Archive for the ‘Acting Resources’ Category

Open Auditions for Actors, Models, Child Actors and Extras For Movies

Looking for open casting calls and auditions? Below are the featured calls posted this week in the forums. We are constanlty seeking all levels of experience for models, actors, entertainers and extras for television, film and events worldwide.

If you wantto get into the industry, we can help you get started, or provide opportunities for those who are experienced. The forums provide free casting calls and auditions posted by casting personnel worldwide.

If you would like to display your photos to casting personnel seeking talent for their projects, you can sign up for a profile for as low as $10.00 A YEAR. That’s right, only $10.00 a year. Allows you to post photos, videos and resume as well as give you a link to your page to use in submitting your page to casting personnel.

Below are the newest casting calls just posted in the forums this week! Just register in the forums to review and submit for casting calls and open auditions, post questions or interact with members worldwide.

FEATURED Open Auditions and Notices for this week…

• Casting Call in New York – Auditions for Mother and Child – Seeking a mother age range  18-35 yrs and child age range newborn to 4 yrs old for a Parenting Film – Click to Apply
• Nationwide Casting Call for a New Reality TV Show – Auditioning Actors, Singers, Dancers, Models and Comedians – Click to Apply
• Auditions  California – Orange County  – Casting  call for actors age ranges 8 to adult, casting  all types, all ethnicities for a scheduled full length feature films – will be casting nationwide as projects are ready to cast - Click to Apply
• California Open Casting Call for New  Television Show Pilot – Cassting for  Actors Wanted – Actresses Age Range 30s -60yrs. - Click to Apply
• Casting Nationwide for Identical Twins for New Reality Show Documentary  Auditioning now for 20-40 Years Old twins - Click to Apply
• Child Actors Wanted shooting a Television Commercial in Carlsbad, California (San Diego North County) – Age ranges needed are 5- 8 Years Old – Click to Apply
• Auditions in Phoenix, Arizona- Open Casting Call for Indie film  - ‘Angels, Agents, & Demons’ shooting Fall of 2011. Auditioning for African American Female Roles age range  17 -24yr – Click to Apply
• Open Casting in Atlanta, Georgia – Auditions now for Many Roles and Featured Extras Parts Available for X-Men FAN series “THE UNCANNY XMEN” – Click to Apply

You never know what will be posted, or who will see your profile photos on the web site. Be ready to submit, or create a profile, and visit the forums often if you are seeking acting jobs, opportunites for models and entertainers or if you want to be an extra for movies and television.

To sign up for a profile log on to Extrasformovies.com and read the FAQ section on how you can add your profile or log on to the EFM forums using the links at the top of the page to register free for auditions.

Need Cheap Headshots or Custom Headshot Business Cards for Actors, Models and Extras? Now Available, 3.5″ x 2″, $27.50 -100 pack -Leave a affordable headshot card with all your audition materials for casting calls and open auditions, helps you stand out from the crowd and shows you are prepared and serious candidate for the position. Upload your own photo, graphic, or use a pre-existing headshot template all online. Headshot Business cards are professionally printed for all of your networking needs. No minimum order.  You can create and customize each side of your headshot business card and choose from hundreds of font styles for free! * Choose from ten types of premium card stock. * * * Click here for more details * **

Need pictures to leave the casting personnel at open auditions or casting calls?Customize this Comp Card for models, actors or for those attending auditions and casting calls for extras. You can quickly upload your own photos, pick from dozens of fonts, paper and colors. all online! Next day shipping as low as 0.95 per card. 4.25″ x 5.6″ (portrait) or 5.6″ x 4.25” (landscape). Printed on ultra-heavyweight (120 lb.) card stock with a gloss finish. No minimum order. Click Here to Upload Your photos – Customize Here

 If you are seeking  job opportunities in acting or as an extra, entertainer or animal actor, you can create your profile with photos and get a link to your page profile to send for auditions as well as display your photos and resume to casting personnel seeking talent for their projects on our site.

For open calls and auditions  and be sure to join the EFM forums. Open casting calls and auditions are posted as they come in. All open casting calls are seperated by state in the forums.

Below are just a few of the calls just posted.

• Philadelphia Auditions – QVC – Open Casting Call for Full-Time Program Hosts
• California and New York Audition for Job seekers: Headhunter seeking unemployed for career makeover TV series
• California Open Call for Actors and Extras for Short Film – Age ranges are 20-60yr. Leads and Supporting Roles
• Arizona and California Auditions – CASTING BILINGUAL SPANISH SPEAKERS TELEMUNDO NETWORK TV SHOW 
• Open Casting Call for starring role Tupac. Actors and Rappers – Looking for the person who embodies Tupac Shakur
• California – Auditioning Pop Singers, Rock, R&B singers/Rappers/Acoustic Performers: Paid gig – ROKTV Tour
• Los Angeles, California - Seeking females to dress up as characters for local news event. Paid project
• Philadelphia Casting Call – Docu-Reality show – Auditions for Internet Whiz and Skeptic that travel investigating unexplained phenomenon

To access the forums FREE, just go to the Handmealine.com home page and click on forums at the top of the page.

The forums on EFM have calls for actors, entertainers, animal actors, child actors and extras. There are a number of reality shows too.

Three thumbs up for inexpensive way to get materials to market yourself in the modeling and acting industry!

Create actor headshot business cards online in minutes. Upload up to three photos, choose font and card stock.  Custom Headshot Business Cards for Actors, Models and Extras. Only $27.50 -100 pack

Add your own pictures to create your Actor or Model Headshot business card online! These cards are perfect to leave at auditions and casting calls along with your materials.

The headshot cards display your contact information as well as your photo.  Remember: Casting personnel see hundreds of canidates, be sure to increase your chances of getting the role. Even if you are just beginning as an extra, you can upload your pictures, create a card with your photos to help make sure the people casting remember you.

Leave a headshot photo card with all your audition materials, helps you stand out from the crowd. Upload your own photo, graphic, or use a pre-existing headshot template.

Heashot Business cards are professionally printed for all of your networking needs.

You can create and customize each side of your headshot business card and choose from hundreds of font styles for free! * Choose from ten types of premium card stock.

 * * * Click here for more details * * *

 

 

 

 

If you have taken advantage of the profile page on handmealine.com – ExtrasForMovies.com or are planning to take advantage of getting a profile; read on:

 

More and more casting personnel are using the search function on the web site to look for talent.

 

 

REGARDLESS IF YOU ARE CREATING A PROFILE AS AN ACTOR, EXTRA, ANIMAL TALENT, MODEL OR PRODUCTION SERVICE, YOUR PROFILE WEB PAGE MUST LOOK PROFESSIONAL IN ORDER TO HELP YOU GET THE RESULTS.

 

Many production personnel are casting projects that need people with special abilities and charastics, such as people with tattoos, those who can ride a horse or motorcycle. Talnet that can dance, (what kind of dance) shoot or posess specific abilities and characteristics.

 

Please read the posted and explicit instructions presented on our web site when setting up your profile. Please pay special attention to READ before you  fill out the comments section AND the talents and abilities section of your profiles. This inforation will help users of our site(s) find what they are looking for.  (Please CHECK your spelling)

 

Sadly not everyone understands the importance of taking the time to create a profile page that is presented professionally and properly.  All profile pages need to be approved so take care to READ instructions CAREFULLY

 

Once you have completed or updated your PROFILE on the talents and abilities section.  Please be sure to do a search for yourself and look at your thumbnail and your profile to be SURE that it displays properly.

 

Also, do a search by visiting our search page. Do a search using the words you added for talent, abilities and characteristics you possess to be sure you show up.

 

Be SURE you come up in a search for those talents from the search page of the site.  If you do NOT come up in those searched, go back to your profile and enter your abilities’, save and then search again from the search page until you do.

 

The new casting database is a powerful resource for casting personnel and a terrific benefit to the people displaying on the site. So take the time to  create the BEST web page for casting seeking members for their projects.

 

NOTE: The staff POLICE the site(s) often and if your profile is not up to par, it will be updated or deleted.

 

(If your profile is deleted, you will need to go back in and sign up again. BUT THIS TIME you need to be SURE to read all our instructions on the create your profile page.)

 

REMEMBER: Your profile page is like having your own web site.  

 

Once your profile is set up you will see a link displayed on your profile page below your main photo, this is your unique profile web page link.

 

• Once you set up a good profile, then you can send that link out for casting calls so the person clicking on the link will be immediately sent to your profile page to see your pictures and information. So use it.
• Use your profile link in your emails and audition submissions
• Use your profile link as a signature and whatever else you can do to promote your profile link.
• Get your profile page out on the internet and your social networking pages.
• Use your link even if you attach photos for an audition submission, often times an email will not download or display photos properly, so if you have your Handmealine.com or Extrasformovies.com profile page link in the email,  the casting person has an opportunity to click on it to visit your page.
• Put your link on your resume, this too will be a way for casting people to see you instantly.

 You are being given a free opportunity to have your own web page, so please use it create it wisely to keep it on line. You never know who will see and request you.

 

Let us know if you have any questions.

 

 The EFM Staff

It does not matter if you have never modeled, acted or worked as an extra, you need to begin a resume.

Regardless of your credits and experience, a résumé is the professional and standard way to apply for a job. It is the same for the entertainment industry.

You need to begin a resume and then build upon and improve your résumé as you gain experience.

We have created a little resume builder for actors and models. It will help you format your resume and allow you to cut and paste your information into a format you can customize.

We see so many members and even experienced actors who do not have a resume. This is amazing to the staff and what prompted them to give members a jump start with the model and actor resume builder.

Many of your are just getting started in the field of modeling or acting and not sure where to begin, in addition to the information here, you may want to log in to the EFM forums and read the many posts regarding how to get into modeling or acting for any age human or not.

It is a good practice and professional for a model or actor to provide a resume with their photos when submitting for a casting call or audition.

RESUME TIPS

You will be sending out or leaving a number of resumes and in most instances you will not know who sees it, so note our warning that when creating a resume, limit your personal information   What we mean is to not make it a habit to include your home address, email address and telephone numbers you don’t want to give to strangers on your resume.

By all means, you need to provide contact info but just be sparingly until you know who you are giving it to.

Keep in Mind that as a handmealine member, you have the ability to use us as your initial contact email of our casting department, allowing all email to go through their review before forwarding to your email address.

Another option is that if you do not have  have a profile on our web site yet, consider getting one where you can get a web link to use that displays all your pictures and resume. All email from that page will go directly into the casting department to review before forwarding to your personal email address.

Build your resume around your Talents and Abilities

A resume is what you will leave behind or submit for a project in order to inform the casting personnel more about  you.

For those who are new and want to know how to get started in the industry as an actor or model and who does not have any credits yet, our advice is to focus on your special talents and abilities, everyone is good at something.

Many casting projects consist of casting personnel seeking extras, actors, models who have a “Look” or specialized ability for a segment they are shooting. If you have that ability then you may be right for the role or scene

Final Note:

It does not matter whether you have modeling or acting experience when you are beginning your resume. (Of course it DOES matter what experience you have but in the context of these tips it does not).

Click here to access the model – actor resume generator.

Hope this is helpful, send us your comments..

Just follow instructions and if you need our assistance, we are happy to help. If you want to send your resume to us to critique, email us and the staff will take a look and send back to you with comments if needed.

I WANNA BE IN PICTURES

We receive thousands of emails from people sending us photos in hopes of getting work in acting, modeling and as extras in movie projects.

Many of these hopefuls have no idea what they are doing, we get so many emails with a questionable photo, or a quick note that says contact me if you have work, make me a star, let me know about auditions in my city, how do you get into acting and on and on.

Our aspirin bills at the office are getting bigger. Many emails come in that provide a good laugh at these peoples expense and it certainly does not help the popular rumors circulating about actors and models being uneducated.

On a serious note, the result is that these emails are deleted.

If however you’re serious and are just starting out in the acting field, all you know is that you have a passion to act, are seeking work, testing the waters to see if you have what it takes, or want to advertise yourself for additional work as an experienced actor.

If the above is you and you are a serious individual who is considering entering the field of entertainment, then read on.

There are thousands of books written on how to become an actor, actresses or model. For the purpose of this article, we will address the basics of how to enter the entertainment field as a career choice.

Perhaps you practice in your room in front of a mirror or make people laugh all the time. Maybe you watch movies and say I can do that.
You have years of experience in theater and want to expand to film and television.

Whatever prompts you to and follow your dreams, know that this is something you need to take seriously. You have to get prepared – Beginning with the basics.
One thing that you have to understand is that acting, modeling, an extra in film or television is a job.

Keep this in mind at all times; you are applying for a job and if you do not have experience, you need to prepare and acquire the knowledge of what it takes to be good at your profession.

Everyone has to start somewhere; in the beginning when someone such as your favorite movie star had to have made that first decision too. Most did have any experience when deciding that acting or modeling was their life calling.

The first step to take is to decide that you are going to do it

You have decided that you are going to enter the field of acting or you just want to be an extra as a career choice or way to make extra money. Becoming an actor or talent is not easy, it is an occupation and a production company is employing you to do a job.

In the modeling, acting field and even as an extra, there are necessary standard basic materials you will need to do your work.

Photos

Resume

To show that you are professional and serious, you have to prepare the above to apply for work in the entertainment field.

If you are seeking to become an extra in a film or television show, you still need to prepare your materials, especially if you are going to make it a full or even as a part-time profession.

Photos are your most valuable and important materials; you need to get good quality pictures. They do not have to be professional to begin with but if you do have the capitol – GET PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS.

If you do not have the money in the beginning try this, employ a friend or family member with a camera and go out and take pictures’, lots and lots of pictures. Take them over a period of days if you can rather than in a single day. If you do this you will notice that your pictures will be different each time you do a shoot, you are in a different frame of mind, your clothing is different, and you are getting better at taking the pictures. Once you have all your pictures, go through them carefully in order to select the few you will use as your marketing materials. (When taking your pictures, go for head and shoulders shots, clear pictures of your face with a subtle background.) Then pose for close-up photos of your entire body, again with a solid or subtle background.

Taking pictures is your number one and most import asset to attract casting call inquiries, auditions and roles, so take the time to make them as high-quality as possible. Even professional photographers’ use rolls of film in order to get those few choice shots to be used by a model or actor.

DO NOT:
Take your pictures in your living room, bath or bedroom; do NOT use cell phone pictures. Many people when applying for a profile on our web sites send our staff pictures such as the above. These people have not taken the time to prepare their pictures properly and simply send us pictures with other people in them, pictures of themselves obviously cut out of a crowd, blurry cell pictures, pictures that make them look like they are on an acid trip and worse. These people are wasting their time and the EFM staff’s time, does them no good in attracting our attention or the attention from casting personnel. Most of the time, these people are refused a listing on our web site or their emails are deleted.

YOUR RESUME:

A resume is another must have to begin a professional career in the entertainment field. Your résumé is an on-going work in progress and to be a true professional you must start one regardless of your experience.

TO BEGIN A RESUME:

Include your contact information – (email address – web page profile if you have one – your telephone number and city and state.) We caution against placing your home address on your resume. There is no reason to include your personnel home address, your city and state is sufficient.

Add a short paragraph as to why are interested in applying for work in your chosen field

Include your stats on your resume – standard stats include your hair color, weight, height, and any other that affects your overall appearance. (NOTE: Acting stats are different then modeling, if applying for modeling opportunities, clothing sizes of is an additional component for both men and women. SEE OUR RESUME GENERATOR HERE TO ASSIST YOU IN THE FORMAT AND INFORMATION NEEDED)

Include on your résumé your talents and abilities - perhaps you can roller skate, ride a motorcycle, fire a weapon, do impressions, ski, surf, skydive, ride a horse, skateboard, gymnastics, have dancing abilities. Whatever you can do, many be a deciding factor on if you are called for a role. We get many auditions where the talent must have an ability needed for a specific scene or character.

Training on your resume – If you have completed any courses relevant to your profession, include this on your resume. If you have dance training, include what type of dance, if you have certifications, acting classes, modeling classes, special training in scuba, martial arts, military training and so forth. This is helpful to casting personnel seeking talents’ that may have a bearing on the scène they are shooting

If you are just staring out, try out for theater or plays in school, church and for theatre companies in your area. This is a great training ground to assist you in your career. Theater and plays need actors, actresses, dancers, entertainers and walk ons. Not only will this give you experience to add to your resume, it will expand your training as an actor or actress.

Some independent productions are more lax and have small budgets, many will ask for you to defer pay or just do the work for resume and reel, if that is the case and you are just beginning; apply for the project. This is a win – win situation for you and the production company on a shoe string budget. There is nothing better than getting free training and the ability to add to your résumé. The more knowledge you have the more you are on your way to your chosen career.

You are armed with a photos and a resume. Now what?

ADVERTISE YOURSELF – How to land an audition

Get your face out there so casting personnel seeking talent will notice you and request you attend an audition or open casting call. The first step is for a casting person to see your photo.

There are many ways to get out in the market place, with the advent of the internet; there are numerous venues that cater to casting personnel seeking talent and extras. There are web sites that list photos and resumes of aspiring actors, actresses, entertainers, models and extras seeking film work. If you can, get your material on these sites.

ExtrasForMovies.com web site listings are ONLY 25.00 for an entire year to list with a profile. They have been on the internet since 2001 with casting personnel visiting the site for talent daily.

If you can, create a profile on EFM and get yourself a link that you can include in your resume or email submissions where other casting personal will have the convenience of viewing your pictures on the web.

Additionally, Hand me aline.com is offering free full acting, modeling and extras – human or not profiles for one year to the experienced and inexperienced. All that is required is that members follow instructions when creating their profile.

There are web sites that list free open casting calls and auditions that you can submit for when ready to get out in the market place.
At ExtrasForMovies.com, anyone can register for free in the forums where casting personnel post open auditions and free open calls worldwide. Simply register for free and click on the state you are seeking calls. (Note: please read all casting call requirements’ posted and follow instructions, there is nothing more frustrating to a potential employer then people submitting who are not following instructions)

Get your materials out there, if you build it they will come. What we mean by this is that you are entering a new field, and you need to market yourself as a professional in the field. Devise your marketing program. You are a product and you need to advertise.

Have your photos ready, your pictures and then advertise yourself, put your pictures on internet web sites that have casting personnel looking for talent, visit sites that publish casting calls.

- Check the film commissions in your City and see what information they have on productions shooting in your area.
- Watch the paper for auditions and open casting calls, join a theater group.
- Take some qualified acting classes.
- Visit your local talent agents and modeling agencies to see if you can get on their books.

You have landed an audition or are attending your first a casting call

Preparing for your audition
Extras for movies or television project - this is pretty straight forward, when applying as an extra, there is not much you need to do other then have the look they are seeking. Going to an extra open call for extras is simple. Have your picture attached to your resume and be ready to leave it with the casting people, at some open casting calls, the staff will take a picture and you with a form for you to fill out but make it a practice to have your resume and photo with you and if leave it with your forms if possible. When applying as an extra, what casting professionals are most concerned with is that you have the look and or talents needed, are reliable and will be able to follow instructions’ on the day of the shoot.

If you are applying for a speaking role:
Take your résumé and photo with you…

Show up at your audition a minimum of 30 to 20 minutes if possible. This will give you time to scope out the situation and atmosphere; it will allow you to de-stress and feel more comfortable when it is your turn to apply.

Do not show up with an attitude, be kind and considerate. Do as you are instructed. Don’t talk on your cell phone while waiting, show everyone involved that you are focused on this interview and will be professional when at work.

Dress for success. Make sure you are dressed appropriately, don’t show up in shorts, torn clothing, dress appropriately.

When applying for a speaking role or character, try to find out as much about the part as possible, read the breakdown, the synopses of the project. Many production companies have web sites, visit their site and read it. Get any information you can to help increase your knowledge about the job you are applying for. If they provide sides (parts of the script) read them and even read the sides for other roles so you can get a feel for the project.

If the production company does not provide sides, then break out a monologue, a lot of casting sessions request you have a monologue. Memorize a few that will fit your personality and emotional capabilities. Prepare your monologues with versatility and monologues that will display the range of emotions you can portray. A monologue can be anywhere from one minute to five minutes. Many directors and casting personnel will give you a time limit on your delivery at an audition. So having at least three monologues of varying lengths in your repertoire to feed from will keep you prepared and ready for whatever a director wants to see.

If you are preparing to submit for a role, your photos are important, you should have a number of 8x10’s with you to leave with the casting personnel. In this case you need to make sure that your pictures are better quality then taking out your cell phone, family photos and pictures taken in your home.

Study professional actor’s pictures on the internet, are they blurry, taken in their homes, have cluttered backgrounds. The answer is no, the purpose of your photos is not to show the background but to show of you. Every picture is a picture of you. So be sure to focus on creating your pictures to be the best they can be as they are one of the most important materials you need in your entertainment career.

When attending an audition or open casting call you need to be calm and professional. You need to exude confidence and professionalism. Casting people know within minutes if you are right for the part, they are looking to see if you have the look they are seeking, if can you deliver the lines with confidence and emotion, and if are you are a serious professional.

Once you have delivered your lines, leave. They have others to see and if you are what they are seeking, they will call you back for another read. (NOTE: If you do not get a call back, don’t take it personally, you just did not have what they were looking for. It is a numbers game. Keep going and eventually you will land the job and be on your way to beginning a career in acting.)

If you do get a call back, this means you may have what they are looking for and they are now in the process of narrowing it down to just a few potentials’. Most likely they will have you read again and maybe do a little something more in your callback that was not required in the initial auditions. So when preparing for your call back, keep in mind that there is something in you or your performance they were looking for; so wear the same clothing you wore on the day you first tried out, see if there are sides you need to work on, and get them as soon as possible so you can practice.

Watch out for Scams – A necessary mention when entering the field

There are many scams out there for all sorts of things; not only in the acting and modeling field but in any situation you can get scammed by a ruthless company that is only interested in fleecing you for your hard earned money. These unscrupulous companies will use all sorts of tactics such including selling you kits, hundreds if not thousands of dollars in training and photos. Kits to help you sell something, and all sorts of shenanigans.

Unfortunately in this particular field, scammer prey on un-informed people who have a dream and who do not have the knowledge about how things really work.
So a good rule of thumb is that when you are going for an audition, casting call or a job interview and they require cash to get the job, stop and listen, don’t make any immediate decisions and really weigh if this so called opportunity is for a job or simply a sales tactic to get your money.
If the offending company is requiring money, then the interview ceases to become a job opportunity and now is a business decision. Would you pay to get a job as an accountant, a waitress, a sales job, a truck driver position, or manager of a store? If the job interview you are applying for was advertised as a job and when you get there they attempt to sell you sell you something, is this truly a job?

If the answer is no, then you are most likely a potential victim of a scam and you should move on and seek bona fide jobs.

Final note: If it sounds too good to be true, then most likely it isn’t. These scammers have perfected their pitches to people who are trying to get into the entertainment field. They may sound perfectly logical and if you do not give the money you are losing the opportunity of the century. Just take a deep breath and go home, do NOT turn over your cash. Think about it, research the company, ask others and if you have one iota that this is suspicious, move on and forget about it.

There are many opportunities in this world for hard working people. Don’t be one of those people whose dreams were smashed by a scammer.

Congratulations to all the members receiving audition inquiries as a result of their free profile on Hand me a line.com web site.

A large number of new members have been contacted by casting personnel seeking talent and extras for their projects.

Projects include film, music videos, agent representation and promotions.
If you have not put up your free profile at handmealine.com, you are missing out.

 Casting personnel are seeking actors, actresses, models, extras and entertainers.

 To get your free profile, click on the link above “Free Profiles” on how to upload your materials to our servers.

REMEMBER, if you do not follow instructions, you run the risk of your profile not getting approved on our site. 

All incorrect profiles are deleted and you will have to sign up and try again.

You never know who will see your photos and who will request an audition or invite you to a casting call.
Get your free premium profile before it expires. There are no fees whatsoever; you will receive a full profile that displays up to 5 photos, a video and your resume.

All you have to do is follow instructions.

Congratulations and Good luck from the staff at handmealine.com