Actress audition

I am an aspiring actress. [Recently] I went for an audition in Brooklyn. This casting notice was placed in Back Stage. Anyway, the Director, Producer, and Writer, who are all the smae individual, gave me a call back for Monday. The call back location was at his house. I did not know this until I got there. I was a dingy, broken down and creepy place. It was to double as a location for his film (a horror movie). He also stated that there was a love scene in his film and would I have any objections to it. I said "no," and felt comfortable saying it. Well, he wanted me to do this (simulated) love scene with him, with my clothes off. Remind you, just he and I in this creepy room that he calls home.

My question to you is: was I hustled into thinking that I may get this part if I did this love scene with him, or is this a normal thing? Do producers have actors/actresses go to their home and do love scenes? And, could I have ruined my chances of becoming an actress if he was the real thing, cuz I said some really nasty things to him and called him a perv trying to get his (bleeps) off.


–Donna in Staten Island

This guy may claim to be a writer/producer/director, but the truth is, he’s just a creep. For the record, it is NOT normal for a producer to You were absolutely right to call him that and get the hell out of there. The important thing I’d like to stress is that you should never have been in there in the first place.


Casting shouldn’t be done at somebody’s house. Period. Whatever the building is, if you don’t feel safe going into an environment, don’t go. I’m glad you got out of there with only rattled nerves, but it could have been a lot worse.


This guy was using an ad in Back Stage to lure you over to his house, all with the intention of getting you to take your clothes off. It might not be illegal, but it’s certainly unethical, and clearly violates all standards of acceptable behavior. Call Back Stage and investigate what the complaint process is for the magazine. At the least, you might get him banned from placing more ads to lure over more young women.


When nudity is involved in a role, a red flag should always go up. While there are cases where a legitimate audition will require nudity - such as for the strippers in GO - the situation should be more professional because of it, not less. For instance, most casting directors will insist on having a female staff member in the room at all times.


You had a horrible experience that fortunately didn’t become any worse. Don’t let it sour you on acting. Rather, let it sharpen your creep detectors, so it won’t happen again.

  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • SphereIt
  • StumbleUpon
September 10, 2003 @ 9:00 am |
Filed under: QandA

2 Responses to “Actress audition”

  1. Sarah Liu says:

    Hi,

    I am a 24 year old Chinese girl from Melbourne, Australia. Trying out my luck in LA has been on my mind for a year. I would love to go there for a year to try to get acting jobs, do you have any advises for me? –as I know nothing about the life in LA… Is it really easy to find a casual job such as waitressing or shopping assisting to support myself? Also, would being asian limit my chances to get acting jobs???

    Best regards Sarah Liu

  2. Sarah Liu says:

    Hi,

    I am a 24 year old Chinese girl from Melbourne, Australia. Trying out my luck in LA has been on my mind for a year. I would love to go there for a year to try to get acting jobs, do you have any advises for me? –as I know nothing about the life in LA… Is it really easy to find a casual job such as waitressing or shopping assisting to support myself? Also, would being asian limit my chances to get acting jobs???

    Best regards Sarah Liu

 

About

This site is run by screenwriter John August. Mostly, he answers reader-submitted questions about the craft, but occasionally he goes on tangents that run far afield of writing and filmmaking. You'll also find info on past, present and future projects.


For photos, blurbs and uncomfortable self-promotion, you can check out his Facebook fan page.

Ask a Question

If you have a question about screenwriting or my movies that hasn't been answered, by all means ask. There are a few guidelines to follow.

Featured Articles

101: Some screenwriting basics


There are more than 900 articles on the site. You can find category archives at the bottom of every page.

Watch Me

Now available on Amazon, iTunes, Netflix, and in stores.

More movies in the Store.

Feeds