Answers for Actors

The Union Audition Myth & Why Actors Fall for It

October 30, 2011 at 9:37 am | Posted in acting, actors, auditions, Submission Guidelines | Leave a comment
Tags: acting, acting tips, actors, auditions, casting, entertainment industry, how to become an actor

True or false?:

Excluding cattle calls (open calls, ECCs, EPAs) only union actors can audition for and be hired for union projects.

Survey says…? False.

Big-time false.

A non-union actor can audition for and be hired for any union project. And depending on the project and governing union the actor can easily be hired either as union or non-union. “Really?” you ask?

Yes, really.

The myth that non-union actors are barred from principal casting consideration for union projects originates from the non-union actor’s misconception of the audition process. But the non-union actor is not alone in propelling this myth. Casting notices for productions governed by Actors’ Equity Association coyly spread the mis-truth as well.

Trade publications (Back Stage and Playbill Online) list union notices under a banner for the correlating union (SAG, AEA, AFTRA). At the end of an AEA casting notice is a reference similar to: “Always bring your Equity Membership Card to auditions.” or more ominously prohibiting “Seeking Equity ONLY for these auditions.” Once a non-union actor sees that they think, “I’m not wanted or allowed to attend that audition.”

Want to know who places that little membership tag onto a casting director’s breakdown?

The union.

Even if those union auditions are by appointment only, solely set-up by the casting office. That little dissuader by AEA is keeping non-union actors from doing what they need to do as actors; seek work to pay bills. Not very nice is it considering all AEA members were once themselves non-union. And I have never once known of a casting director who demands union cards to be flashed preceding auditions-by-appointment. We seek talent not plastic identification cards.

A casting director holding auditions-by-appointment for a union project can call-in whomever the hell they want. Got that? If not… let’s try this again but with an expansion…

A, director, producer, writer, casting director or anyone hiring for a union project and holding auditions-by-appointment can call-in whomever the hell they want. I could call in a non-union dog for a human union role if I were so insane (but I’d lose my producer client quick).

NOTE: Non-union actors attending union “open calls” (ECCs & EPAs) is an entirely different matter covered in ACTING: Make It Your Business. (And by-the-the-by AEA administrators hate — and I mean they can get very, very testy — when I reference an EPA or ECC as an “open call”. In my casting lingo if I’m not calling in actors by appointment; the auditions are an open call.)

So when you, as the non-union job seeker, see a casting notice for a union project which is having auditions-by-appointment do not, repeat, DO NOT, hobble your career ambitions by ignoring that casting notice. Submit yourself. Hell… even if you only see that the project is having an EPA or ECC submit yourself. Casting offices, like mine, do not post all information publicly about our projects. Casting offices post only what unions require or… post notices publicly because we want to expand the talent outreach beyond talent agencies and managers. So if a casting office is holding EPAs there’s a very, very good chance they’re also holding auditions-by-appointment (of which you’ll never read about in Back Stage or on Playbill)

Get the black-market breakdowns for films pilots, episodics, Broadway and better paying regional theaters all of which are union projects? You can submit yourself. Even if the casting office is only accepting electronic submissions.

How you ask?

Well… first there’s the obvious; access the Internet. Google the casting office and more than likely you’ll find they have an online presence. Go to the casting office’s contact page and seek out how to pound on their electronic door.

No online contact?

Get The Call Sheet (formerly The Ross Reports and published monthly by Back Stage). Every casting director in the US that wants to be listed has their land (and sometimes electronic) mail listed. Leverage the information to your advantage.

Union theaters can also be contacted directly for their projects/seasons; all you need do is contact the theater’s in-house casting person (not their large city casting office like a Paul Russell Casting).

How would you mark your envelope/email and get it opened for a union project? Well, those who’ve read ACTING: Make It Your Business know the answer and secrets to exploiting castings’ weak links. (And if you’re pissy that I’m not providing the answer here please recall that much of my online advising is done freely during my spare time.)

Now… what about auditioning for a union project if you’re non-union; can you be hired as union?

Yes.  A producer can offer you or buy (indirectly as part of the contract) your union card.

Also…

For some AEA regionals (L.O.R.T.’s and other theatrical acronyms) the producer may have an agreement with AEA to hire a split ratio of union v. non-union.

The only major obstacles for non-union talent being considered for union projects are:

The actor’s work history and/or type does not match the role/demands sought.

The casting director dismissed or never saw the non-union actor’s submission because the non-union actor didn’t know how to market themselves properly (ACTING: Make It Your Business).

The non-union actor has a major advantage over the union actor; the non-union actor can submit themselves for anything. The union actor? Well, if you’re a card-carrying union actor… you know the bitch which keeps you from working a non-union project. I’m union myself (SDC)… and I’m becoming more inclined to bolting the yearly dues which give me little due as more producers look to non-union directors for savings over experience.

And if you doubt a non-union actor can audition for a union project that has on its union-tagged “Only seeking union members?” casting notice then I have a few previously non-union actors turned union via my casting union projects you may want to meet.

Next!

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My Best,
Paul

Paul Russell’s career as a casting director, director, acting teacher and former actor has spanned nearly thirty years. He has worked on projects for major film studios, television networks, and Broadway. Paul has taught the business of acting and audition technique at NYU and has spoken at universities including Yale, Temple and the University of the Arts. He writes a column for Back Stage and is the author of ACTING: Make It Your Business – How to Avoid Mistakes and Achieve Success as a Working Actor. For more information, please visit www.PaulRussell.net.

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