2-15-08
Auditioning for Independent Film
Most actors know by now that if they’re going to audition for a theatre, they had better do their homework when it comes to the script, the director, and the company’s production history. But when it comes to prepping for film auditions, particularly for independent film, lots of actors are on unfamiliar ground—and so are the filmmakers.
“What I always think is kind of interesting is that there are these different communities in Chicago,” says Rachael Patterson, director of Acting Studio Chicago and a longtime auditions and on-camera acting instructor (as well as a former casting director). “There’s the improv community, which doesn’t really cross over all that much with the theatre community, except for on-camera auditions where you’ll see both improv actors and theatre actors. And then the independent film community is very separate from both the improv and theatre community. Actors very much want to cross over to work with independent filmmakers. And filmmakers often don’t know where to go to find actors.”
Sean Bradley, co-founder of the Green Room, an on-camera acting studio, concurs. “The biggest difficulty for independent filmmakers is that they have no idea how to go about casting something. They don’t know about PerformInk until they’ve already poorly cast something from the pool of people they know. They only break out of that when they just can’t find the 87-year-old Filipino who knows how to juggle.”
But actors also need to realize that what filmmakers are looking for is often very different than what is needed in a theatrical audition. The old bromide that acting on-camera is about doing less still holds up. Karen Christopher, a performance artist with internationally acclaimed Goat Island Performance Group, is also a filmmaker with an MFA in film from Columbia College Chicago. “People in film school are often very far from a theatre world,” says Christopher. “I think part of that comes from not knowing or feeling that there is a different world. But part of it is also that the bigness of theatre doesn’t translate to film. [Filmmakers] worry that the actor will come in and be as big as a mountain. They are much more drawn to what they call ‘real people.’ They think they will be able to manage them more than theatre people.”
In order to counteract this impression, Bradley (who just produced the indie feature Witches’ Night, which just inked a distribution deal) suggests that actors make it easier for the directors at auditions by “offering variety and saying when you walk in the room, in a straightforward and easygoing way, ‘I’ve got a couple ways to approach this thing. I can give you a basic, stripped-down reading. And then I can crank it in this direction.’ New directors don’t always realize that variety is a possibility.”
A commercial look or mainstream theatre credentials aren’t necessarily a boon for those seeking independent film roles, either. Christopher observes, “One thing that performance artists or nontraditional performers have is the habit of being themselves on stage. I think one quality actors would kill for is the ability to just be yourself and then layer something else over it, whatever the film needs.”
What you’re asked to do in a film audition may vary wildly, depending on the filmmaker.
“If I were an actor auditioning for a film of whatever size, I would expect to get sides ahead of time,” says Patterson. “I would most likely know that I could count on being able to go to the production office or casting director’s office the day before and read the entire script, which is something one should always do if possible. But for some auditions run by newer or independent filmmakers who don’t use casting directors, actors have to be flexible and ready to do anything. They may ask them to do a monologue, which isn’t typical [in bigger films]. They may give them a cold reading with very little or no time to prepare. They don’t necessarily have a great understanding of the actor’s process.”
That continues once you’re cast in the film. Says Christopher, “Especially in independent films, you don’t have the coaches and support systems and all the things that big-budget films have. Everyone is on their own and doing a lot more. Actors have to reach forward and find out what is needed. The filmmaker may not be able to articulate it that well.” She also notes, “I think people find it easier to answer questions than to tell you what you want. People are very comfortable with someone who asks a lot of questions.”
Knowing something about the vocabulary and technique of filmmaking can help. Bradley recommends that every actor should read Steven Katz’s “Film Directing: Shot By Shot.” However, he also cautions against using too much “director lingo” in an audition. “That runs rampant in the independent film sphere. Everyone from the production assistant on up wants to be a director.”
Obviously, classes with instructors like Patterson and Bradley can help actors feel more comfortable in on-camera auditions. Additionally, Patterson notes that Acting Studio Chicago occasionally offers an independent film forum, where three independent filmmakers serve on a panel, and then work with students who perform sides from scripts written by the filmmakers. Patterson also notes that getting out to places where filmmakers network is essential, such as the Midwest Independent Film Festival, which screens indie films the first Tuesday of every month at Landmark’s Century Centre.
Mike McNamara, the festival director and a PerformInk contributor, says, “This is the primary reason we created this festival. It’s not like L.A., where everyone you run into at the coffee shop is a filmmaker or knows a filmmaker. The festival is a very casual setting. In my opinion, it’s 10 times better than an audition situation, because you’re able to just talk to people.”
“Honestly, something I would say from observation is that more of our non-union actors are out there doing the scrounging work,” says Bradley. “Often, the union actors get lazy. Which is sad, because the independent filmmakers often won’t consider SAG actors because they think it’s too hard to deal with the union, which isn’t true, at least not in Chicago. It frustrates me because I see people get into SAG and wait for their agents to call. They need to get out there, too.”
There are two other important things that actors should keep in mind when pursuing indie film work. “The number one realization for actors in this medium is that they are part of a storytelling team,” says Bradley. “The actor is part of the storytelling alongside the director, who has an impact on the end result. And then the cinematographer has a huge impact on how the performance looks, and finally the editor has massive impact on the end result.” Because of this, Bradley cautions against those actors who “try to impress with their ability to crank out emotion. I don’t know why the ability to crank out emotions is the Holy Grail, rather than being simple and real and allowing people to watch you.”
The second important point that many actors lose sight of as they scramble for on-camera credits is that independent filmmakers, like their counterparts in theatre, are often pursuing an artistic dream while working day jobs elsewhere, frequently in the commercials or industrials field. Patterson says, “The industry is not so segmented here as it is in L.A. Here, everybody does everything. So if you’re meeting an independent filmmaker, they probably are doing other things just like you. If you’re meeting them at a commercial audition and you’re not cast, you may have been his first choice, but not the ad agency’s. He may want to use you in his next film. We’re all on the same page, and as an actor, you feel so disempowered. Knowing that filmmakers can be in the same boat can help.”