Friday, November 13, 2009

November update

Wow, this 'no internet at home' thing is a drag! Not updating anything nearly as much as I could be! So, let's see...

~I did get a callback on the Drunk Driving PSA--was happy about it! The callback was a learning experience--the woman running the lobby told us all ahead of time to not take the behavior of the director personally...which was good to know. It's not that he was rude, he wasn't--he was just very brief and quick to look at us, then send us on our way. I can understand how some people might be upset by that, and I'm sure I would have wondered about it if I hadn't known what to expect.

~Had a print audition this week, which was my first of that kind. I'll go into that more in a bit, because there is a good learning experience story behind it...

~Also, the last draft that I wrote of the pilot works a lot better--my co-creators are happy with it. Hopefully, we can now focus on the pitchbook again and keep moving with it.

~The short project that I am writing and producing with friends is now in full pre-production mode. We've gotten our SAG New Media tentative approval--working on our pre-production cast list and detailed budget (which isn't that detailed, as we're borrowing and calling in favors for almost everything). Once we submit this round of paperwork, we should be set to Taft-Hartley ourselves and all of the other non-union actors in the project. Yay for being proactive!

~My acting class has started back up! So excited! But I won't be able to rejoin for a little while--need to make sure my finances are in order. And, at the moment, I'm not even sure I'd have time for it, since I just started a new job. My hope is to return at the start of 2010, once I've set aside some money to do so!

~And...my Big Lots commercial should be running soon--it's supposed to debut the week of Thanksgiving. One of the still shots is already up on their website--if you go to the main site and choose the overall 'Christmas' heading, you'll get a page that cycles between two photos, one of which is from my shoot (photo of a couple outside of their house, from far away). SO EXCITED!!!

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So, now for the learning experience from the print auditition...it wasn't so much the audition itself, although it was an entirely new experience (walk in, have name written on a slip of paper, have photo taken four times--front small smile, front big smile, side profile, front full body--and that's it). It's what followed the audition that is worth learning from, for everyone:

After any audition with a CD for whom I've never read before, I send a Hallmark-type Thank You card with a postcard tucked inside of it. (I also do this after any CD workshops, if I go into an office where I have not been for a while, and in the event that I book a job, I sent cards to the CD, production company, director, my agents and the reps from the product.) I consider it my nice way of putting some gratitude into the world. I don't know if they always receive the cards or if they open them, but I know some people do (I've had a CD from General Hospital mention it to me--and keep calling me--and another CD I booked with mention it as well).

I went looking for the mailing address of the CD of this print project, intending to send a card. I ran a few internet searches, but got next to nothing--an IMDb page, a MySpace page, a brief listing on LA 411 and a Linked In profile. That was almost all I could find. I looked at each of them, but no mailing address. All I found was some basic pet peeves on her MySpace page blog (i.e. "Don't ask me to represent you, I don't do that") and a few video clips on YouTube of her advice to actors, which was more audition based, from what I could tell--I did not watch the clips, as there were a few of them, and I did not think I had the time at the moment to do so, as I was supposed to be returning to my writing meeting. Perhaps she details her policies in the videos...I did scan her blog, but can't recall anything being listed in the three posts that specifically mentioned mailings. So, hoping to find the mailing address, I called the number listed on LA 411, thinking it was an office number.

Since it was after 10pm, I figured it would roll to the afterhours voicemail. I did get a voicemail, but it did not list any address. So, I sent an email, requesting the mailing address.

I got a response this morning from the CD, explaining that she does not give out a mailing address because she feels it is a waste of paper for actors to send her mailings and she's trying to reduce her carbon footprint (understandable--this town does waste A LOT of paper). She also added a postscript, saying that she doesn't appreciate after hours calls (i.e. at 10:30pm) because she has a baby at home.

Well, I felt like a jackass. I had no idea the phone went to her home. It was listed as a number for the business. The only other contact info on the voicemail was her direct cell phone number, and I'm not foolish enough to call that (and, even if I was, I don't think I'd be dumb enough to call it late at night).

I wrote her back, explaining that I was looking for the address because it is my custom to send Hallmark-type Thank You cards after auditions, that I didn't see any policies or preferences online regarding her mailing address and what she accepts (a lot of CDs will detail that sort of thing), and that I apologized for calling her so late, because I had no idea the call went to her house (or that she'd have a phone on her that would ring so late--i.e. a work cell phone or if she had the calls rolled to her home at night). I also wrote her a brief note of thanks in the email, for calling me in on the audition.

I think my response was polite and clear as to why the entire situation came about. I genuinely was trying to just say Thanks. She did write me back after my apology and explanation, thanking me and saying she'll call me in again. We'll see, who knows. What I do know is that I did the right thing by writing to apologize and explain my actions. I had good intentions; it was just a misguided attempt due to lack of public information about her specific policies/preferences.

In hindsight, maybe it should have occurred to me to not call the number. I remember pausing before I did it, because I have a natural inclination to not bother anyone, but I also recall thinking that it would be afterhours, so the voicemail would pick up. Also, maybe I should have just sent an email saying thanks...but it seemed, I dunno...less genuine, I suppose. I really do think receiving a card is better than receiving an email, particularly in the case of trying to say something nicely. At any rate, it's done, and I've learned. Which brings me to my overall point...

I'm posting this because I want people to learn from my mistake. Katie Taylor Casting DOES NOT accept mailings and will not give out a mailing address. You can do the research on her email address or office number, as both are available online...but don't call it afterhours, so you don't disturb her. Since her mailing policy information wasn't readily accessible online, as far as the searches I ran (who knows, may have missed it), I hope I can save someone else this mistake in the future--and maybe save the CD the headache of dealing with a well-intentioned, but uninformed actor, too.