In all my time as an actor, I’ve never experienced a more fraught environment than the one we are in now, and because I keep seeing canaries die in the coal mine, I’m a little curious about the air we’re breathing. The latest troubling indicator: a respected casting office’s controversial offer to tape auditions for a fee.
It all began with a small ad on Instagram in the days leading up to the Academy Awards in March. Betty Mae, the casting office behind “A Star Is Born” and “Euphoria,” would be renting out their vacant studio space — along with camera, lights, a reader and editing — for $130 an hour.
This was a no-brainer for Betty Mae: a way to monetize dormant casting suites that had lain vacant since the first days of the pandemic, while simultaneously helping actors navigate the new realities of getting seen. For some working actors however,...
It all began with a small ad on Instagram in the days leading up to the Academy Awards in March. Betty Mae, the casting office behind “A Star Is Born” and “Euphoria,” would be renting out their vacant studio space — along with camera, lights, a reader and editing — for $130 an hour.
This was a no-brainer for Betty Mae: a way to monetize dormant casting suites that had lain vacant since the first days of the pandemic, while simultaneously helping actors navigate the new realities of getting seen. For some working actors however,...
- 5/18/2023
- by Neal Bledsoe
- Variety Film + TV
Updated: Several actresses like Ever Carradine (The Handmaid’s Tale), Merrin Dungey (Big Little Lies) and Sprague Grayden (Hightown) turned to Twitter this week to express frustration over the pandemic-era trend of (costly) tape auditions and whether in-person tryouts are truly a thing of the past.
Carradine began her social media rant by noting how an ad popped up on her Instagram account for a “respected casting director’s office offering self tape opportunities for a fee. If we can go to casting and tape, can’t we just go to casting and actually read without paying $50 an audition?”
When someone asked if actors now have to pay for an audition, Carradine replied, “No, but you have to pay a facility to tape and read with you. In the before covid times, this was a last resort and most auditions happened in person in the room with casting, producers and the director.
Carradine began her social media rant by noting how an ad popped up on her Instagram account for a “respected casting director’s office offering self tape opportunities for a fee. If we can go to casting and tape, can’t we just go to casting and actually read without paying $50 an audition?”
When someone asked if actors now have to pay for an audition, Carradine replied, “No, but you have to pay a facility to tape and read with you. In the before covid times, this was a last resort and most auditions happened in person in the room with casting, producers and the director.
- 3/2/2023
- by Lynette Rice
- Deadline Film + TV
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