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How to be a Castable Actor

I live in one of the most vibrant, active, and wonderfully populated community theater communities in the whole world.

I’ve been both auditioner and director in that community. At auditions, I know what it’s like to be an actor — all nerves and practice and dry heaves… and I know what it’s like to be a director — all sardonic and hungry and overwhelmed with talented possibles.

For those who’ve never sat on the other side of the table, casting can seem like a completely nerve-wracking or even insulting process. My background as an actor gives me a unique perspective and so, I do all I can to lessen the nerves/insult and foster a partnership as we work together to cast, rehearse, and produce a show.

And from that same perspective, I’ve gathered a list of things that make an actor castable both before, during, and after auditions. I wanted to share that list as a toolkit, of sorts, that I wish I’d had when I started on this whole winding path of community theater.

Important note: I am getting ready to hold auditions for a show in a week or so. My list here was started a long time ago, so doesn’t reflect any individual experience with a current actor. I’m writing about patterns of nervous/terrified actors — patterns that, if altered, could help with the terror and make for a better audition experience. The whole post is in the spirit of helping and decreasing anxiety. As my genius friend Anne says, “I say it with love.”

Another note: I use ‘actor’ to refer to all genders. I also use ‘auditions’ to include both the actual audition in addition to the callback process.

→ Read the Script.

Consider how much rehearsal goes into opening night. Why would an audition demand no preparation? That’s silly.

Good directors want prepared actors who only have to do a minimal amount of improvisation. While many actors can improvise with some flair, the prepared actor is the one that is reliably castable, because their preparation results in safety (both in auditions and along the path of the rehearsal and performance life cycle) for the cast and crew.

→ Avoid Manipulating the Pro Team.

Prior to auditions (but after the audition announcement) in our tiny theater community, I will typically receive a number of seemingly random friend requests on social media. These are people who read my name on the audition notice and want to connect in advance of the audition. I don’t mind this. They’re auditioning me and trying to find out — am I someone they’d like to work with?

Brilliant.

This is another form of preparation. And I love that social media provides a way for actors to investigate and get to know their production team in a safe environment.

However, there’s a subset of this group that reaches out via chat or private message and tries to “get to know” me in advance of the audition. Trouble is, their questions are rarely intended to relate or build trust. Instead, they’re using the available channel to force a friendship on me so I will cast them.

Yes, it’s that obvious.

Yes, directors can tell the difference between genuine connection and a forced cast-me! “friendship”.

A music director I used to work with pointed out that she never had more invitations to lunch than the 3–4 weeks before an upcoming audition. One of my favorite assistant directors saw an increase in comments on her social media posts just before an audition.

Actors who use icky tactics like this run the risk of distrust and that can affect how a director/pro-team sees those actors during the course of the audition.

→ Read the Audition Notice.

I always think this will go without saying. But then, inevitably, actors message in advance to ask questions about things that are already listed in the audition notice/registration forms.

Just… read the things.

→ Never Ask the Director to Decide If One Should or Should Not Audition.

Actors are nervous creatures and we want some assurance that our audition efforts won’t go to waste.

(Note: I’ve asked at least one of the above questions myself and I apologize to the director I asked. Also note: I didn’t get cast in that role I was asking about. Rightfully so.)

Here’s the thing — auditions ARE the decision. They’re the point at which a director can actually see you in the role or see past your conflicts or see you as the chemistry-soul-twin of another actor.

Until auditions, directors can’t tell you a thing because there are too many variables in play. The auditions were set up to BE that process so that a director has a chance to sort through the variables.

So.

Good news: you, the actor, have an opportunity to show the director what they’re missing out on if they don’t cast you. That opportunity is called ‘auditions’.

Bad news: That process is going to challenge you and make you worry that it was a waste and possibly, you’ll leave without getting cast.

When I’m asked whether or not someone ‘should’ audition, I try to respond with a question that puts the responsibility back on the actor to decide. I don’t do this to be mean, it’s just not my decision.

→ Listen.

Good acting is based on listening. Good actors listen to both the pro team and the stage management team. The best actors make changes to what they’re doing based on that instruction.

Actors that cannot (or worse, will not) listen during the audition demonstrate that they may be difficult to work with or cause safety issues for the cast/crew. No good director wants to work with someone who will endanger others or the process.

→ Read the sides. Ask questions.

Read them, read them repeatedly, read them as much as you can before it’s your turn. If you’ve read the script in advance, surprise sides shouldn’t be an issue. If you have trouble with a side, do your best to read it and have a plan for how you’ll perform it, then ask questions about it.

→ Have a plan for coping with unfairness.

Oh, my dear fellow anxious actors. Auditions are so awfully unfair.

So very, woefully, terribly, awfully unfair.

Castable actors understand this and make a plan for coping. Whether it’s texting a friend about how unfair everything is (and letting the friend know the acceptable response is always, “That sucks! They don’t deserve you!”) or doing stress-relief yoga in the lobby, you need a plan. This is part of the process.

On behalf of directors everywhere, I deeply apologize for all the things that are or ever will be unfair about auditions. We hate it, too.

That said, castable actors also…

→ De-personalize everything.

Don’t look at the director’s face or the way the producer just shook their head when you sang. That has nothing to do with you. The director has RBF (I do. And it’s worse during auditions.) and the producer is shaking their head at whether or not the theater is warm enough. Almost nothing about our reactions is about you.

And yet?

Every actor I know judges their performance on the director’s reaction and whether or not anyone was looking at them during that brilliantly delivered high note. Directors don’t have brain space to engage the way normal audience members do. And expecting them to shows that you need reassurance beyond what a director can give you during auditions. So, back to that trusted text-a-friend. Have them tell you you’re brilliant and look hot and you did great. Because almost always? You did.

And the director is too busy figuring out how to make the theater just the perfect state of warmness to let you know how happy they are to hear you sing that note just right.

Also, for your consideration: If I react really well to you, I then feel obligated to react really well to everyone. That’s really tough to do with everything going on. Give yourself a break from trying to figure out the director’s brain. It’s pretty scary in there already.

→ Remember that the pro team is cheering on the actors.

Pro teams love actors.

And the best pro teams try to create a growth-based audition environment. We’re all there learning. So nerves? Gotchu. Mistakes? No biggie. You need a breath? Ask.

We want you to succeed. Repeat that mantra anytime the nerves creep in.

→ Keep their word.

If a castable actor said they would accept any role on the audition form, they keep that word. If a castable actor indicated they had no conflicts on their audition form, the pro team can trust that.

Castable actors don’t use communication during the audition to play mind games and try to ‘trick’ the director. As an actor, I’ve heard fellow actors say that they put they’ll accept any role on the audition form to try to let the director know that they’re workable. But then, when they don’t accept the role offered, the director and pro team have to start the casting process over again.

This isn’t a good look and it’s not something good directors tolerate. Acting is about trustworthy and committed storytelling. What does an actor demonstrate when they communicate in an untrustworthy way?

→ Have a plan for the wait.

Waiting.

It sucks. And it’s part of the process. You’re going to have to wait. So please have distractions and treats and fun activities set up for yourself. Please? Take care of your brain and heart the best you can.

→ De-personalize everything. Reprise.

Yes, this is a repeat. But it’s even more important after the audition.

Sigh.

I have received the most scathing emails from actors I thought of as good friends because I didn’t cast them. I’ve heard through the grapevine that so-and-so’s mother hates me now because I didn’t cast so-and-so. I’ve been blocked on social media and in real life over assumptions about casting and whether or not an actor deserved more time to prove themself at an already stressful, time-strapped audition.

And every single one of these hurts all the more because I understand what it’s like to not be cast, too. I know what it is to feel like the director didn’t see my true potential or ability.

One of my very favorite directors told me once “You know this, it’s not the most talented actor that gets the role.” He said this after he’d not given me said role and I was pretty well wanting to roll my eyes at him for it.

He is right, though.

It’s not the best actor that gets the role. It’s the actor who is the best fit for that cast.

The jigsaw puzzle of casting is not about slighting you. And taking it personally and blaming the director doesn’t make them feel sad for not casting you. It makes them wary of calling you back in the future because they’re scared of hurting you.

As my friend Andy once told me, “You can be the most brilliant mango in the whole world, but the director needs a banana in that role. It doesn’t make you any less talented, you just weren’t the best fit.”

This isn’t to say that castable actors don’t grieve the loss of a role or that they don’t have emotions about it. It’s to say that they have a plan for how they’ll deal with the grief and how they’ll move forward.

→ Be workable. With boundaries.

Actors are always auditioning.

Missing performances/rehearsals, yelling at pro team members, being regularly late to rehearsals, creating contention backstage during the process, not memorizing lines/arriving at rehearsal or performance unprepared, not going directly to the pro team to discuss issues, constantly complaining about those same issues without doing anything to get them resolved, not fully engaging in or mocking safety protocols (like dance or fight call), ignoring stage direction or scene change requirements, changing blocking, requiring production assistants to answer near-constant questions (that could be answered by reading emails/texts previously sent), ad-libbing lines to get a laugh, lying to pro team members or playing pro team members off of one another… maybe the director didn’t see that behavior directly, but we do hear about it and we are aware of those names that come up in association with toxic or ‘unworkable’ behaviors.

And.

I also advocate for actors doing the best they can to be safe, be true, and be committed while expecting their pro team to do the same. Actors should be able to set clear boundaries and be true in communication so that when difficulties arrive in the process, they can work toward a solution together with the pro team.

Toxic pro team behavior is another post altogether, but I want it addressed here so that actors know they should be able to expect a partnership in this creative process.

You have unknowable potential as an actor. And a good director will recognize that. With a few simple switches, you can make yourself more castable and someone that the director is so happy to see on the audition list.

Got questions? Feel free to comment below.

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