Hello! I tuned in to your office hours for the first time this week (it was a whole thing trying to get the time for ages, but I’ve always been stuck at work, blah blah blah) so I understand you have probably touched on this before, but I wanted to know how you generally do casting for your shows and any quick advice you could offer for auditioning for audio drama. I’ve been doing a little bit of stuff on film, but I figure it’s a similar but different process for this. I just finished building myself a little recording booth in my apartment, so this is very much “asking for a friend, that friend is me.” Is the expectation for auditions generally that the actor will edit their tapes and everything to make it sound like a finished sound in order to be cast? Maybe it’s just that I know nothing about sound editing, but that seems a little daunting to do that just to send in a tape, but if that’s the only way to be cast, I guess I’ll just have to go ahead and start trying to learn.
Sorry if this is rambly; I don’t even know where to start with asking for advice on this sort of thing because I don’t know anyone in real life to turn to.
hey!! I'm so glad you were able to tune in! and, just in case you've got questions in future, you can submit them in advance and then watch the playback on this youtube playlist (or listen to them in podcast form on our Patreon!)
I have talked a bit about casting before, but I actually don't know that I've touched on this particular subject! what I'm about to say is entirely the way that I do things - other creators/directors may feel differently about this, but I have a pretty strong preference.
I do not want actors editing their tapes at all beyond cutting out flubs/editing together their strongest take. and it should be noted that, if an actor does this, I shouldn't be able to tell. whether an actor reads through the whole script, hits stop, and sends that in, or an actor records 7 different takes and then takes the best reads of each line and cuts it into one take, I shouldn't be able to tell the difference.
but I want the raw audio of your recording set up - no rx-ing, no cleaning up, no pre-amps, etc. just exactly what your mic picks up in your space. with remote recording, I need to know exactly what I'm going to be working with.
there are two exceptions that I've encountered to this:
an actor submits a fully edited scene - sound effects and all. I would never think to ask for this, but I've had some folks do it through the years and it shows me two things: they go above and beyond with their work and they'll probably know what I'm talking about when I ask them to turn their pre-amp off for recording. I don't need the raw audio bc they clearly understand sound. I will say though, I still don't prefer this. it's always kind of a cool surprise when people put that much effort into the audition, but from a performance standpoint, it actually doesn't give me the information I need. so I wouldn't bother!
an actor sends through a phone recording/laptop recording/etc. with a note along the lines of "I'm currently traveling/away from my set-up, but I really wanted to send something in before the deadline!" and then they either attach another, unrelated recording that functions as a sample of their set-up (a lot of voice actors have a studio sample on their website) or I ask them to send something through before a callback! for callbacks, I often ask that actors prioritize being able to video call over being in their booth (not everyone can do both) because callbacks are more about vibe than they are about sound quality. all my casting calls require you to submit your recording set-up specs, so even if you send through a phone recording, I'll still have an idea of what I'm working with!
and that brings me to my most important point about casting that is totally unrelated to sound but that I bring up every time: in the first round of casting, the most important thing is actually whether someone follows instructions. the exact language I use now has changed, but you can see an example of a casting call here. I often get hundreds of submissions to an open casting call, and you'd be surprised how many people don't follow the highlighted instructions. there's wiggle-room of course - if someone clearly read and attempted to follow the instructions but just did it wrong, that's fine! but I get a lot of submissions that are just "I'm an actor, here's my website, I've attached my reel". I don't listen to those submissions.
this might sound harsh, or maybe it sounds backwards that the first culling of actors happens completely unrelated to acting skill, but acting is, first and foremost, a job. I need to know that someone reads what I send them and follows instructions. if someone doesn't read the whole casting call, why would I trust that they'd read the script I send them? if an actor takes two weeks to respond to a callback request (with no OOO auto-response), why would I assume they'd be easy to schedule?
so much of why I work with the people I work with is because they are kind and chill and reliable. they are also bonkers talented! but there are a lot of extremely talented people. I also want working together to be fun.
I remember being an actor (that's how I started! auditioning for TV and film in LA) and feeling like casting was this hunger games gauntlet that I could win by doing the right thing. and then I got to the other side of the casting table and had several huge revelations:
casting wants you to succeed so so so bad. we're rooting for you- if you hit it out of the park, our job is so much easier
making a big choice that's wrong is better than playing it safe in a live audition/callback scenario. I want to see that you've got your own POV on the material and then I'll redirect you and make sure you can take direction
the moment before and after the audition is just as important as the audition itself. it's okay if you're nervous! I am too! but focusing on being friendly and enthusiastic goes a long way. in an online submission scenario, this means just writing your submission email as if a human will be reading it (which they will!) I personally love it when someone expresses excitement for auditioning, says what drew them to the character, etc. anything you want to share, I want to hear it!
and the hardest and most important revelation I had: you can hit it out of the park, be perfect for the role, be so friendly and cool and vibe with me completely, and still not get the part. this is the thing I hate about casting. often by the time I get to callbacks, I'm looking at 2-4 actors that would be perfect for the role. sometimes the answer is really, really obvious. but a lot of the time there are two people who would be perfect - if one of those people is friendlier and more responsive than the other, that will tip the scale in their favor. but when those two people are both talented and seem cool to work with? nightmare. that's when it comes down to a bunch of factors that you can't do anything about, like their voice maybe sounding too similar to another cast member's (this happens so much) or just pure gut. I have to choose and there's not always a rhyme or reason for it.
but I will say, those people that get to that stage, I often reach out to later and either offer a role or personally invite them to audition for something. I remember! I'll keep you in mind for future stuff! so keep trying!
okay, OOF, that was waaaaaaay more than you asked for, I'm so sorry!! I just have so many feelings about this subject because I find casting the hardest part of the process and I know what it's like to be on the actor side of this. just do your best, read the submission instructions clearly, know that it often has nothing to do with you, and if at first you don't succeed, try try try again!
