Wow — this last week of October is turning into a busy one for me. It’s already Tuesday, and Halloween is on Saturday. I have NO idea what I’m going to wear yet, and we don’t have our Halloween decorations up either.
One of the reasons is that on top of school and my regular classes (circus, acting) and rehearsals, I have three new auditions plus a taping for my Circus Smirkus audition. I’ve been working on a really great routine for that. My juggling coach, Julio Ramazini, is so great! I can’t wait to get it shot so I can share it.
It’s unusual for me to have so many auditions at the same time — but sometimes, things just happen this way. It would be great to book all of them. I’ve never had five films booked at once! I have two roles booked, and if I get even one more, that will make November my busiest film month so far.
Not that I will book them all. Nobody gets everything they audition for — not even big stars. All of the actors I know say that you should just suit up, show up and do your best, and then forget about the part until your agent calls to tell you that you got a callback or booked the job. That’s good advice. If you’re going to get mad or sad because you didn’t get a part then acting probably isn’t for you.
Sometimes I will audition for a bunch of stuff without getting hired, and sometimes I’ll book several things in a row. You never know. Casting directors and directors have a picture in their head of who they want to hire, and a lot of times whether you get a job or not doesn’t have much to do with how well you perform in your audition. It has to do with how well your look matches someone else who’s already been cast.
Here’s what one casting director wrote a couple of weeks ago, after I had auditioned for a character named Junior: “Although Kameron had a great audition, we decided that his physical characteristics don’t correlate those of the parents that have been cast. However, we are happy to offer him the role of Joey. Please respond ASAP with availability and interest — the sides for Joey are attached.”
I think that happens a lot more than most people think. I’m happy I got a part, even if it wasn’t the part I auditioned for.
Wish me luck on this week’s auditions, ok? And if you have any great Halloween ideas, send them my way!
I don’t usually self-tape auditions — we go to a professional videographer for most of them. But this one specified “self-tape” and said a camera phone would be good enough. So we taped it in front of our house. This is a screen capture from the tape. Update: I got a callback — fingers crossed! The director asked about availability and talked about the shooting schedule. Hope that’s a good sign!
Kameron Rie Badgers 