So, It's the End of the World

Well, looks like we’re all going to die and I’m bored. Honestly, the worst thing about being cooped up like this is having nothing to do. I don’t know about you, but when I have very little to do, there’s an Energizer Bunny on steroids inside my head screaming for me to do something. Like many other actors during this time, I don’t have any upcoming theatre or on-camera gigs to keep me from going insane. Since there is nothing going on in the theatre scene and no on-camera gigs at this, I decided to pursue a different avenue. I would like to share this to any actor who is struggling to find work.

As the two of you who read this may know, I do voice-over work at FUNimation on occasion, voicing a fair number of characters. This experience helps me when I look into the other possible avenues for storytelling. Right now, there is an absurd number of voice-over projects that I see auditions for each day. There are people out there who still want to tell stories. They need people to help them make that happen. If you are looking into getting into acting in voice-over, then you need as much experience as you can get.

Now, I’m sure there’s going to be at least one person who thinks, “Hey, I don’t have a microphone, you entitled jerk”. First, how do you know me so well? Second, shhhhhhhh. Third, you can find a cheap USB microphone. Many of them are not as good as XLR microphones, but these microphones will do the job, especially now. Here’s the magic. Many directors who are looking for actors are just grateful to have people reading lines. You don’t need to buy a $1000 microphone to audition. Frankly, you should not buy a microphone that expensive unless you are actually doing enough gigs that it’s necessary. No, doing that one gig for $50 does not count. If you want it just for fun, that’s one thing, but don’t try and tell me about spending $1000 money when you haven’t taken a single acting class. If you have money for an expensive microphone, you have money for an acting class. Rant aside, audition for any audio play, podcast, whatever you see.

Okay, so you already are auditioning every single day? You want classes, but there aren’t any? Okay, you’ve got me there… OH WAIT A MINUTE! There are resources so you can develop your craft. Many websites are offering classes at a far cheaper rate than usual. Those classes that used to be $300-$600? Now it’s $60. Plus, many of them recognize that people are losing work. You might be able to work out a deal where you pay an even lower price than that. I would personally avoid doing this if they do not make the offer. Those people need to make a living too. You can also look into watching Inside the Actors Studio. YouTube also has some good resources, but you have to be more selective, because there is a lot of garbage out there.

This is one of the most serious times in our lifetimes. I know the quarantine makes it difficult for you to feel like you’re an artist when you’re not constantly doing it. I feel the same way. That’s why you have to find ways to keep yourself constantly growing and learning. Please let me know in the comments if there are any resources you use that I didn’t list. You can also yell at me, I guess.

I wish you all the best!

Regards,

Quinn

Living with Rejection as an Actor

     Acting is hard. It’s one of the most difficult careers to get into. You go to audition after audition and experience rejection constantly. There is a saying that relates to this issue: An actor who books a gig in one-out-of-ten auditions is a working actor. So, that means you have to develop thick skin if you want to have any chance to survive. That doesn’t mean you’re never allowed to be disappointed, but looking at your rejection as failure will eat away at you. Hell, I still look at rejection as my own failure as an actor.

     I remember recently going to a short film audition. I did my prep work, got my updated resume (I got an agent, so I was super excited to print that!), stapled that with my headshot, and waited for my chance to perform. I even met a pretty cute woman at the audition, and we ended up exchanging information (Woo!), so it was already a good day.

     The audition itself went well. I performed my comedic monologue, and I knew I knocked it out of the park. It got laughs, and the performance felt just right. Leaving there I thought I had gotten the gig. Sadly, I never received a phone call. It happens. I was disappointed, but I had to move on from the experience.

     Sometimes we do a fine job at our audition and never even receive a callback. Sometimes we bomb our auditions. Sometimes, every single thing that could possibly go wrong goes wrong. For some reason, you’re focused on something weird that happened earlier. Maybe you got into a fight with a friend or family member, maybe you’re stressing about someone you have a crush on. It could be any number of reasons, but it is just enough that it knocks you off your game and you are not present in the moment during the audition.

     Now I’m telling you while praying that God doesn’t strike me down with lightning for being a hypocrite. Let it go (If you start singing that song, I will haunt you when I die). Whether you did an exceptional job or a poor job, you need to walk out of that room and focus on the rest of your day. If you focus on the good auditions and don’t get the gig, it can be disheartening. This is something my father has told me for years, and I am still amazed how long it took to sink in. “But I like overthinking things that are entirely out of my control,” a younger Quinn might have said, like an idiot. In the end, auditions are a means to an end. The director has a vision for a show and that vision might not have you in it, no matter how well you performed a monologue from Transformers for a Shakespeare audition. This brings to mind another idea that helped calm me down somewhat.

     The decision to hire you has absolutely nothing to do with you. Sure, you can perform a perfect audition, but what forces a director to hire you? They have their own idea for how the cast should be in a project, and they might just not see a place in you in that project. They might have the perfect role for you in a future project. Also, they just might not see you in the role. They have their idea for what type of actor they want to cast in the role, and they often will not deviate from that. This is not to say that their minds will never be changed, but it takes a lot. Furthermore, have you considered that not getting cast may not have anything to do with your performance? Maybe the director was distracted because they forgot to eat breakfast and now all they can think about is how good lunch will be. Maybe you reminded the director of an ex and that's the reason they don’t call you back. In reality, the casting process itself has nothing to do with actors. Once again, I owe my thanks for this bit of wisdom from my father. Stupid old wise men.

     Overall, rejection sucks, but it is essential for actors to get over that. The odds are you will experience rejection for the rest of your life. Just focus on the actual performance as that’s the only thing you can control. In life, the only thing you can control is yourself. Break a leg in your auditions!

     Thank you so much for reading my blog! If you enjoyed it, please follow me on Twitter @QuinnAngell, or Daniel Quinn Angell on Instagram. Also, please check out my demo while you’re here! Have a wonderful day!