14 Self-Submission Tips
(From 2 Production Companies) - Part II
By Holdon Log, LLC

(Note: This article is Part Two of a Two Part Series. Please click here if you missed Part One.)

As with the previous article which covered tips #1 through #7, the two production companies are back to give us performers more insight as to what to do and what NOT to do when self-submitting for projects.

Online Submissions

TIP #8: "SPECIAL NOTES" (BE SMART)
The "Special Notes" area (when submitting through the top online submission services) is there for you to highlight or make mention of career skills/abilities that are pertinent to the casting notice.

The producers who were casting the comedy pilot told us how helpful it was that dozens of performers  referenced things like “Groundlings Level 2”, or “currently performing in a sketch show, contact for tickets”.

However, they said that plenty of submissions came to them with odd and rude "Special Notes". One that stuck out in their minds was when a performer had the audacity to write - "Your search is over!". To which the producers felt offended and basically said, "...don't cast for us, that's our job." They never called that performer in because of that "Special Note".

Another "Special Note" that came through with a performer's submission was one that said - "F(insert expletory word) - yeah!”. This elicited a rhetorical question from the producers - "Is this the type of actor we want on set?".

Be smart! Don't let your "Special Note" stand in the way of you being called into the audition. Before you add one to your submission make sure that it is:

• Relevant to the Casting Notice
• Clear and Concise
• Truthful

If you are benefitting from a newsletter service like Mad Mimi (click to sign up for your free Mad Mimi Account) then it would be wise to include a brief note that:

• Encourages them to view your newsletter (by providing a link to read your latest newsletter)
• Direct them to your current accomplishments

Audition Requests

TIP #9: CONFIRMING THE AUDITION REQUEST
The producers e-mailed, called and left voicemails for the performers they wished to see at the audition. They specifically noted that they wanted the performers to confirm that they would be there at the specified time. The specified time was IMPORTANT as they were paring up performers to read together and they didn't want too many performers reading for one character standing around while there were not enough of the other character.

After multiple e-mail and voicemail requests some folks did not confirm. The producers were afraid some people might just show up and cause the audition schedule to run too long for the space they had rented. It was not in their budget to pay for extra time.

If you are contacted for an audition, always have the courtesy to confirm that you will, or will not, be attending.

TIP #10: E-MAIL & V-MAIL
The producer mentioned that some performers e-mails bounced and even had a performer's voicemail respond with an automated message that said "Sorry, but the mailbox of the person you are trying to reach is full. Please try again at a later time."

It's incredibly frustrating during the casting process then to find the performer whose look and resume is perfect and then not be able to contact them.

Do the following frequently to make sure you are reachable:

• Check all the submission services you utilize and make sure all of your contact info is up-to-date and correct.

  Special Tip For PerformerTrack Members Use your Submission Resources listing in your Essentials Log to list all the online services you use that house your contact information so you can rapidly update those services as your contact info changes.

• Check your e-mail and voicemail inbox capacities and make sure that there is plenty of available room for messages to reach you. If not, delete any old or unnecessary e-mails/v-mails to free up space.
• If you know you will not be available for 2 or more days (i.e. - because of vacation or work related travel) then set up an e-mail auto-responder and/or voicemail message that let's the sender know that you will be unavailable until a specified date.

TIP #11: AUDITION OPPORTUNITIES VS. OUTSIDE RESPONSIBILITIES
One performer who was given a 2-hour time frame to arrive to the audition felt the need to request a specific time because of child care. While it’s totally understandable to have a life as a parent outside of performing, one producer mentioned that this was a red flag, "If we're already being asked to accommodate this performer at the audition then what would happen if they were cast in the project?  Would they need their rehearsal schedule changed around for this? What about the shooting schedule?"

The producers said it would have been better for the performer to just have child care arranged and attend the audition without asking them to change their schedule. If cast, then that would be the appropriate time to then share any possible conflicts to see if it could be worked around or if they would need to be recast.

TIP #12: READ THE ENTIRE AUDITION REQUEST BEFORE CONTACTING ANYONE
When the producer emailed out the audition request information he also stated that because of the audition structure, there would be "No Sides".

Dozens of performers did NOT read this and e-mailed asking if there were any sides! Now someone from the production had to re-e-mail the performers and say that they should re-read the audition information taking more time out of a busy pre-production schedule.

On the second round of auditions we suggested to the producers that they put "No Sides. Improv Only." at the top of their neatly organized audition request...which they did...and guess what?

People still asked if there were sides!?!?!? Yikes!!!

Before you reach out to a casting director or someone else involved with the project that you are requested to audition for - READ THE ENTIRE AUDITION REQUEST. If your intended question is not answered in the audition request then feel free to send your inquiry to the proper person.

2nd Round of Auditions

TIP #13: DON'T RE-SUBMIT
The producers said that because many folks did not look like their pictures or because they were horrible at improvising they had to host a second round of auditions for three characters. So they put out more casting calls and specifically stated “If you already submitted before, please do not resubmit.” So guess what happened? Some people who already submitted who were not called in or who had in fact auditioned now resubmitted leaving the producers to shuffle through all the submissions probably wasting another 2-3 hours of their time only to find that performers did not read the instructions and they had not kept track of their initial submission or even the audition.

Special Tip For PerformerTrack Members When self-submitting utilize the Contacts Section of PerformerTrack to note the Production Company and/or the First and Last Name of who you are submitting to. Perhaps assign the "Type (Secondary)" as "Submission", that way you can quickly do a Search of those you have submitted to. Then utilize the NOTES area to designate what production, what was submitted and any other notes. If you incurred a cost for submitting be sure to utilize the EXPENSES section to record that as the click & submit fee or the postage is most likely a tax-deductible expense.

It's Who You Know

TIP #14: STAY CONNECTED
On an interesting note, several of the cast members were actually brought in because of previously working with these producers on other projects, they knew they did a great job and continued to stay in touch with the producers (comprised of a director, editor, producer, actor and writer).

Perhaps this re-illustrates the importance of being on-time, prepared and organized all the while being professional and following up with your career updates and highlights which after all, since you are reading this, you know is all part of the success of our tools here at Holdon Log!

A good idea is to sign-up for a newsletter service like Mad Mimi and create a monthly or quarterly newsletter to keep your contacts up-to-date with your career highlights. By using a newsletter service like Mad Mimi, you can respect people's privacy as all emails are stored within your account and they can opt out, forward or change their subscription information as they like.

We hope sharing these tips help you in zeroing in on what audition notices are best for you to submit on!

Recommended products for tracking your Submissions and Auditions:

• Submission Tracker Holdon Log
• Holdon Log
• PerformerTrack

Recommended products for tracking your Booked Projects:

• Booked Projects Holdon Log
• PerformerTrack