How to find out about shows before they are widely advertised

Now that social media and the internet are so widely accessible, there are many different ways to hear about upcoming theatre, TV and Film productions before they become public, and most importantly, before they're cast!

Firstly, the most traditional way to do this is to sign up to PCR. PCR is casting service which comes in the form of a weekly newsletter which is posted to you at home. It contains casting breakdowns, but also breaking news articles, for example which casting director is attached to which new TV series etc. Obviously the downside is that it's sent to you by post, but all the news articles and casting breakdowns (including last-minute breakdowns) are on their website, which as a PCR member you also have access to. At £80 for two weeks it's quite expensive, but if you're a member of the Actor's Guild of Great Britain, you get 10% discount.

There are other, free ways though of finding out about productions in advance. If you're not already on it, I'd highly recommend joining Twitter. I know a lot of people are pretty sceptical about it, as was I before I joined. However, I mainly use it for work purposes, and often theatres/casting directors/theatre or production companies will tweet hints about a new show that's coming up or they'll announce when they're casting for their next production first on Twitter. I've had a number of auditions from Tweets that I wouldn't have seen otherwise and have made useful contacts though Twitter too. For more ways on how to utilise your social networking skills I'd really recommend getting in touch with the brilliant Samantha Baines at the Arts Marketing Service "The Penguin in the Room". Samantha also does workshops at Fuse Creative Networks in London.

If you're not sure where to start with Twitter there are some great "Top 100" lists compiled for actors. Google Jo Caird's article in "WhatsOnStage" for Top 100 Theatre Tweeters to follow, or Act on This (a networking site for TV actors) has a great article on Top 100 Twitter Accounts to follow for TV actors. I'm sure many more useful ones are a quick google away!

I'd also recommend making a list of companies/casting directors you'd like to be seen by and seeing if their website has a casting section. The Royal Exchange in Manchester has a particularly excellent casting website that announces which of their forthcoming shows are yet to be cast, as does Birmingham Stage Company and The New Vic Theatre in Stoke, to name a few. If you haven't done this already, you'll be surprised how many companies post their own casting breakdowns on their websites.

And finally, one of the best way to find out about upcoming shows is to utilise your current contacts. Keep in contact with people you've worked with/been seen by/met before, let them know when you're in a show, invite them along and ask to be considered for their future projects. As painstaking and time-consuming as it is to keep constantly writing emails and letters, they do pay off eventually.