What is an Open Call When Referring to Auditions (Showbiz Term of the Day)?

Open Call, Getty Images via @daylife

When we talk about acting and modeling auditions, it is important to know what it means if the audition is an Open Call. Today’s Showbiz Term of the Day is “Open Call.”

My daughter went to Open Calls a couple of times for shows such as America’s Most Talented Kid before we moved to LA. Those were not experiences I really wanted to repeat!

We arrived early in the morning for one particular Open Call. We sat in the waiting room with hundreds of other people, trying to pass the hours. We did not know that other people would arrive long before the open call time to get in line, so there were many people in front of us.

After waiting for many hours, my daughter was finally told she would go in next to audition. She was very exited. She warmed up, practiced, and got psyched and ready to go in.  The assistant came back, and my daughter stood to go in.  But then the casting assistant informed us that casting was going to take a lunch break, and that she would be first after lunch.

My 5-year-old daughter, who had been waiting happily and patiently for 5 or 6 hours, then started to cry. She had been all excited that she was next, and being told she’d have to wait some more was upsetting to her. She was hungry and tired, and we were not sure we even had time to get her lunch before they called her in!

Her Dad rushed off to pick up some lunch (along with hundreds of others). When he finally got back with food and my daughter eagerly took her first bite, smearing ketchup all over her face and hands, the casting assistant showed up to take her back to audition!  I quickly tried to wipe her hands and face, and she finished chewing that bite as we walked back for her audition.

She was not really at the top of her game when we went back to audition. Of course, that was not surprising, given how things had just gone. But she was a trooper and did her best, and I was very proud of her even though she was not selected for the show.

If you are not in the LA Area or NY Area or other areas where theatrical auditions (see  Do You Know What Theatrical Acting Auditions Are?) and commercial auditions (see What Happens When Your Child Is Auditioning for a Kid Commercial) are common, an Open Call may seem like the only way you can be seen by entertainment industry professionals.

So, “What Is an Open Call When Referring to Auditions?”

Read more »

What Is a Callback After an Acting Audition? (Showbiz Term of the Day)

Acting Audition Callback

There is a chance that your child will get “a callback” after an acting audition if that acting audition goes well and your child is right for the part. When your child gets a callback for an acting audition for the very first time, you may not know exactly what that means.

My daughter got a callback after her second acting audition, and after the initial excitement was over, I realized I really did not know what that meant or what to do. I had to call her agent back a couple of times and ask lots of questions.

Since I knew very little about showbiz when we first got started, whenever we did something new, I had lots of questions.  And I was embarrassed to have to ask so many questions.

On the other hand, I knew it was important to find out everything I could about her first acting audition callback to make sure we did what we needed to do.

So, in case you are wondering exactly, “What Is a Callback After an Acting Audition?”

Read more »

What is Pilot Season? (Showbiz Term of the Day)

Big Bang Theory Was Cast in Pilot Season 2007, Image via Flickr

There is a lot of talk about “pilot season” right now in Los Angeles. That is because pilot season is going on right now.

The time referred to as “pilot season” used to be much more well-defined than it is now. But it does still occur.

My daughter and I have been friends with several young actors who landed roles on pilots during pilot season.

Pilot Season Has a Big Effect on the LA Area

It is at this time of year that masses of people, mostly actors, descend on LA hoping to be able to take advantage of the increase in activity in the entertainment industry here in LA.

It always seems that LA Traffic gets crazier, and certainly the entertainment work permit office gets busier. And a larger number of Coogan accounts are probably opened at this time of year as well.

And headshot photographers and reproductions offices get busier trying to help all the talent that has just flooded into the area get their headshots ready for distribution as well as the local talent doing the same thing.

Talent Agencies and Talent Managers

Talent agencies and talent managers also get busier. And many agencies and managers in the LA area who work with actors who come here at this time of year become somewhat distracted from their local talent as they focus on sending their seasonal talent out on as many auditions as possible during the short time they are here.

In fact, just about all businesses involved in the entertainment industry get busier at this time of year.

Let’s hope that with the economy in the state that it has been in lately, this will be a great pilot season, and the entertainment industry will come out of the slump it seems to have been in for a while.

So, “What is Pilot Season?”

Read more »

What Is a Breakdown? (Showbiz Term of the Day)

The term “breakdown” is one you are likely to hear when you are starting your journey into show business. And the term “breakdown” here is not used to refer to someone’s psychological state or a car quitting on the side of the road.

I remember having my daughter’s talent manager refer to the information in what he called the “breakdown” when he was telling me about her first acting auditions. He did not send me a copy or give me any other information about it, so I really did not know what a “breakdown” was.

I discussed breakdowns and who gets the breakdowns in “Who Gets the Breakdowns for Acting Auditions for Big Movie and TV Roles?” So please check that post out for additional information on this topic.

So, “What Is a Breakdown?”

Read more »

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?”

Read more »