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This year we had almost 200 participants in Showcase and 30 VIPs. Once the VIPs have watched everyone’s Showcase piece, Callbacks occur. Showcase Callbacks provide a chance for the VIP agents/managers to see if the student is a good fit and for Casting to see more of what their talent consists of.  (Note that these are a bit different from typical callbacks. For more information on true Callbacks, check out April’s blog HERE: Conquering Callbacks with Coach Jeanne).  

This year we had an unbelievable 98% percent callback rate. AMAZING WORK! 

Hey Jeanne! Thank you for joining us. How long have you coached with TAS? 

-I have been at TAS for over 10 years! I started coaching here about 7 years ago.

Wow, that’s amazing! What do you currently coach here at TAS?

-I am currently coaching the Taped Audition yearlong course. This is great because I am also a taping coach at TAS  and love it! I also love teaching movement lessons for acting, public speaking, confidence building, personal development, and more!

Oh I love movement lessons as well. That’s great that you use it in all aspects of your life. Speaking of your life, what are things you like to do outside of TAS?

-Outside of coaching, I love traveling, adventure, ice skating, and working with animals.

Thank you for letting us get to know you a bit more! Let’s switch gears and get into it. Callbacks are a HUGE part of your acting career. For those who are new to the industry can you tell us what is the purpose of a callback?

-Callbacks give casting, and other members of the casting process a chance to narrow down their search for the role. At the end of the day, only one person can play a role. Since 100s could be submitted for the same role, a casting director must narrow this down to a smaller number of those who closely fit what the creators are looking for. This also gives casting an opportunity to meet actors and make sure that they are approachable, and direct-able. It also gives actors another shot in showing their skills. An actor could have received a callback based on their interesting choices in an audition that the casting directors may have been impressed by, but still does not quite fit what they were looking for. Since they see the talent, the callback allows casting to give actors a better rundown of what the client/director is looking for, and the actor an opportunity to make new interesting choices with the new information given.

Okay, I’ve prepared for my audition, how do I prepare for my callback? Should I make adjustments to my original audition?

-Since you have received a callback, that means that casting was really impressed by the choices you have made! I would suggest going back and watching your first audition and noticing what made yours unique to you. What choices did you make for this character? Is there any more room for research on the project? Your callback is an opportunity to show them what they already enjoyed, but in an enhanced way. Be prepared to perform your audition like you previously did, but also be prepared to be asked to perform it completely differently! You have to be able to do this at a moment’s notice, so plan on a couple of ways the scene could be played as preparation. 

Who will be at my callback? 

-Normally the “next level” of the casting process will attend call backs. This could mean producers and directors. I know someone who attended an in person call back for a film that Oprah was producing. She was actually at the call back!  If you have a callback for a commercial, a representative of the client or brand is usually in attendance. This could mean someone from their marketing or advertising team.  Be prepared to see a few to several people.

For virtual call backs, those on the other side often leave their cameras off, so you may just hear a voice giving you instructions. Sometimes, you may see one person who is speaking to you, while others are just watching and listening. 

Should I prepare differently for an in-person callback as to a virtual callback? 

-Understanding the above information will help prepare you mentally for those in person callbacks where you now have several eyes staring at you. Some, or several, of those in attendance may have different notes for you, so be prepared to even hear conflicting ideas. You should be prepared to try new performance choices. For any live audition, make sure you are timely, and look well put together. Do not look like you just rolled out of bed. I have seen casting add this to their notes, especially for commercials. That means someone is doing it!

For virtual callbacks, minimizing the chance of technical difficulties is crucial. This is why you must test your lighting, sound, and internet connection ahead of time. You can call a friend and make sure they can see and hear you clearly. You must also make sure any settings are adjusted ahead of time. An example of this would be putting your phone on auto-rotate ahead of time, so that casting does not connect to a sideways version of you on the screen. Make sure that once connected, you look into the camera when speaking to them directly. This gives the illusion of eye contact through the screen. Do not stare at yourself!

Any other callback advice?

-Get an audition shirt! Figure out your most flattering colors based on your skin, eye, and hair color. Then wear this same look for your callbacks. Casting can remember “the one in that bright blue shirt’s performance” more than a name. Keep that impression lasting in your mind by wearing the same outfit for your callbacks. Of course, keep in mind how our audition looks can change based on characters we are reading for. Just try to streamline those looks to have a great foundation of outfits to choose from!

Actor Profiles. Once we have all of these things done it’s time to look at whether your online actor profiles are up to date or weighing you down. These include your Actors Access profile, Casting Networks profile, Backstage profile, etc. Look at your headshots, resume, size cards, and clips on these sites. Do you need to change any of these things? Do you need to add to them or take them down? Does your agent have updated versions of all of them? Make sure to update your personal website and social media platforms accordingly.

The Audition. One area that often needs cleaned up or updated is your audition set up. Do you need to practice with lighting your new styles and new colors with
your backdrop? What about your reader? Are they reliable? Do you need to find new ones or backups? Do you need new audio equipment to up your sound? Perhaps you simply need to streamline your audition process. Looking at things like how you memorize, what outfits you have ready for different character types, and how you will tape your audition can completely change your audition process for the better!

-What is the value of actors playing/participating in games?

● The value of actors participating in these games is creating a certain sense of trust between everyone. For example, warm up games set the mood and get everyone on the same wavelength for the rest of the class time. Also, I love to explain the significance of the game even before we play it; this answers the “why?” in students’ heads, but also lets everyone be on the same page about the game’s goal.

-Sometimes people can come to class with a single frame of mind. They can feel blindsided by our focus on games. What would you say to someone who thinks it’s “a waste of time” playing these games?

● To someone who would think in-class games are a “waste of time”, as I said earlier, it creates not only trust but encourages teamwork among students. Most, if not all, of these weekly games require multiple students at a time to work effectively. I will always give students time to collaborate and exchange ideas while playing games. 

-Do you have a “go to” game in class if there is extra time and why?

One of my “go to” games in class is Alien/ Gibberish Translator Interview. This is one of my favorite improv games because it requires quick thinking and big creativity from all parties!