audition.Australia is an Australian Facebook page with limited use. There are some regular posters, however, with whom you may get lucky. 
• http://www.facebook.com/pages/JC-Casting/87774001821 the Facebook page of one of Perth's two main casting directors. JC Casting will sometimes post casting calls and the page is used by many independent producers that want to cast their project. 
• http://www.facebook.com/CastingAustralia is a national casting director's Facebook page. It doesn't often have anything useful but is worth it for the occasional notice. 
• http://www.facebook.com/debbie.thoy is the Facebook timeline of a local film-maker and industry networker. Although she generously hosts two or three groups dedicated to casting calls and industry biz, her page is often littered with others' audition notices, too. 
• http://www.facebook.com/groups/22550047639/ is a Perth Auditions group which I believe is hosted by Debbie Thoy. Regularly used for all sorts of posts. 
• http://www.facebook.com/groups/actorslounge/ is possibly another Debbie Thoy hosted page which has the potential to be a great networking site for actors to share their audition notices but is mostly just me posting interviews with creatives... still worth a look, though. 
• http://www.facebook.com/groups/perthfilmnetwork/ is the main Debbie Thoy party page. This group is very active and often has audition notices for paid and pro-bono work. 
• http://www.facebook.com/groups/79847021126/ is the equivalent of the above for the younglings. 
• http://www.facebook.com/groups/actingclassesinperth/?fref=ts is the Facebook page for Loren Johnson. While predominantly just the face of his Acting Classes in Perth business, occasionally the page hosts casting calls for local productions.

If you have any more of these useful sites please submit them! The more resources I have, the less work you have to do... in theory. 

Working with Actors, Take 2

I asked Richard Hyde to let me know what things actors do that annoy writers! I was expecting a list as long as my arm, actually my arms sort of resemble those of a tyrannosaurus rex, so longer. I thought, "Surely, the way actors self-righteously say, 'my character would never say that!' must grate at him?"

But alas, Mr. Hyde has a different perspective to offer...

Actor Molly Kerr wrote a wonderful guest article for my blog about what actors look for in a screenplay. In return she asked me to write about the things actors do that annoy writers and how they could approach that relationship more productively. I thought about this, started writing… and was hopelessly stuck. I tried humour to ease my way in; didn’t work. Tried to jot down points as they came to me; definitely didn’t work. A writer having writer’s block writing about actors having actor’s block with writers? Far too meta.

Here’s the reason. In the writing process I have very little to do with actors. The most important creative collaborator, for me, is the director. Specifically, we are talking tone, themes, possibly the visual look of the film, maybe budget, definitely characters, breaking the story but rarely, if ever, who would be playing the characters we are breathing life into.

That’s not to say I don’t write with actors in mind. I absolutely do. Some well-known, some local. Often it’s a way in to crystallise your vision of a character. Sometimes you know an actor would be perfect for the part so you write it for them. Whether they get cast if the movie ever gets up is a completely separate discussion.

My experience with short films is similar. When it comes time to shoot the film my job is done and if I get invited on set I pretty much stay out of the way. It’s the director’s province and having multiple voices talking to actors about character or story can be confusing and (though hopefully not!) contradictory. Having said that, it depends on the director. I’ve worked with a director who was more than comfortable for me to answer actors’ questions and literally ‘set the scene’ before “Action” was called.

The only exception to date is where I was asked to watch improvisations and develop a short script from the results. That was an enjoyable process and resulted in two scripts being written and shot. I was also writing for actors ranging in age from 16 to 20 so there was far more input about the ‘voice’ of the characters and, for one of the scripts, theme.

Yet still I have not spoken about how actors annoy me as a writer. Maybe it’s because it’s framed as a negative. So let’s do it in reverse – what I like.

Using the improvised scenario, there was a character that, in many ways, was the token “bad guy”. This was mainly as a plot device to spark a conflict that would resonate throughout the script. The actor playing that role was uncomfortable – with valid reasons – with the portrayal. He was prepared to fight for his character and while I still needed aspects for the conflict I tweaked it to redeem him in the end.

Now, when I say “fight” I don’t mean histrionics and slanging matches. It was a quiet word and an observation. That’s all I needed. The reason I like that so much is because the actor was protecting his character which means he had bought in and, for want of a better term, cared enough to make sure he was well serviced in the writing.

I like actors who ask intelligent questions about their characters and the story. I like actors who are prepared. Most of all I like actors who respect the writing and what writers do. What may seem simply like a one page scene may have been written and rewritten many times. None of it should be arbitrary. We’re not making stuff up just for the fun of it. Set-ups and pay-offs are critical. Blow off a line or an action and the scene may still play… except you just lost the set-up for a scene five, ten, or twenty pages away.

If I’m doing my job properly there should be plenty of room for you to create your character and inhabit him or her within your process. I try not to be prescriptive but there are beats that need to be hit for story and character within the greater arc of the story, especially for features. Trust me with that. Writers spend drafts and, in some cases, years getting those beats and arcs right. If you go “off script” you may not understand the ramifications and knock-on effects. For me, structure is everything – tamper with that and a train wreck awaits… but that’s maybe a note for things that directors do that annoy writers.

If you have the opportunity to give me feedback before a script is locked either through rehearsals or even on set (with the director’s consent) I will listen if you approach me respectfully and with the best interests of the film at heart. I don’t have time for divas though. The goal always has to be to make the work better not just your role at the expense of others or the overall film.

There’s really no magical formula. Film is a collaborative medium but in many ways a hierarchical one as well. I love writing for good actors, smart actors, intelligent and perceptive actors. I like the opportunity to hear their insight into what it is I have written even though that doesn’t happen as often as maybe I would like. Good actors respect good writing and vice versa.

It’s when agendas and egos and other ephemera intrude that things go awry. I’ll repeat – the only goal is to make the best it can possibly be. If that’s not your motivation then that’s very likely to annoy me! I’m always open to have a genuine conversation about the script but just remember, a screenwriter serves many masters, and ultimately it will come back to those things that were discussed maybe as far back as the inception of the project – theme, tone, structure, specific story beats – that will determine any changes that are made.

Finally, the character you are playing may have been created within the fractured recesses of my imagination but you need to breathe life into them. I’m trusting you to protect them, fight for them, do justice to them. In essence, care about them. Do that and I won’t be annoyed at all!

Richard Hyde

Screenwriter

For more of Richard's perspectives visit http://rwhyde.blogspot.com.au/ and follow his misadventures!

"Sorry Red Camera Operator, We Can't Pay You!"

Actual quote.

Or near enough to the actual quote to make my point. (And possibly get me sued?)

Now, it's important to note that actors will work for free (or for food) when they feel they are part of a team and that everyone is putting in the same commitment for the same reward. Usually this is a non-monetary sense of achievement and a beautiful, or at least passable, piece of art that will last for as long as digital does. If the creator needs to pay a specialty service to like a lepidopterist or something, to make the project happen then the actors are really likely to understand and not feel ripped off. But why should one person that contributes to the film significantly, like an actor, not get paid for the benefit of another team member, like a Red camera operator?

The context of this 'actual quote' is an online discussion of the logistics of paying one's actors. The person who said this was using a slippery slope fallacy... or possibly a straw man fallacy (I can't remember, it's been years since my first year philosophy unit, Critical Thinking, introduced me to all these terms) to conclude that it's better not to pay your actors, just in case it leads to not being able to pay your crew. Or even more devastatingly, not being able to pay yourself.

All hell broke lose. Actors everywhere suddenly erupted into diatribes of indignation against the stand that this producer was taking at our expense. The actors decided en masse to join the MEAA and boycott any producers that thought it was okay to exploit their passion and commitment for their own personal financial gain (or puffed up reputation with their film-making buddies). There were online protests and a few public demonstrations when actors were told they 'wouldn't find work in this town again, partner' because of their lack of cooperation with the unjust and corrupt system. The original forum went into meltdown, trying to cope with the traffic between angry actors fighting courageously for their right to share in the booty and the producer who, I'm sure innocently, suggested that actors really don't count in the creative process enough to count in the budget. Finally lawyers had to get involved when actors started sending the producer bits of their flesh, scabs and dead skin, in a symbolic gesture. 'No more blood and tears for you, Mr. Producer, Sir,' the dried up flesh seemed to say.

Oh, wait. Sorry. I'm mistaken. That didn't happen at all.

A couple of screenwriters stood up for actors: suggested that it was reasonable for actors to at least ask, on the projects for which they were being expected to offer their time and talent for free, whether anyone else was being paid. They were, rather predictably, berated by the producer and friends and accused of being communists. (Because that's a bad thing?)

Where were the actors? Did they stay silent? Did they watch nervously, reasonably concerned that any interest in money would make them undesirable for future casting? Did being a dime a dozen actor mean they settled for being a dozen actors per gratis? Did the actors secretly long for someone in the upper film-making echelons to stand up for them and say, 'wait, it's okay to want to be paid for your time and talent, especially when everyone else actually is being paid for your time and talent' and hope that the producers paused long enough to hear the growl of their starving bellies?

Actors' pay day.

No. The actors LIKED these comments.

Too bad these actors can't afford to put themselves through a critical thinking course. 

Triple Threats

This year I have met a lot of talented people. Last year, too.

At the end of 2011 I was introduced to the term "triple threat." Apparently, this is someone that can sing, dance and act.

However, I have met people that are multitalented and creative in other ways that deserve the recognition of this coveted title.

Let me introduce you to a few.

SARAH COSSTICK: SINGS, DANCES, ACTS (AND BAKES)

 Sarah Cosstick has been singing and dancing onto our musical theatre stages for years! I first met Sarah during the rehearsal period for The 39 Steps, directed by Trevor Dhu, where she portrayed Margaret, the crofter's wife, and Mrs. Jordan. She also sang live and choreographed not only her own original dance piece for the West End Music Hall scenes but a two person dance for herself and her on-stage husband, Christopher Kenworthy. Sarah ensured the quality of her performance by rehearsing before the show started each evening and raised the morale of the cast by baking delicious cupcakes for us! Sarah was directed by Trevor Dhu, again, in West Side Story, starring as Maria and received great reviews for her role as Cosette in Les Miserables, directed by Eileen Frith.

CHRISTOPHER KENWORTHY: WRITES, DIRECTS, FILMS (AND ACTS)

The 2007 WA Screen Award for Directing was awarded to Christopher Kenworthy for Some Dreams Come True. Christopher has two Master Shots volumes to his name, with expert cinematography techniques and tips. He has written screenplays, plays, short stories, poems, novels, instructional guides, online tutorials and blogs. He also draws, sculpts, paints and photographs. Oh and he's a magician, he performed in a whole bunch of magic shows with Matt Penny at The Blue Room over the years. The first time I met Chris, he told me he worked with software. At that point he was portraying Edward Rochester for a Nicola Bond directed production of Jane Eyre. He went on to portray Professor Jordan in The 39 Steps, along with dizzying array of other characters. He is a professional freelance creative.

NATALIE HIND: DIRECTS, FILMS, MAKES-UP (AND LOVES CUPCAKES)

Meet the director of my latest short film and the make-up artist that created the creepy zombie face that scared the wits out of the children I live with. Natalie is an ECU film student and a director, videographer and self-taught make-up artist. (Natalie is gorgeous and I could have shown you that, but this photo demonstrates her FIRST attempt to do zombie make-up, on herself, and I wanted you to see the impressive results.) She will pursue her career in London and South Africa, where she is interested in creating promotional documentaries for local industries. As a director, Natalie is very aware of the camera and her actors. She balances team work and leadership. As an actor you always feel like you're in safe hands, working with Natalie. If you want to see what she can do with a camera when left to her own devices visit her blog.

There are so very many more people that I want to introduce you to, and I will. But I need to get their permission first so you will just have to wait. But trust me, this town is brimming with talent and these people are a pleasure to work with, I hope you will be as lucky as me in the near future as you indulge your passion for performing and creating.