THE 4 STEPS TO CASTING A SERIES REGULAR ROLE ON TELEVISION
Part Four: TESTING AT THE NETWORK
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For the “Monthly Audition Tip” February through May, I will be re-printing an article I wrote for the wonderful actors website BRAINS OF MINERVA last year at this time…. just in time for Pilot Season. This will be a 4 part series “Monthly Audition Tip” covering The Pre-Read, The Callback, Reading for Studio Executives and Testing at the Network. If you would like for me to email you the article in it’s entirety just let me know. As a former Independent Casting Director of 23 years, I probably cast about 35 pilots over the years and as a Senior Vice President of Casting for the Greenblatt Janollari Studio and Director of Casting for CBS, I oversaw the casting of probably about 50 more. The casting process to add a series regular role to a pilot or an existing series has been the same all these years. At minimum, it is a 4 step process… (1) The Pre-Read with the Casting Director (2) The Callback for Producers (3) Reading for Studio Executives (4) Testing at the Network As I sat in those audition rooms over the years, I watched the various ways actors handled repeated auditions, the ways they approached walking into different rooms as the job got closer, and the ways each actor responded to the pressure of testing at the Network. Some were much more successful than others. And the actors who figured out the mystique of the audition process, were usually the one’s who booked the part! And I have to tell you, the part didn’t always go to the most talented actor. Demystifying the casting process and being knowledgeable about the steps an actor must travel through to book the part, is the key to conquering the audition. |
Part Four: TESTING AT THE NETWORK
You will be going to the Network that bought the pilot, (CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, HBO, SHOWTIME, CW, USA, etc.) and if you didn’t sign your contract at the Studio you will need to sign it here. So again, get there early so you can have done with that piece of business…and then go into a corner and focus.
The room at the Network could have at least 20 or more people in the room. You will have added the Head of the Network, Head of Network Casting, VP’s of Drama or Comedy Development for the Network…plus all the Studio Executives, your Producers and the Casting Director. The “test” is sometimes held in a screening room or room designed for these reads. It can have a bit of a “theater feel” to it, so resist the impulse to become “theatrical”. Remind yourself this is for Television, let the Casting Director be your barometer, and be consistent.
In the lobby you will see your competition of 2 or 3 other actors, so make sure you stay to yourself with the mental focus of an athlete. This can be an intimidating room to walk into, to say the least, but you must enter the room with confidence. First impressions are everything here. They will be spending a lot of money on this project and want to make sure that you are an actor who is confident, consistent and stable. They can tell all of those things just by the way you enter the room.
It is not uncommon to have you read with the star who has already been cast instead of reading with the Casting Director. Or after your individual read they may “mix and match” you with actors for other parts. The goal here is to see if you have any “chemistry” with the other actor. So by all means, connect with the other actor and don’t worry that it may be very different than all those past readings with the Casting Director. You now have another actor to play off of, so go for it!
The Network Executives have the final say as to who gets the part. Your Producers and the Studio Executives have already signed off on you by bringing you here. They have brought the Network a few choices to choose from, and hopefully a choice will be made. However, it happens more often than you realize, that no one is chosen and the Casting Director has to go back to the drawing board!
Remember that the Casting Director has pressures that may be as mundane as making sure there are not two blonde actresses in the show or that the supporting actor looks nothing like the lead actor. Or pressures more complicated like trying to please their Producers, the Studio and the Network who can’t agree on choices for the cast. So the next time you walk into the audition room and you get that dirty look from the Casting Director, it may not be about you! Remember to control only what you can control. Your unique choices. So if in their opinion you are not “right” for the role, you will be remembered for future projects because you gave such a prepared audition.
Demystifying the 4 steps to casting a Series Regular role on Television is key to conquering the audition process. And understanding what part of the process you have control over and what part of the process you don’t have control over is imperative. It is not the actors job to worry if they are too old, have the wrong color hair, don’t have enough experience, are the wrong color skin, etc, etc, etc. It is the actor’s job to make unique choices, be prepared, confident, be consistent and be mentally focused.
Now you can walk into the next audition room with confidence…because knowledge is power!