Should i call casting directors

In general it is your agent who will communicate with CDs on your behalf but there can be opportunities to contact them directly, perhaps to introduce yourself as a new talent, because they are casting a project you are particularly interested in or to follow up on meeting at an audition. Casting directors are always on the look out for new talent but there are a number of things to keep in mind to ensure your contact is welcome, relevant and useful for all concerned.

In the first instance find out how each particular casting director prefers to be contacted. Most have websites and this will include an email address or details for old fashioned postal mail. Avoid phone calls; casting directors are busy people and an email or letter can be read at their convenience rather than yours.

Also do your research on the type of projects they cast and tailor your covering letter and CV to what they will be looking for. This ties in with your research on each individual casting director. While there is overlap, many CDs do specialise into film and TV, theatre, musical theatre etc. To be effective your communication needs to be read, so to encourage a busy casting director to take a look make sure your letter or email is clear, concise and spellchecked!

Ensure your CV is well laid out and include direct links to your Spotlight and showreel. When attaching CVs and headshots be certain they are of a manageable size for email. This refers to when and how often you should contact casting directors.

The golden rule is to only get in touch when you have something to say. A new showreel, new headshots, major new credits, a screening or performance etc are all good reasons, as is writing because you know the casting director is casting for a specific project and your casting type is a good fit.

Casting directors should be treated with the same respect you give other professionals in the industry. Terms of Use. Clear cookies. Required 'Candidate' login for apply this job. Click here to logout And try again. Login to your account. Sign Up Remember Password. Reset Password. Signup to your Account. Account Activation. Though there is one camp in the industry selling Twitter handles of casting directors, there is another camp on the opposite side selling a fear campaign that you should never contact casting directors directly.

I understand this fear, but now having interviewed a number of casting directors I am well and truly out of that camp. You definitely can reach out to casting directors and most of them are really open to it. More proof in our interview below, with Casting Director Stevie Ray. Your agents job is largely to get you in front of casting directors and they have specific ways of doing this.

They have developed relationships over years and years and they know what they are doing. If you do have an agent, you need to respect that and always run anything past them.

Casting Directors are the most powerful people in the industry. Having even one casting director on your side could lead to an acting career. Having a few on your team, and you are flying! So they are incredibly important, and mucking up those relationships can be disastrous.

So, right from the top of this article, I want to caution you to play it very safe. Congrats on sending it in, and I am glad you learned how to make your next taping better through your experience. I send in my audition video to a casting director for a pilot and received an email back saying it was sent to the director for consideration. Should I send a thank you email to the casting director even though its just been a day since the reply?

If so, what should I say? It would also be fine to not reply at all. Good luck, and keep it up! How long, after you shoot a commercial or print will it reach the media? I certainly do not recommend bothering casting directors about it. Was it a booking through your agent?

Did you get to know any other folks on the shoot you can check in with? Do you know where the commercial was supposed to air? Best of luck! I have some serious questions. My son is 16 years old, and passionate about acting, very involved in theater. They are filming a movie here and casting calls have been made, asking for headshot, resume and link be sent via email. Im scramping to help him. My question, what should be included in resume for someone so young and what is a link?

And after reading all these comments…what is a reel? Sincerely, Mother of great actor-to-be. Hi, Brandy. Thanks for your question. Here is an example of an acting resume for your reference. My advice: Send in his headshot and resume, and see what happens! When self-submitting, is it appropriate to send a follow-up email to ensure the materials were received? Hi, Sam. I have worked as part of a casting team before, and we always get a ton of submissions, even for the most minor of parts. On to the next opportunity!

The casting company asked for only headshot and contact information. Am I supposed to include other details too? Like resume and height, age, etc? Break a leg, David. Hi, the casting call lists five days for auditions by appointment only.

Hey, I have no experience in acting but I would love to pursue it. Do I have any chance being that I am inexperienced? I would really appreciate your advice. Thank you! Hi, Prestion. Thanks for your comment. I suggest getting in touch with a reportable acting coach or school in your area. They should be able to answer any questions you might have, and get you started with classes or coaching. Good luck! As actors, we have to be careful about coming across as too needy or requiring high maintenance.

Hello, Jayla. This sounds like you saw a posting that was more of a general call with no specific character breakdowns? That should give them some information about how to potentially cast you. I emailed some photos and a bit about myself to the casting director about 2 weeks ago now. Can I email you directly? In this case, I imagine that this project has already been cast, so I would not contact them again. And, yes, you can Email me directly. So, is it better to submit my things via mail or email?

Thanks, Angela. In your case, I am assuming that you are attempting to contact CDs that are open to receiving materials from unrepresented actors, and if this is the case, I would say Email is probably the best way to make contact.

I will encourage you to find local talent agent representation so your agents can reach out on your behalf. Hi, and thanks for your question. However, I will tell you, and you probably already know this, but this industry is exceptionally competitive, and the casting director will already have a ton of probably too many, honestly submissions to sort through from talent agencies.

I imagine that unsolicited headshots will end up in the recycle bin. My advice: do all that you can to secure representation in your market, so your agent can submit you through proper channels to projects like this.

Well, we know for sure that if you are younger then 18 you should not apply. I see a lot of poorly designed casting calls on the Internet, and it could mean a couple of things: 1. Number 2 is much more of a problem, and would be a red flag in my book. Good luck, David. So, I say go for it. I would advise you to stay away from The Bard, as much as I love his words. Do a bit of research on executing actor self-taping good light and audio are important , then get to work!

Thank you so much for your tips! I wanted your opinion on something. Hi, Lana. Oh, man. This is a tough one because there are so many variables and no hard and fast rules. The first week of January is a long way off, so in theory, you could hear back in December!