OMG if one more Actor moves to L.A….

Full of opportunity, “Pilotzilla” (PILOT SEASON 2014) is frustrating, exhilarating, intimidating…

Casting choices are ridiculously unexplainable at times with hush-hush agendas happening behind the scenes. More and more and more and MORE it’s about getting names, Names, NAMES!

Not Meant-To-Be

After totally nailing an audition I was completely right for – (based on beyond-enthusiastic feedback from Producers and Casting) I lost out to another Actress who happened to be the daughter of famous Actress the Producers were trying to woo as the character’s mother. Things like that are so out of my control… Sigh… MOVE ON…

PILOT SEASON is its own Dystopian Universe

Odds are so stacked up against Actors, it’s almost like winning the Lottery! First you’ve gotta be on the list of acceptable actors the particular Network or Studio is willing to work with. Then you’ve gotta get through Auditions. You’ll read for the Casting Director (sometimes I’m lucky enough to bypass this step) and then if you get the Callback nod, you get to do it again in front of Producers — 

Playing The Name Game (not fun!)

Then, you’ve gotta wait out the time when they offer “your role” to “Names.” If the “Names” say “no” you get on a list for the Studio and Network to approve for this particular role, based on other people they’re looking to cast in your sitcom/drama family or love-situation or whatever – but essentially you’ve gotta fit in with the particular mix they’ve come up with at this stage in the game. Things can totally fall apart here if they’ve decided midway through the process to cast a different ethnicity in the lead or move the location of the story to a different city.

When you get asked to TEST, you work with the Director on the scene to get closer to exactly what they’re looking for (keeping in mind that the Director is working with each of the Actors competing with you in the Test to do the exact same thing – be “the one”). And then, like the Olympics, if you manage to be magnificent-in-the-test-moment — and they pick you to be “The ONE” – you get to shoot the Pilot – YAY! And it’s a nice paycheck for sure! (And the $ goes up if the show gets picked-up for the season).

But you can’t relax because you’ll start reading the Trades and Deadline Hollywood email alerts about pick-up predictions, which in itself is super stressful –– almost like award season where everyone campaigns for what they want with spins and digs here-and-there which you’re not quite sure is news or what people want you to think of as news.

NEWS or WISHFUL THINKING?

During the raging-rumors period, you’re waiting-out Live Audience reactions and Network pow-wows. (It all feels excruciating!) And then — a few days before the Upfronts you spend 100% of your life in front of a screen waiting to see if you’ll be getting on a plane for New York to celebrate and promote or starting all over and wondering how you’ll pay your bills. If you’re extraordinarily lucky and the show gets picked up, you’ve gotta hope and pray that advertisers or execs at any level don’t suggest that maybe it would be better to recast your part.

Hollywood or Hollywouldn’t!

It’s what we as Actors knowingly sign up for — an unbelievable uphill battle, but it’s also a time of amazing opportunity. No use complaining, gotta go now to coach for a Monday Audition — I’ll probably buy a Lottery Ticket while I’m out.

I know, I know…

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