Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
#1Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 3:31am
Auditioning is obviously the only way to cast a show besides precasting people, but are the stakes of it too high? The job of the people behind the table is not to hold your hand obviously, but shouldn't they greet you professionally and treat it like a job interview as much as possible under the circumstances? Obviously, it's not asking questions like in a J.I, but treating the person professionally as possible and trying to lower the stakes so the person doesn't feel so powerlessly on the spot. For example, don't let the person just stand there while you finish talking, no texting/eating during the audition, try to keep talking amongst themselves to whispering when the person is auditioning, try not to spring things on them at the last minute(with the exception of multiple songs). Often times, dance auditions are better with this stuff, but what do you guys think? For me, actors/performers work as hard on our craft as anybody in the business even more so. Why should our opportunities to get work be hampered by people being unprofessional and putting unneeded pressure on the situation?
Updated On: 2/20/20 at 03:31 AM
#2Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 3:35am
Soaring29 said: "For example, don't let the person just stand there while you finish talking, no texting/eating during the audition, try to keep talking amongst themselves to whispering to just whispering when the person is auditioning"
All of that is going to happen in the audience if you get the job, no? So maybe they are testing you?
#3Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 4:07am
How is that feasible? Those things might happen in a performance and "might toughen them up", but we all know those aren't openly deliberate reasons for why those people act the way they do, besides springing things on people at the last minute, which doesn't happen in the same way on a set or in a show. Things happen in those settings that are unexpected in either good or bad ways just like in life- You deal with it with instincts, but instincts that are informed by already having a job, having some degree of preparation in regards to what you're doing that gives you more confidence then you have at an audition and in an audition setting. I feel like people behind the table create a system that's unfortunately a hugely unequal power dynamic between them and the person in front of them and don't respect their position enough to try to not have that be the situation.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#4Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 5:54am
This is why everyone shouldn't get a trophy at age 6.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
UncleCharlie
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/26/16
#5Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 6:36am
It seems like you're assuming them doing those things is interfering with their ability to make an assessment of you. It probably is not. As for it being distracting to you, you know it could happen so you've got to learn to just tune it out and do your thing. I'm not saying it wouldn't be easier if the conditions were perfect but sometimes they're just not. As long as they're not just singling you out by doing this only to you and this is the way they are handling everyone, it's not creating an unfair disadvantage and frankly even if they treated you perfectly the power dynamic of you wanting the job and them having the power to decide whether you will get it, will always be there.
jbird5
Broadway Star Joined: 12/20/15
#6Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 6:40am
But it is a hugely unequal power dynamic.
Sunny11
Broadway Star Joined: 9/3/14
#7Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 7:06am
The producers also want to attach the best talent possible and to do that they have to treat in demand actors well otherwise they will go elsewhere.
I think it's like a shark tank pitch. A company comes in who all the sharks want to invest in so they do their best to woo the contestant with a more favourable deal.
An audition process to some extent needs to be a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Someone like Hugh Jackman could probably stroll in an hour late still wearing pyjamas and still get cast.
Alex10
Stand-by Joined: 11/18/15
#8Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 8:42am
I think OP meant an unfair standard as opposed to other career fields, not within the acting community itself. If most people walked into a job interview and their interviewer seemed like they were ignoring them, making them wait to finish talking or being on the phone or whatever, the interviewee would be taken aback, because that's not the standard for job interviews and seems really rude. So why should it be the standard for auditions? I don't think it's some end-of-the-world problem, but I also don't think it's pampered or asking for a "trophy" to wonder why we don't get a little basic dignity in auditions that people get while applying for pretty much every other job field.
10086Sundays
Broadway Star Joined: 5/5/17
#9Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 9:35am
I don't think Hugh Jackman has to audition anymore...
#10Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 9:42am
There are several things to add: First, it is an audition, not a job interview, and the dynamic is different. Second, in many cases, if it is an open call/EPA, there are many times it is possible that the brutally honest thing to do would be to just cut you off (sometimes even before you get through the threshold of the door) so you can view the seeming disinterest as a gift. (In the case of EPAs, also note that they are often robotic exercises undertaken to fulfill contractual requirements and nothing more.) Finally, remember that the function of auditions is for multiple people to process a pile of information relatively quickly. The sorting and filtering function is critical.
Nycat63
Broadway Star Joined: 10/31/16
#11Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 9:45am
Not sure I can agree that this is unique to the casting/acting world. I'm an executive recruiter, so I have high-level professionals interviewing for jobs routinely and the stories I hear aren't much different. Rude interviewers on power trips, taking personal or any calls, eating, being wholly unprepared for the interview, etc. And these are people who have graduate/professional degrees. Imagine how interviews go for lower-level employees. I think rude is rude, some people in every field are power hungry, and phones have created an additional layer of distraction and impersonalization. Not saying this doesn't happen to actors - I'm sure what you are saying is very accurate - just not sure it's unique, unfortunately.
Sondheimite
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/5/14
#12Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 9:49am
The theatre world is not for you, Soaring29. At least not as a job.
Broadway World's Fireman.
henrikegerman
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/29/05
#13Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 10:59am
Soaring29 said: " Besides springing things on people at the last minute, which doesn't happen in the same way on a set or in a show. Things happen in those settings that are unexpected in either good or bad ways just like in life- You deal with it with instincts, but instincts that are informed by already having a job, having some degree of preparation in regards to what you're doing that gives you more confidence then you have at an audition and in an audition setting. I feel like people behind the table create a system that's unfortunately a hugely unequal power dynamic between them and the person in front of them and don't respect their position enough to try to not have that be the situation."
disagree.
unexpected questions happen very often in non-acting interviews.
unexpected directions frequently are and should be given during rehearsals.
the unexpected happens and should happen in performance
Also, often auditioners are discovering and trying and hypothesizing when they see something that just might unexpectedly take THEM in a different direction based on what the auditioning performer brings to the audition. So the "springing request" rather than being something merely devised to take the performer by surprise can be and often is a pivotal part of the creative process.
"
#14Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 4:04pm
Oh, I'm sure people are rude in job interviews too, but my main problem is the power dynamic thing, but I digress.
Also, I personally have not run into a lot of these things when I'm auditioning for things and know how to do as well as I can in one , but I know they exist and from observing how auditions are treated by people vs how things are done in other fields makes me wonder if it really has to be this way.
#15Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 4:12pm
@soaring, you are creating a false equivalency. People do not audition for regular jobs.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#16Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 4:41pm
This. ..you can't compare an audition eith another job interview, it's not the same.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#17Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 4:42pm
That's my whole point- The processes are not equal and obviously their not going to be the same no matter how you slice it, but to me, the auditioning process could be tipped a little bit more so the person doesn't feel so pressured. But what are you going to do? It's not going to change, lol. I just thought it would be interesting to see what other people thought.
#18Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 4:50pm
People do not audition for regular jobs
Many, if not most jobs have some sort of technical portion to the interview. Though different, the similarities are there. The two aren't mutually exclusive.
UncleCharlie
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/26/16
#19Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 4:55pm
Soaring29 said: "Also, I personally have not run into a lot of these things when I'm auditioning for things and know how to do as well as I can in one"
So if you haven't seen it much and it's not a real issue for you when you do, I'm not sure what problem we're trying to solve. As far as pressure is concerned, a casting director can't control how much pressure someone auditioning feels. The person creates pressure on him or herself based on how confident and prepared they feel, how their career is going, how badly they need the job cause the rent is due etc. No one else can control that.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#20Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 4:56pm
ALL job interviews have pressure, whether it's for a new job or a promotion. Whether it's because you want to switch jobs or are currently unemployed. A job in a new field, a job that pays a lot more....it all has pressure. And it's always a bit out of the interviewees control.
Even when I switched buildings from teaching middle school to teaching high school....not only did I have to interview, but the principal came and watched me teach at the middle school. And I'd known her for several years, as I was already directing there. Imagine how I would have felt if I HADN'T gotten the job?
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
Updated On: 8/21/17 at 04:56 PM
#21Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 5:39pm
Soaring29 said: "That's my whole point- The processes are not equal and obviously their [sic] not going to be the same no matter how you slice it, but to me, the auditioning process could be tipped a little bit more so the person doesn't feel so pressured. "
Yes let's coddle actors in auditions to reduce the pressure so that we get to learn they can't handle pressure half way through rehearsals. Brilliant.
Do you realize how ridiculous that is?
BroadwayRox3588
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/5/16
#22Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 6:05pm
I don't think a low pressure situation is the best way to assess how the actor can perform in a high pressure situation. In this business, it is a necessity to have actors who can handle anything an audience might throw at them (sometimes literally). This is a cutthroat business, and it's necessary to prepare actors for that.
If the worst thing that happens to an actor during an audition is that the people behind the table are eating during their audition, then I want to be that actor.
#23Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 6:12pm
Sondheimite said: "The theatre world is not for you, Soaring29. At least not as a job.
"
This.
At least not in the acting realm.
As an actor, you have absolutely no power. That’s just a given you either accept or you don’t.
Casting agents, directors, choreographers, etc, have absolute power.
Again, either you accept that or you don’t.
#24Auditioning: An Unfair Standard?
Posted: 8/20/17 at 6:25pm
It is an interesting situation. If you work in certain industries then - not unlike Bette Midler - you can be treated very favourably and have a lot of power. People will actively seek you out for an interview and treat you very politely - both because they want you but you don't need them if you're currently employed and because they want to ensure the company has a good reputation/word of mouth in terms of recruitment. However, in most acting jobs there are a hundred people behind you who are probably just as talented, just as experienced and just as good looking. When the power differential is so high there is no reason to bother making the effort to treat people well or spend more time with them. It would be nice but yes the power differential is so high they can get away with it. I do not envy actors or other create types. A very very tough industry to break.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Updated On: 8/20/17 at 06:25 PM
