Category Archives: Business & Careers

Click and Submit Services for UK Actors {The Film Set}

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We’re constantly being told that 90% of an actors job is looking for work. While that’s a massive sweeping generalisation, it is in most ways true. Some of that 90% counts for marketing yourself and going towards making you a more appealing “brand” (so I’m counting going to the gym as work…certainly feels like it). A large proportion of the active looking for work involves click and submit websites. All of these suit different Actors at different stages in their careers but are valid in their own ways…but here’s what we’ve found out.

Starnow

{ Genevieve } Suits people beginning their career or with a really unusual look. Starnow doesn’t have any minimum requirements to join and because of this, there are always loads of people willing to work for free on the site trying to gain experience. It attracts low budget productions or small independant production companies trying to maximise their margins. There’s a huge number of irrelevant jobs on there but it’s usually the first point of call for producers looking for people with very unusual (character) or glamour model looks.

Occasionally there’s a gem of a job in amongst the hubub and I’ve been told that producers post jobs on there because they like the easy user interface.

{ Catherine }  I have been on Star Now for years and people wonder why sometimes as I am no longer a beginner. The answer is above. Occasionally, it has a gem of a job. In my case, a Placebo musiv video I did that has had millions of views. I get recognised a lot from it.

£35.94 for 6 Months

Shooting People

{ Catherine } Shooting people is amazing. Relatively cheap, a hubbub of film making. A lot of the castings are unpaid but you will be in contact with the next Spielberg or Scorsese. It has a good community and some good castings. You can also put up your showreel and films and share with other film makers. Well worth it and affordable. They also do monthly meet ups.

£30 per year

Spotlight

{ Genevieve } The huge majority of professional Actors are on Spotlight’s database. Your page can be viewed by anyone you give the link to or by casting professionals. It’s also published in book form yearly. The book deadline is such a massive event that photographers create special discounts before the deadline to give themselves a competitive edge. The criteria for being listed on the database are fairly strict, it’s limited to professionaly trained or experienced performers. If you have have an agent on your Spotlight profile you won’t even need to submit yourself for breakdowns. They already do that for you. A chat recently with someone in the Spotlight offices recently revealed that unrepresented actors only get 5% of the breakdowns sent. A represented actor will get an additional 75% of the breakdowns sent and there are a few Producers or Casting Directors that prefer to work with Agencies they have established a business relationship with so they choose who to send their breakdowns to…you might think this is unfair considering all the Performers pay the same subscription rate but this selectiveness ensures Spotlight retains the custom of the most productive Casting professionals. Casting professionals pay a subscription too and it’s this level of flexibility and vetting that means Spotlight breakdowns are always from the higher end of the market. If you don’t have an agent then Spotlight can act as a forwarding service for you, giving you some distance from crazed fans. Having a Spotlight card also gets you discounts from a number if retailers and services.

{ Catherine } Spotlight is invaluable. If you are not in it, you are invisible.

Cost varies depending on what time of year you join and what book you want to be listed in but roughly around £177 for one year for Actors and Actresses.

PCR – Production and Casting Report

{ Catherine } Every actor has had PCR at some point in their life. It used to have the hold of Spotlight and be essential. A rite of passage. Again, your agent will get this. It is posted to you and then you post off your CV and headshot or email. Depending on the casting directors preference. It comes on red paper and a lot of the castings will not be happening for a while. It is great for building up contacts. If you can afford it, get it.

£22.46 per month

Casting Call Pro

{ Genevieve } Easy to use website for Actors where you can have your profile online and submit yourself to acting jobs. The membership options are clear and upfront. It’s free to have a profile on the site and apply to unpaid jobs. To register on the site you need to have professional experience or training. Premium membership will allow you to apply for paid jobs, have more photos online and more attachments (Showreels, voicereels etc.) The database is searchable and employers do and will search for you. You can chose to be listed in Google searches or hidden from it and they provides statistics so you can see who’s searching for you online and viewed your profile. There’s a huge mix of jobs on the site, mainly as it’s free to post a casting call and easy to use.

The site also has a huge resource section with details of agents, photographers and services and makes it really easy to find a headshot photographer you like by automatically linking actors headshots with the photographers profile page. There’s an active forum which makes you feel like part of a community, constantly looking for work can be a bit isolating. The yearly socials are good fun and the team behind the website are really friendly.

{ Catherine } Been on it since the beginning. Good for a sense of community and gets good castings.

£117.50 a year for premium membership, free for basic membership.

CastWeb

{ Catherine } Castweb is different from the other services as you get emails about castings,’breakdowns as we call them, and then email the casting director your CV and headshot. It is mostly for agents but I have had a lot of luck with it. It is quite expensive. However, one good job will pay that off. If you can afford it, get it. Your agent will already have it. So ask them if it is needed if money is very short.

£139.95 for 12 Months

Mandy.com

{ Genevieve } A TV and Film production website with a casting section. Free to register as an Actor and upload your photo and CV and also to apply to all the casting calls. Anyone can register but there are few paid opportunities. Fantastic if you are looking to build a showreel. The profile’s arn’t searchable but it’s really easy to submit your details to a job if you’re interested in it.

{ Catherine } Definitely worth it. Free and has the occasional amazing job.

Free

Talent Circle

{ Genevieve } Another free site that allows you to submit yourself for jobs. The site mainly has unpaid student productions of the odd researcher looking for something obscure and has already tried everywhere else. You can choose to receive notifications of new jobs daily via email which makes it really easy to stay on the ball. Sadly though it never saves any of your details which makes applying for jobs an enormous chore. When you’re applying for hundreds of jobs a week you want it to be as painless as possible. However…it is free.

{ Catherine } Also worth it if you have the time. At the beginning of my career I got some very good jobs from it.

Free

Gumtree/Craigslist/Buying a role on eBay…Don’t do it kids.

Ciao for now! Genevieve and Catherine

If you have a topic you’d like covered or something to contribute then send it to info@frostmagazine.com.

Google Alerts, Market Research for Actors | The Film Set

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There, I said it…market research.

It’s not called Showbusiness for nothing, there are plenty of amazing Actors out there who are incredibly talented but have never had a paid acting job and there’s nothing wrong with that but if you want to make a career from Acting it makes sense to treat it as a business…That means doing all the boring stuff like tax returns, PR and market research.

(yeh yeh Gen, what about this Google Alerts thing) Chill out inner monologue, I’m getting to it.

What is Google Alerts?

Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) You enter the topic you want to keep tabs on and they send you an email when there’s a new result.

The alerts get emailed to you at a frequency you chose or you could opt to receive it via an RSS feed if you have a Google account. Users with Google Accounts can also view, create, edit and delete their alerts using the “Manage your Alerts” page.

What can it be used for?

You can have an alert for yourself (err, it’s not vain), any competitors, any productions that you are really keen on, open auditions in your town, casting directors, that TV show you’re owed repeat fees for, your mates, your mum…the list is endless. (Actually I just learnt the list is limited to 1000 per email address but that’s still a fair few)

Let’s take this scenario for example…there’s a Hypothetical Theatre down the road in the town of Blah where you live. They put their castings up on their website but checking their website everyday is absurd. So, you set up a Google Alert for [“Hypothetical Theatre” Blah Casting] and hooray! When they announce their next casting on their website you’ll be the first to know.

That’s a bit sly isn’t it?

You might think it’s a bit sly but PR companies get paid tons to collect clippings for companies and Google themselves suggest using Alerts for the following things:

” – monitoring a developing news story

– keeping current on a competitor or industry

– getting the latest on a celebrity or event”

What about if there’s more than one person with the same name…

There are folk in the world who have completely unique names…Google Alerts for them are simple and straightforward. However, if you’re searching for a person that has a common name and you don’t want updates on everyone with that particular name, Google have thought of this too and have help guides with some advanced tips.

So for example if you’re searching for someone called thingymabob, and there’s another thingymabob who’s a high profile baker, all you need to do is put a minus (-) sign in front of a keyword attached to the other thingymabob you don’t want to know about. Your search would look like this [“thingymabob” -baker]

My top tip

If you haven’t already got a Google account then head on down and get one. Then instead of choosing to have the alerts sent to you vie email you can receive them to your Google Reader as an RSS feed.

[Google Alerts]

Genevieve Sibayan is a London based Actress, you can find Genevieve’s blog here and get updates by clicking on her rss feed. If you’d like to subscribe to The Film Set on Frost Magazine then click here.

Advice Blogs for Actors {The Film Set | Genevieve Sibayan}

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Like every actor out there, I have a stack of books sitting on a shelf gathering dust becoming more and more irrelevant by the minute. There are some good informative books, but they’re becoming the exception rather than the norm. Sometimes I look at my stack of irrelevant books and resent them for costing me (taunting me with their perfect spines) especially as there is so much fantastic advice and information out there on the internet. Here’s a few below, these are just the ones I subscribe to so there may be tons more. Let me know if you find any.

 

Bonnie Gilespie’s Blog – The Actor’s Voice

There is so much amazing info here, all for free. Everything here is positive, inspiring and useful. Casting Director Bonnie Gilespie has clearly put a lot of time into this column on Showfax and even though she’s US based, it’s relevant internationally.

rss feed: http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/index.xml

The Actor’s Voice – POV

Showfax, wiz all zis information your are really spoiling uz. This time it’s Bonnie Gilespie and friends. Friends being people in the biz, and there’s quite a few. By a few I mean tons.

rss feed: http://more.showfax.com/plus/pov/index.xml

The Casting Corner

Another column on Showfax, this time from Casting Director Mark Sikes. Mark posts some great advice on a weekly basis…he’s there every week.

rss feed: http://more.showfax.com/columns/corner/index.xml

The Actor Cast Blog

Yet more great advice. ActorCast is a US based web service allowing Actors to submit directly to Casting Directors existing services. Their blog has articles, How to guides, Q&A’s and Open calls.

rss feed: http://actorcastblog.com/blog/?feed=rss2

Backstage Magazine

A US trade journal for Actors proving just how much of an industry this actually is. They have a regular advice column.

rss: http://feeds.feedburner.com/Backstage-Columns

Playbills vs. Paying Bills

Advice and insight from three actors from across the pond. Ben Whitehair, Joe Von Bokern and Emily Beuchat share their stories, resources, recommendations and stuff from their respective acting scenes in LA, Chicago and New York. Read it, you will be entertained and you will learn things!

rss feed: http://playbillsvspayingbills.com/?feed=rss2

The Film Set – Frost Magazine

Brought to you by a couple of London actresses…Catherine Balavage and Genevieve Sibayan. Ok! ok, you caught me, this suggestion’s a little biased but we do have some interviews with fantastic casting directors and people involved in Film and TV.

rss: http://feeds.feedburner.com/FrostMagazineTheFilmSet

Know any more blogs that I’ve missed out? Leave me a comment below and I’ll update the post.

Update:

Minimum Wage Actors [Thanks Pete Jenkinson for this one]

News about National Minimum Wage stories affecting or having affected Actors and Performers.

rss: http://actorsminimumwage.wordpress.com/feed/


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Genevieve Sibayan is a London based Actress, you can find Genevieve’s blog here and get updates by clicking on her rss feed. If you’d like to subscribe to The Film Set on Frost Magazine then click here.

What is an RSS feed? And some (probably) useful feeds for Actors {The Film Set | Genevieve Sibayan}

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I don’t want to patronise you…so if you already know all this then scroll down for some (probably) useful feeds…if you think “hmm, feed, omnomnom” then keep reading.

What is an RSS feed?

RSS stands for Rich Site Summary Really Simple Syndication. It’s basically a way of subscribing to a blog or website or any number of things that publish content on a regular basis.

The RSS feed tells your RSS Reader that you’d like to receive updates as and when they happen. By subscribing to a site’s feed in Reader, you will automatically be notified when that website contains new posts or entries. Instead of checking sites repeatedly for updates, RSS feeds bring your favorite websites to you.

This means that you can be kept up to date with a web site and you don’t need to use your bookmarks or clutter up your email inbox with newsletters. Those of us who are Blackberry owners know the feeling of newsletter-overload-itis.

Err…what’s an RSS Reader?

An RSS Reader works a little like an email account. You can subscribe to all the feeds from different sites or sources you like and star, label or organise them into folders just like you can your email account. If you have a Google account then you are already set up for Google Reader, you just need to click on the text link at the top of your Google account page.

If you don’t want to use Google Reader then there are loads of readers out there (here’s a short list) and you can also get them in app form.

Right, got my Feed Reader…now what?

Go to the website you want to receive updates for and look for the feed icon…

When you see it on a website, clicking will usually direct you to that site’s feed. From there, you can either copy and paste the link to subscribe to the feed in Reader, or in the case of many browsers, click a button to subscribe directly.

If that doesn’t happen then right click on the icon and copy the link address. You can then use that address in your reader if you look for the Add Subscription link.

What’s the point again?

Ok, yes you have Twitter and Facebook and email newsletters and people telling you Eastenders spoilers over BBM (yeh, er thanks for that) but with social media and time differences you can miss things and a huge amount of the info isn’t relevant. Cue distraction and reading about peoples lunches and kittens. Readwriteweb.com has a great post on why feed readers rock.

Yeh but…what’s the point again?

You can use RSS feeds to get updates from Casting Directors blogs, updates for productions that are casting, industry news, Google Alerts (which I will go into in more detail about in the future), advice columns and even Youtube Channels.

If you want to follow a youtube channel the feed address is as follows: http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/base/users/[insert username here]/uploads

You can also use feeds to publicise your own stuff, your blogs, news updates on your website, your webseries channel etc.

Can you give us some examples?

Firstly I have to point out that these question headers are coming from my inner monologue who has just refered to itself as “us”. Should I be worried?

And yes, I can give you some examples…

The Stage – News Headlines and Features

UK pride and joy of the theatrical society The Stagehas almost 600 subscribers via rss alone proving it’s still relevant.

News rss: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheStageNews

Features rss: http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheStageFeatures

ScreenTerrier

A great new UK blog with news on young british actors. Breaks the occasional story about castings. The feed isn’t even publicised on their site but already has plenty of followers.

rss: http://screenterrier.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

The Casting Scoop

USA based with lotsa info and insight but how else would I know that Twilight CD Lana Veenker is holding a workshop in London…

rss: http://castingscoop.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Nancy Bishop’s Blog

Casting director Nancy Bishop’s blog mostly contains updates about events, seminars, links to webinars and projects she’s casting all in THE BIGGEST FONT EVER. I picked up her book recently and I recommend it to any screen actor. Nancy is based in Prague but works internationally.

rss: http://nancybishopcasting.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Bafta Events Feed

Even if you’re not a member you can still go to some of the Bafta events. If you do go…remember to ring the doorbell. Or just hang around outside for a few minutes and giggle at people tugging at the door handles in vain. Not that I do that…honestly!

rss: http://www.bafta.org/events.xml

The Film Set – Frost Magazine

Subscribe to this feed…this actual feed that you’re reading now. A UK based column with interviews with Casting Directors actors etc…run by a couple of Actresses that go by the names of Catherine Balavage and Genevieve Sibayan. Errr…yeh that’s us.

rss: http://feeds.feedburner.com/FrostMagazineTheFilmSet

 

Genevieve’s Feed

That’s me! I’m the one writing this. Subscribe to it…if you like.

rss feeeeeed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/GenevieveSibayan

I don’t wanna overwhelm you so I will stop but rest assured you WILL be getting more suggestions on ace blogs to follow wether you like it or not. Blogs from people who have much better advice than little old me! Tata for now folks!

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Genevieve Sibayan is a London based Actress, you can find Genevieve’s blog here and get updates by clicking on her rss feed. If you’d like to subscribe to The Film Set on Frost Magazine then click here.

Catherine Balavage interviews Ben Elliott on Quintessentially and charity.

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As well as being an excellent concierge business, Quintessentially also does lots for charity. Including at the historical House of St Barnabas. A beautiful venue where volunteers do good things for the homeless. Giving them a hand up. Not a hand out. Here, Ben tells us all about it.

Tell me about Quintessentially.

The idea came about when Aaron and I noticed we were spending more and more time connecting people which made us realize there was a huge gap in the market.  The concept of creating a concierge service available 24/7 to bring busy people a service that saves them time and hassle by providing expert fixers who are always on board to assist them –  from sourcing tickets to sporting events, providing access to the hottest gigs in town, securing last minute hotel reservations and travel deals, or simply booking restaurants.  When we spoke to people about it they loved the idea and Quintessentially was born.
We now have 54 offices worldwide, 25 sister businesses and this December we will celebrate our 10th Anniversary, a landmark that we are incredibly proud of.

What kind of membership do you offer.

The General Concierge

This general membership grants you access to the AskQ concierge available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for restaurant and club bookings, travel arrangements and all other requests.

The Dedicated

There’s a reason Quintessentially Dedicated is our most popular level of service – it provides our high-profile members with a personal account manager in one territory of your choice whose mission in life is to alleviate their daily stresses by offering complete lifestyle management. The Dedicated membership draws on Quintessentially’s golden contacts to offer you discounts and exclusive access, as well as advanced notice for upcoming events and parties.

Dual Dedicated Membership

The Dual Dedicated Membership will allow you to have two account managers anywhere in the world. This has proven very useful for business VIP’s and clients in the entertainment world who travel between two cities on a frequent basis, eg London, New York or London, Hong Kong for example.

The Elite

At the global Elite Membership level you can be sure Quintessentially will have the expertise and insider information to get you what you want wherever and whenever you want it. Elite members of Quintessentially are provided with a team of personal Elite account managers in all of Quintessentially’s covered regions around the globe. You’ll be connected to fixers and researchers in every major city across the world, all available 24 hours a day to fulfill all your needs.

The Bespoke Elite

The Bespoke Elite will provide the member with 4-5 Account Managers in their main travelling territories (Maybe London, New York, Dubai, Hong Kong and Moscow).

The only way to describe this is like having a best friend/Life Style Manager taking care of any last minute needs that you may have and working closely with our members personal assistants with regards any last minute requests you may have in any country around the world and working in a proactive way rather than a reactive way which the Dedicated Membership provides.

You do a lot for charity including raising a lot of money doing the ultimate cycle ride. Tell me about what you are doing at Quintessentially Soho at The House of St Barnabas

The cycle ride was brutal but fantastic! We raised over £115,000 for Quintessentially Foundation….
As for Quintessentially Soho – after walking along Greek Street for the umpteenth time, I took the time to stop and knock on the door of The House of St Barnabas. I had heard about its garden, and inspiration for A Tale of Two Cities and I knew it had a mysterious crypt. Plus, I knew it had been a House for Fallen Women.

The charity has called this magnificent 18th Century building home since 1846 and has looked after people effected by homelessness in some capacity for all these years. Three years ago a fire had gutted the House and the charities trustees couldn’t afford to rebuild it for use as refuge. So I got friends, family, employees to help and donate their much valued time, art-work and furniture to Quintessentially Soho at The House of St Barnabas which opened in October last year. It is a not-for-profit enterprise which sees all membership fees go straight to the House.

The life Skills programme that was up and running well before we arrived has flourished under the partnership. The programme is there to teach people affected by homelessness vital life skills that they have either forgotten or not used for many years. It is an amazing project that provides personal support through vocational training, teaching, work placements and support in accessing jobs. 

Quintessentially Soho provides unique work experience on site and a real working environment for volunteers on the scheme through the restaurant and bar on the first two floors.  Over the past ten months the programme has seen over 20 volunteers successfully graduate.   Statistically, the Life Skills programme has seen 50% of its volunteers moving into future employment and 48% going into further education.
What we have achieved there is simply amazing and I am incredibly proud of it.

What is next?

We have numerous projects in the pipeline – our most exciting is Quintessentially One. In the summer of 2013 super yacht Quintessentially One, the world’s first exclusive private members’ club will set sail. It is set to be the most stylish and luxurious way to the see the world, Quintessentially One is the first and only ship of its kind.
Next years charity challenge? Who knows… Watch this space.

Thank you Ben.

Tools for actors: Performer Track review {Careers}

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An actor’s life is often stressful. With so many auditions, agents, jobs and people in your life. Trying to keep track seems impossible.

This is why I am glad to have come across an amazing organisational tool for actors: Performer Track. With different sections, you can keep track of all of your auditions, contacts, agents and bookings. Although US based, Performer Track works just as well for actors all over the world.

One of my favourite features is income and expenses. It can seem impossible as an actor to keep track of your income as it comes from so many different expenses. Keeping track of tax deductible expenses is just as hard. With Performer track you can put in all of your expenses occurred for every job. You can also find out what agents are good and which ones are not working by keeping track of all the jobs they get you. It is important as an actor to realise that your agents, managers and publicity people work for you. Performers track let’s you know who is propelling your career and who is not working for their percentage.

It let’s you keep track of what you were wearing to each audition, who was in the room and what they said. It let’s you map things to find out where you are going. It takes a chaotic, paper heavy career and makes it simple and easy.

It allows you to be the best CEO you can be of your acting brand. The mistake actors make is that they see themselves just as artists. Researching casting directors, directors and the projects you are working on will give you the edge you need in an overcrowded market with ever-dwindling jobs. Try it. You won’t be disappointed.

Acting Advice. { The Film Set | Catherine Balavage }

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I started my acting career when I was 14, doing a play with the youth theater. I have since gone on to work with Martin Scorsese, Madonna, Stephen Poliakoff and Gurinda Chadra. After the 2000th person -or so it feels- asked me for acting advice I thought I should write this article and then I decided to write a book. The book on how to be a successful actor, How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur, is out now.

Well, that and the dawning realisation that I have been doing this for years. Here it is. Hope it helps you along in an incredibly difficult career.

1) A good headshot. I recommend Diego Indraccolo. He is amazing and does mine. Find him here: http://www.diego.indraccolo.com/

2) A Spotlight entry. Essential. You are invisible without it.

3) A good response to the question ‘What have you been doing lately?’ Not ‘temping’ or ‘watching TV’ something interesting that makes your life sound exciting. Even if the only thing you have been doing is watching daytime TV.

4a) Joining acting sites like Casting Call Pro, Mandy.com, Shooting People and Castweb. http://www.uk.castingcallpro.com/view.php?uid=44261

I am on all of them and not only do I get jobs but I can also ask for advice and it gives me a sense of community. Essential for an actor as our job can be very isolating.

4b) A good clear, concise covering letter that is not generic.

5) A good CV. Leave out damaging information like your age and put playing range instead. DO NOT LIE. The industry is tiny.

6) Being Pro-active. Do your own work. Write. Get seen.

7) Networking. Do this as much as possible. Not just to get jobs but so you know people in the same business.

8 ) An Agent. Not easy but they can get you castings you will not be able to. It is possible to have a career without one but you will need one eventually. I love mine.

9) Be well groomed at all times. You are a business. No one wants to work with an actor who smells or who can not look after themselves. Also: be nice or you will probably never work again.

10) Only do it if you can not do anything else. It is the hardest, most competitive industry you can go into. Your chances of success are tiny. If that has not deterred you then go for it!

11) Equity membership. It validates you. You will get insurance and discounts. If someone does not pay you – which keeps happening to me! – they will sue them for you. http://www.equity.org.uk/

12) Don’t be an a**hole. Nobody wants to work with an a**hole.

13) Turn up, be on time, be professional. Know your lines. All of this matters. Work begets work. I always see someone I have previously worked with on jobs now.

14) Keep training. Learn different accents. Read plays. Do pilates. You have to keep yourself in tip-top condition.

To read more on my adventures go to http://balavage.wordpress.com/

Break a leg!

Richard Evans CDG: Casting director interview {The Film Set}

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1) How did you get into casting?
I worked as assistant to two casting directors, but I’d always had a casting director’s brain (I used to read Spotlight in the local library from the age of 8, which, although it sounds sad, completely fascinated me!). I started on my own in 1989, as the first freelance casting director to specialise in theatre – in those days, the vast majority of theatre casting was done by artistic directors and their secretaries, and was not considered worthy of specialised casting knowledge (the only people who cast for theatre worked in the casting departments of the major companies, such as the RSC and The National Theatre, and the only other freelancer was Leonie Cosman who did many of the West End musicals). While many film and TV casters initially treated theatre with disdain, viewpoints changed remarkably quickly, so I, in turn, diversified, but theatre is still my favourite medium.

2) Favourite film you have cast?
I’ve cast relatively few films, as it’s not really a medium that I’ve pushed to work in. I am, however, extremely proud of most of the projects I’ve cast, for a multitude of reasons.

3) What do you love about your job?
Getting it right! Leaving a casting where we have first, second, third… even eighth choices for each character makes me walk on air. I always strive for absolute perfection and sweat blood over everything I do, so when everything falls into place it makes it all worthwhile. My absolute favourite thing is giving someone their first job out of drama school and then seeing them progress to bigger and better things – it doesn’t often happen, as there aren’t always suitable roles on my desk at the right time, but it’s amazing when it does.

4) Advice for actors?
Buy my book!… no, seriously… BUY MY BOOK! Where do I start?! Be honest about your capabilities and what you’ve done. We are in a small business, which gets smaller the longer you are in it, so any fibs will surely be found out. Prepare everything thoroughly, know as much as you can about the projects you’re up for and the industry you’re in. Be prepared for anything, and, above all, enjoy whatever you do – if you don’t, others won’t. I could go on, but there’s lots of other advice, tips and resources at my website.

5) Who is your inspiration?
Anyone who knows what they want and goes for it wholeheartedly… especially if they have overcome adversity to do so.

6) What’s next?
I’m currently in discussions to cast a new musical, which it’s hoped will tour the UK in early 2011, and I’m told that a corporate video has had its budget approved, six months after I was first called about it. My policy is to always believe that a project is only definite after it has happened and the cheque has cleared. People are being far more cautious at the moment, due to the recession, but the great thing about our Industry is you never know when the phone will ring and your luck will change – even after all these years, I am frequently surprised when it happens to me.

7) Tell me about your book.
AUDITIONS: A PRACTICAL GUIDE is, I’m told, just that. I wanted to write a book that is an easy and amusing read and would be useful and pertinent to every performer, from those considering training or starting a career in performing arts to the most experienced actors who want to brush up their skills and learn new techniques. The reaction has been phenomenally positive, even from people who have been in the Industry for decades and are notoriously harsh critics (I’m still waiting for someone to contact me and say ‘I didn’t like your book because…’, which would actually be quite refreshing, silly though that may sound). The book covers many different genres and takes the reader through the audition process step by step. Writing this book was a long-held ambition – I first thought of writing it back in 1993 – and was a huge learning curve, taking over 4 years from conception to publication. I wanted to write it partly as I was frustrated at the amount of performers who unwittingly lose jobs by auditioning badly and, on a more selfish note, because I wanted to prove to myself that I could write a book and get it published. It is without doubt the proudest achievement of my life… so far!

8 ) What is your background?
I was an actor for 10 years, which I believe has stood me in excellent stead to work in casting, as, having seen things from both sides of the audition table, I am able to appreciate everyone’s point of view and, hopefully get the best out of performers when auditioning.

9) What does your average day consist of?
There’s really no such thing as an average day, every day is different and that’s the way I like it. I’m usually at my desk by around 10am, replying to emails that have come in overnight and ploughing through my daily to do list. Some days are frantic, others very quiet, there’s no pattern. I go to the theatre to keep abreast of actors’ work at least 3 or 4 nights a week and may then return to my desk afterwards to catch up, especially if I’m dealing with agents and producers in America.

10) Favourite actors?
My favourite actors are mainly those that I like as people as well as for their skill as performers. There are many, and most aren’t the least bit famous or even yet in the public eye, so I’ll spare their blushes by mentioning them and having you saying ‘Who?!’ Those you may have heard of include: Douglas Hodge who is terrific and starting to be given the recognition he deserves, having been awarded best actor on both sides of the Atlantic for his astounding performance as Albin in La Cage Aux Folles. Samantha Morton always gives wonderfully naturalistic performances; Daniel Radcliffe is really proving himself to be a great actor (he’s also not a bad magician in real life!); Sheridan Smith has been excellent in everything I’ve see her do; Julie Walters is far more versatile than most people ever see, and Alec McCowen is doubtless the most underrated actor of his generation, if not all time.

11) What is the hardest part of the job?
Getting performers to prepare adequately for auditions and recalls, especially when they’ve been sent sides or songs to learn… and also getting some companies to pay my invoices on time!

Buy Richards book on Amazon or visit his web site.

Main picture credit Ethel Davies.