By the look of Sundays Oscar telecast, life had returned to normal in Hollywood.
But when it comes to auditions, its as if the industry remains gripped by the pandemic.
Regina Taylor
Self-tapes have been a mixed bag for me.
Regina Taylor
If youre talking about film and TV, that is the medium.
Youre seeing how people are on film.
But I miss the interaction of being in a room with the director, producer, writer.
Theres certain chemistry that can happen.
it’s possible for you to feel another persons presence differently by breathing the same air.
It has a lot to do with how you work together personally.
If youre just talking about how that person picks up on camera, thats something different.
I like being in the room because different things can happen in terms of that exchange between two people.
Ive spent a lot of money on self-tapes.
How some people can do it just by themselves, I find really fascinating.
Some people record their voices so they dont even need a person reading with them.
I have a place [she pays for] that does Zoom auditions and they do it really well.
They have the whole setup.
Its all professionally done.
I make a run at turn in something thats really good-looking.
I think theres an advantage to that.
But I like to see if I can have it look good, too.
I think theres an edge to that.
Sometimes, even in person, they dont let you get all the way through the audition.
So I imagine with the tapes, they dont necessarily watch it all the way through.
They see what you might be giving in the first few seconds.
I have to be optimistic about it.
Michael Gaston
Im 30-some-odd years into my career.
Auditioning was how I saw my peers.
Thats how we were in contact.
If you hang around, we can go get a coffee.
Stuff like that would happen all the time.
You come to where we are now and nobody ever sees anybody anymore.
So, we are still isolated.
I had my first in-person audition the other day in three years and of course, it was theater.
Theyre much more interested in what you look like, your whole body, how you move through space.
I literally burst into tears before I could start speaking my lines.
I just was like, Im sorry guys.
Gimme a second.
I didnt get the job, but Im not pissed off that I didnt get it.
I got what I had bargained for.
I felt like I was with my people, however briefly.
They dont want to give this model up.
What is being asked of actors now … to just get your friend to read with you?
Who the f*ck are you talking about?
And how dare you assume that I can just impose on my friends to do that?
This isnt what they do.
They dont realize what theyre sacrificing.
This isnt the perfect system yet and how could it be?
Its only been around for three years.
I have decades-long friendships with casting folks who Ive depended on for notes and guidance throughout the years.
Most of us whove been doing this for a while can say the same thing.
Youre seeing 200 people for each part and they each do 6 minutes of material?
Thats 20 hours of auditions per role.
Often for parts that already have offers out to stars.
Youre watching all of all of those?
Thats what you call love?
I booked some of my biggest jobs on self-tapes.
My first recur was a self-tape that I did with my mom over Thanksgiving.
Actors are creative people.
I was using my iPhone to document my life already.
I just use my cell phone.
That was paid off after the first job I booked.
But there have definitely been ups and downs.
Ive ask friends to FaceTime to initiate the scene.
You have to be able to adapt.
Its making me more consistent with my auditions because Im watching them back.
Thats been a really valuable thing because Im thinking, Oh, this works.
Im gonna try this next time.
Before it was so mysterious.
And that wasnt always representative of how itactuallywent.
Youd be like, Oh my God, thats the worst audition Ive ever had.
So I think Ive learned a lot.
Ive worked consistently through the last three years of self-taping.
Antonio Jaramillo
All of the responsibilities have been put on the actor.
Then you were given a time to go into the office.
There are many places, but personally I dont think theres a lot ofgreatplaces.
The other ones are in North Hollywood.
And you cant always find a spot.
There are a lot of actors trying to get in.
It was hard finding the time slot to do it, so I started doing it at home.
But then I had to call someone to come into my home and theyre not always available.
And I dont have an amazing backdrop.
I use natural light in my dining room or kitchen.
I dont have any special microphones because its too much to put on the actor.
And then sometimes they ask you to dress the period.
Oh, okay,sure.
Why dont I just produce the film and then see you at the wrap party?
It just becomes nonsense.
Sometimes they ask you to dress the period.
Oh, okay,sure.
Why dont I just produce the film and then see you at the wrap party?
It just becomes nonsense.
My biggest concern is that theyre not being seen.
Now I can send in 20 tapes and maybe one will turn out to be a job.
And Im going, wait a second!
I dont know what their perception is.
Maybe they think I dont have the perfect backdrop, or the lightings not perfect.
Or, oh God,they can hear the cat.
Then why didnt you send me half a page?
But when the pandemic hit, it was the right thing to do.
Initially, at least for me, it wasnt terrible.
You could go to the SAG office, but I think those offices get filled up very quickly.
Especially for television, theres a very quick turnaround.
Sometimes they want it the same day or the next day.
I have an [taping] office that I love to go to.
I dont do it all the time, because then it becomes an affordability issue.
But those are sort of few between.
They started to sort of ease the rules and regulations around Covid.
Im having to self-direct.Am I in the ballpark with this audition?
You dont know, so youre just going in blindly.
Sometimes they do provide the script, but most of the time they dont.
A lot of the time, youre just going in based on the brief description that they provide.
A lot of actors spend money for their auditions.
I want to believe that casting directors are watching.
I have to believe theyre watching, otherwise theres going to be an uproar by the actors at large.
Rose Abdoo
Ive been thinking about this a lot.
Before the pandemic, I was a person who considered myself very technologically challenged.
I didnt know how to run my phone.
Listen, I love casting.
I am from the Bryan Cranston school of, This is my chance to act today.
I love going in and meeting directors and getting the feedback.
I dont have to be at a casting office at 11:30 a.m.
So for me, there has been a certain amount of freedom.
Its the creativity of setting up your own tape.
My husband is great; he rigged these lights with PVC pipe from Home Depot.
I tried to mimic the kind of lighting I had atGreys Anatomy.
Other actors were saying, Oh, you have to paint a whole wall for a backdrop.
I had a blue blanket from when I was very sick in 2011.
I had cancer and I took my treatment at the Disney Cancer Center.
My sister was visiting from Michigan and she got me this blue blanket.
Its such a good color.
Between the lighting and the blue blanket, I was so proud of myself.
There is another reason that I like the freedom of it.
I have a 95-year-old mother in Michigan.
Every single time I go visit, I get an audition.
So the whole family gets involved.
My brother-in-law has a vintage tripod and he MacGyvered the cell phone holder from the car on the tripod.
He gets me construction lights out of the garage.
My sister got me parchment paper to put over the lights.
My mothers rooting around in her closet for things I can wear.
Thats how I bookedGhosts.
I looked at my IMDb.
The last seven jobs Ive gotten have been off of self-tapes.
