Happy Friday!
Well its been a week full of funding application writing and deadlines. Not my favourite part of my job, but its as important as the making of the work, because without the flow of money its pretty tough to sustain the creative flow.
On the back of getting commissions comes all the logistics, not least probably the single most important bit - casting the actors. As the material and characters develop, we start to get a sense of the type of actor we are looking for and then the search begins. This will happen over the next few weeks. I hate auditioning but I love actors and I enjoy meeting them. I particularly enjoy the delight of someone pitching up who is wonderfully talented of course!
When I am casting for Arc I want to meet real people, with outstanding skills, depth, intuition, openness and access to their own imagination and creativity. Its tougher to find than you might think.
I am always touched though by the effort that most actors make to get to an audition, sometimes travelling hundreds of miles often to be seen for 2 minutes and sent away with a 'no' or worse still nothing and then never hearing back again. This type of treatment is par for the course in our business, but does it bring out the best? Not sure. We don't treat or look after people well in this situation in our industry generally. If it were any other, people would be up in arms at the carelessness with which people are treated.
You are on the line as an actor, because its your look, voice, physicality and suitability that are being judged, and whilst you might be the most versatile of performers you do not have a huge brief case of samples! We pretend we are not hurt by rejection, we are honourable in defeat, we understand that we 'were not right' for the part, although we often don't really know why.I say none of this with any pity for the actor, or any sense that this is a more important job than any other. I mention it only really because I think we do it so badly.
But the call back workshop is the critical next thing. This is where the 'heart and soul' of the performer is encouraged, and its here with the mixture of exercises that you get a sense of who people are and who might work in a part. And its here that your energy and excitement quicken when someone special shows who they are through the workshop process.
Here we are again - and its been a week!
Well its been a week full of funding application writing and deadlines. Not my favourite part of my job, but its as important as the making of the work, because without the flow of money its pretty tough to sustain the creative flow.
The 'starving artist' can also be his own worst enemy, indulging in a kind of self flagellation to prove his creative genius. 'The more I suffer the better I am as an artist, and the more I unconsciously eschew dirty luka the more I will be inspired.' There's a lot of that and whilst I believe that a certain materialism can get in the way of focusing on making work, the self sacrificing routine can also foster the kind of smug superiority that I detest. It's a bit of a issue for me - this self conscious preciousness. But I will move on - I feel a rant coming on!
Yesterday began with the great news that we have been successful in our NHS funding bid that I submitted this week. I am really excited about The Soulful Commissioner and will begin work in earnest on it next week. I will no doubt share some of the process with you here as it becomes centre stage in my attention.
On the back of getting commissions comes all the logistics, not least probably the single most important bit - casting the actors. As the material and characters develop, we start to get a sense of the type of actor we are looking for and then the search begins. This will happen over the next few weeks. I hate auditioning but I love actors and I enjoy meeting them. I particularly enjoy the delight of someone pitching up who is wonderfully talented of course!
What I hate about auditions is the cattle market that it is. For most actors its a necessary evil to which they become inured. They have to, because the nature of this job is that an actor is a product, particularly in the commercial world of TV.
Actors are generally good at putting on the 'face' they need for each particular audition, better even if they have done their home work, know the company and project. The really 'good' auditionees will have done their research and have some idea of the direction of your work and will come prepared. But sadly that's the minority.
Actors are generally good at putting on the 'face' they need for each particular audition, better even if they have done their home work, know the company and project. The really 'good' auditionees will have done their research and have some idea of the direction of your work and will come prepared. But sadly that's the minority.
The moment we put the casting on the Spotlight website the submissions tumble in at such a rate that we can often have several hundred in the first half an hour. Many of them are entirely unsuitable and it seems that many agents play the scattergun numbers game which is at times hilarious. You are looking for a young girl to play the lead in a new piece about domestic violence and you get a submission from an agent for a male actor in his fifties!
I hate the uniformity of the format that Spotlight uses. It reduces actors to a pretty (well not always) headshot, weight, a list of training, credits and skills and although I can get a sense of what they might be like from who else they have worked with and their showreel, I never get a sense of the person. In fact its such a sterile thing that its impossible to know if you have missed a great artistic talent in the midst of this homogenous and uniform presentation of people.
I hate the uniformity of the format that Spotlight uses. It reduces actors to a pretty (well not always) headshot, weight, a list of training, credits and skills and although I can get a sense of what they might be like from who else they have worked with and their showreel, I never get a sense of the person. In fact its such a sterile thing that its impossible to know if you have missed a great artistic talent in the midst of this homogenous and uniform presentation of people.
When I am casting for Arc I want to meet real people, with outstanding skills, depth, intuition, openness and access to their own imagination and creativity. Its tougher to find than you might think.
I am always touched though by the effort that most actors make to get to an audition, sometimes travelling hundreds of miles often to be seen for 2 minutes and sent away with a 'no' or worse still nothing and then never hearing back again. This type of treatment is par for the course in our business, but does it bring out the best? Not sure. We don't treat or look after people well in this situation in our industry generally. If it were any other, people would be up in arms at the carelessness with which people are treated. You are on the line as an actor, because its your look, voice, physicality and suitability that are being judged, and whilst you might be the most versatile of performers you do not have a huge brief case of samples! We pretend we are not hurt by rejection, we are honourable in defeat, we understand that we 'were not right' for the part, although we often don't really know why.I say none of this with any pity for the actor, or any sense that this is a more important job than any other. I mention it only really because I think we do it so badly.
For me the best auditions are when you see people quickly on their own at first, maybe 2-5 minutes. They might be reading from the script, presenting their audition pieces. It doesn't actually matter because in the space of 30 seconds you will know whether this is an actor who might be suitable. Its true that first impressions count hugely and none so much as in our game. I always know within seconds and with certainty when I am interested in someone, which is not to say that I always get the casting right.
But the call back workshop is the critical next thing. This is where the 'heart and soul' of the performer is encouraged, and its here with the mixture of exercises that you get a sense of who people are and who might work in a part. And its here that your energy and excitement quicken when someone special shows who they are through the workshop process.
I guess we will continue to look for better ways to audition. In addition to all the cold Spotlight stuff and the standard CV and showreel, I like it when an actor bothers to find a way in her submission to tell me about what turns them on, their best performance experiences etc and gives me an honest sense in action of how they work. In addition to the show reel it would be great if agents were to encourage their clients to make a short 2 min video of themselves, sharing something of who they are, their passions and their ambitions.
its a funny old business and I do have the hugest of respect for actors as creative artists. Many I have worked with over the years come back regularly to work with us. Arc's official name includes the word 'Ensemble' and I truly believe that that's exactly what we are and will continue to be. Its in our DNA.
Enough ranting. Have a lovely weekend.
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