What Are the Sides for Acting Auditions? (Showbiz Term of the Day)

What Are Sides for Acting Auditions for Film and TV?

The mention of “sides” to anyone who is not involved in the television or film industry or who is not already going on acting auditions or taking a child to acting auditions is likely to result in a confused look.

So today I have chosen “sides” to be the “Showbiz Term of the Day.”

I remember my confusion when I first heard my daughter’s talent manager tell me he was sending me the sides for her to learn before her acting auditions. I did not want to show my ignorance by asking “What are sides?”

“Sides” are yet another of the many acting terms that you will encounter that you are not likely to understand when you are getting started in the entertainment industry.

Yet the term sides will become very familiar once you join the community of actors and begin actively auditioning. (For more on acting auditions, see “What Happens at Movie Auditions for Kids?“)

So, “What are the sides for acting auditions?”

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How Do You Create Videos of Acting Auditions to Submit to Casting Directors?

Video of Acting Auditions for Film or TV

My daughter just got an audition request from a casting director where the acting auditions must be submitted on video. This is for a theatrical audition (see “Do You Know What Theatrical Acting Auditions Are“  for more on this topic)  for a feature film.

We’ve created a number of videos of acting auditions since we’ve been in Los Angeles. It is a little more work than just showing up in person for the audition, but there are some advantages.

Creating videos of acting auditions is fairly common for actors not living in the LA area.  It is less common for most of us in the LA area, though it seems like it has become more common lately. So many projects are being filmed in places other than LA these days.

We’ve created videos of acting auditions in various ways when they’ve been requested.  We’ve created videos of acting auditions ourselves, had friends help us create them, paid acting coaches and teachers to create them for us, and gone into a small studio to have them created.

If you pay someone to do it for you, it can be expensive, but the quality of the resulting video is likely to be quite good.

Some of our friends are good at creating audition videos at home. If you have a friend who has good equipment and is into creating videos,  they might be willing to do it for you for free.

With a little practice and some decent equipment, you can create good videos of acting auditions yourself.

So, what choices do you have when submitting videos of acting auditions?  Should you create your own audition videos? Or should you pay someone to create an audition video for you? You really have to weigh the pros and cons.

If you’ve gotten a request to submit an audition video, you are probably wondering “How Do You Create Videos of Acting Auditions to Submit to Casting Directors?”

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Who Gets the Breakdowns for Acting Auditions for Big Movie and TV Roles?

TV/Film, Acting Auditions

Yet another thing I was confused about after I came to Los Angeles was the term breakdowns.  When my daughter’s manager called to tell us about her acting auditions, often he’d say he was reading the description of the character from the breakdown.

The only breakdowns I’d heard about before that were those related to a person’s emotional state that typically resulted in hospitalization in a psychiatric facility.  And obviously that was not what he was referring to.

Perhaps you’ve heard people talking about the breakdowns for acting auditions and wondered about exactly what a breakdown is.  And, even more, you’ve probably wondered how to get the breakdowns for acting auditions yourself, so you can find out about all the best acting auditions.

So, exactly “What is a breakdown?” And ” Who Gets the Breakdowns for Acting Auditions for Big Movie and TV Roles?”

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Do You Know What Theatrical Acting Auditions Are?

Theatrical Acting Auditions (Film/TV)

When you hear the term theatrical auditions, what kind of acting auditions do you think that means?

You probably think of theatrical as defined by Mirriam-Webster – “of or relating to the theater or the presentation of plays.” So theatrical acting auditions should be auditions for theatre or for a play. Right?

I know when I first came to L.A., that is what I thought when I heard of theatrical acting auditions.

But in Los Angeles, when you hear the term theatrical audition, it is typically not referring to an audition for theatre.

So, what is a theatrical audition in Los Angeles?

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What Should You Do When Acting Auditions Don’t Go Well?

Like a Mouse at Acting Auditions, by Greenfield via Flickr

One of my daughter’s very first theatrical acting auditions in L.A. was actually in the director’s house. This was NOT typical for acting auditions. But this was an independent project for a children’s educational video.

The Best-Laid Plans …  (for acting auditions)

The day before the acting audition, I used mapquest to get directions, drove there to make sure I could find it, and got everything ready for the audition. I went over a few directions with my daughter, reminding her to just do her best and to have fun. There were no sides (lines), so there was not much preparation to do. She already had songs ready to sing.

We got up, got ready, and left quite early so we’d arrive on time (like all the books I’d read suggested).

We got there 45 minutes early since there was almost no traffic at 8:45 am on Saturday.  I drove around the block a few times, and then we waited in the car for a little while before we went to the door.

We were still about 25 minutes early, but I thought it would be okay to go on to the door since other kids were probably there auditioning.

Of Mice and Men .. (meet my daughter and the director) Often Go Awry (– Robert Burns)

I rang the bell, and after a little while we were greeted by a rather disheveled man. He seemed flustered and looked like he had just gotten out of bed.

I was embarrassed for obviously arriving too early, and he seemed embarrassed as well. I apologized for being so early and asked if we should come back in a few minutes.

But he invited us into his living room and talked to the two of us together. This was not what we expected, but I’m sure it was due to the acting audition being in his home.

My daughter acted like a little mouse, looking at me for encouragement after each question he asked and talking barely above a whisper. When he asked her what she wanted to sing, she just looked at me.  This behavior was so NOT typical for my daughter who always enjoyed talking and performing for adults.

I knew she was not accustomed to having me in the room during auditions, so I asked if I could sit out on the porch where I could still see and hear her.  She did speak up after I left the room, but at that point, I knew it was a little too late. Needless to say, she did not get that part.

This  just goes to show that with kids and auditions, no matter how prepared you try to be, you never really know what to expect. You also never know how your child will react in a particular situation, and you have absolutely no control over it.

To Make Matters Worse

When we left, I asked my daughter about why she had behaved that way. I’m sure all my questioning only upset her. I was upset about arriving too early and confused about why she had not been her typical self.  I was also worried about what her talent agent and talent manager would say.

Looking back on that audition and many other acting auditions that my daughter had, I realized that my behavior was not only not helping my daughter, but it was hurting her. I thought by questioning her and trying to figure out everything that she did wrong, I could help fix it for next time.

So, what should you do when your child’s acting auditions don’t go well?

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What Happens When Your Child Is Auditioning for a Kid Commercial?

Auditioning in Hollywood, Image via Wikipedia

I remember the first time my daughter was going to be auditioning for a kid commercial in L.A. She had auditioned for commercials in the  Southeast, but I knew auditioning for a kid commercial in L.A. would be different, just like everything else in L.A.

Her first L.A. commercial audition was down in Hollywood, so driving to the commercial audition and finding the exact location was stressful enough. (See Will You Like Driving Your Child to Acting Auditions? for more on this topic.) Then I had to find legal parking within a reasonable distance from the audition location,which is not usually an easy task either.

After parking, we walked to the audition, crossing busy streets along the way. I carried a case with headshots and resumes, the audition details, and other necessary information, along with a hair brush and accessories, snacks, water, and a few games and activities. I held my young daughter tightly by the hand.

I really did not know what to expect or what to do when we arrived at the commercial audition. Her talent manager had given me a few quick tips, but he certainly did not cover any details.

The whole process of auditioning for a kid commercial did not get much easier until we’d gone to at least four or five commercial auditions.  While no two commercial auditions are exactly the same, there are many similarities.  So after you go to a few of them, you do get the basic drill down, and it becomes much less stressful and more fun.

So, What Typically Happens When Your Child Is Auditioning for a Kid Commercial?

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Will You Like Driving Your Child to Acting Auditions?

How do you think you’ll like driving your child to acting auditions? Do you enjoy driving? Does driving in traffic stress you out?

When my daughter first started auditioning, I had no idea how much driving I would be doing.  While we lived in the Southeast, we often drove 1 to 3 hours each way to her modeling and acting auditions and jobs.  It seemed fun, probably because it was new and did not happen very often.

When we moved to Los Angeles, the reality of what driving to acting auditions really meant hit me like a brick.  My previous driving experience in no way prepared me for driving in Los Angeles traffic.

From the moment we arrived in LA, I did everything I could to avoid the freeways.  At the suggestion of my daughter’s manager, I bought a Thomas Guide for the LA Area and studied the Burbank and Hollywood sections of it.

Since I have no sense of direction, driving to my daughter’s acting auditions was particularly stressful for me. There were many times that we got lost or missed an exit and drove miles out of the way.

Sometimes we ended up in dangerous areas with no clue how to get back to where we were or to where we were trying to go!  It was very upsetting to me and to my daughter.

We even missed an audition or two and were late to some because of getting lost.  That was embarrassing, and sometimes we arrived in less than a relaxed frame of mind, which is not helpful in the auditioning process.

So how can you make the process of driving to and from auditions less stressful for you and for your child?  Here are a few suggestions that should help: Read more »