hey guys,
many moons ago i was told it was generally a bad idea to email submissions to casting directors from yourself because if they didn't recognise the email address it came from, it would be deleted with the junk...i was wondering if that was still the case or if they do actually look at submissions that arrive by email? would be grateful for any help or thoughts-thanks!
Most prefer snail mail hard copy, however- thats is not to say that if you call one up and then ask if you can email them, that they would not say no- but I think you need to ask them for permission first- as they could actually see it as an intrusion-
You can read by the tone of their voices whether they are actually willing to be humane or not anyway....
i cant comment, cos i have not exactly had blockbusting roles. but i'd say, you cant go wrong. the worse that can happen is they ignore the email and delete it
the best that can happen is they give you a chance and an audition
whatever happens, at least you are trying
I dont know, I dont agree tho. I have called many castig directors up on the phone asking to send my details through. A lot of them can be really arsey and arrogant- they can seriously consider it an intrusion if you go over thier heads....I really suggest calling first and guaging from there. I have done the same thing with agents and many let me email while others want snail mail.....
In calling you are showing them respect and they can put a voice to the letter as well...
In response to the question. I think the bottom line is that if you look right for a paticular role then emailing a casting director never hurts. They dont know everyone and they certainly dont trawl through endless spotlight entries.
I have found that more and more people respond to email these days. I have got some of my current TV work just through making myself known to casting directors. it is true however, that alot of casting directors dont respond well to emails but i think any way of getting your details seen is good.
i would suggest though that you dont bombard the casting director with emails, i think you should treat it the same way you would if you were sending a hard copy. just now and again.
lets not forget that casting directors are just like us. alot of them work on a freelance basis and need to produce people for their casting sessions so if you land on their desk or pc and the producer/director likes you then they are more likely to be used again so they do need a little bit of help sometimes. they are not GOD.
Personally I would never e-mail a casting director unless you know them personally or they have requested email submissions.For a start you don't know if your email has been filtered out and classified as junk mail. It's far better to send hard copies. If your right for the part they'll contact you.
I completely disagree with all the above comments.
i landed myself 2 tv jobs last year through emails. firstly i was asked by a producer i knew to email a casting director and then i kept in touch after the audition and was encouraged to do so.
everyone seems to labelling emails as some taboo thing we must not do but everyone is using email and we all know how the spotlight link is used so why the hell cant we do the same when submitting our details. surely you wouldnt want to miss out on a casting simpply because you wanted to send your stuff by post. Personally i like nothing better than sending a good old traditional letter but we are living in a world now where everything is instant so why shouldnt we join the race!
I tend to agree that if an email address is listed, it ought to be ok to use. However, rather than attach cv and photo (people may be reluctant to open attachments from strangers), if you attach a link to your Spotlight page, then you are still sending your details but in a less intrusive way. In any event, I would think that the usual common sense should apply, however you contact casting directors: only writing when you have something specific to say (an invitation, or specific submission)and not hounding them.
If you get yourself a copy of the Actors Yearbook unlike contacts it actually advises you on how to contact CD's. Whether they would be happy to come and see you in show and how much notice they would prefer, whether they would be happy to recieve c/v's and letters by email or post or not at all etc..
I find it a really useful guide.
I THINK BOOKS LIKE THAT ARE USEFULL HOWEVER IF WE ALL TOOK NOTICE OF EVERYTHING THEY SAID I AM SURE NOBODY WOULD BE WORKING. THESE BOOKS ARE OK AS A GUIDE AND FOR REFERNCE POINTS BUT WE ARE ALL SELF EMPLPOYED,FREELANCERS AND WE HAVE TO GO OUT THEE AND SELL OUR PRODUCT WHICH IS YOU!!
THE WAY I SEE THINGS. EVERYTHING WE DO IS A LEARNING CURVE. I HAVE BEEN A PROF ACTOR FOR NEARLY 10 YEARS AND I HAVE TRIED LOTS OF WAYS TO GET WORK SOME HAVE WORKED SOME HAVE FAILED BUT I TRIED AND I THINK THAT IS THE KEY. WE HAVE TO FIND THESE THINGS OUT FOR OURSELVES. I AM NOT SAYING THERE IS A RIGHT OR WRONG WAY TO DO THINGS I JUST THINK YOU HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO DON THINGS THAT SUITS YOU AND NOT WORRY WHETHER IT IS THE ACCEPTABLE WAY.
Hi Dazzler,
I am not sure if your comments in CAPS is indicating you were slightly angry at my comment?!? I totally agree with you, you should grab the bull by it's horns and try as many avenues to making your career successfull, and if that's contacting CD's directly I am with you all the way, as I do myself. I was meerly saying that books like the Actors Yearbook can be usefull but not a bible!
i really appreciate all your comments-it's been so interesting and i can see the advantages of each thing that has been suggested. what's interesting is that i got someone to check out the casting director i was interested in and the project that they were casting...and that person came back with the info that it is actually a totally different casting director who's handling said project! so even tho' the info i got was from a source i would have considered reliable, it was completely wrong! so i guess if i had emailed her, she would have been pretty annoyed as she isn't connected to it...that said, on the other hand, she could have been the right person and i could have been what she was after...as has been made pretty clear on here, you never know how one CD is going to react compared to another and every situation's different. i will definitely have a look at the actors yearbook tho' for some guidance, and i do think that if you have an email address with our details as a CD, you must expect some people will use it.
17 years ago
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