In this video Aaron Marcus explains why actors and models should be thrilled when they receive an audition call. He recounts a recent week in which he traveled over 1,400 miles to attend three feature‑film auditions in Virginia, Charlotte (NC) and Atlanta, and ultimately booked one of the projects. Aaron describes the casting workflow: agents receive daily breakdown emails describing character specifics, then submit 10‑20 headshots and resumes to casting directors, who may be reviewing submissions from dozens of agencies and typically narrow the pool to about 10‑20 actors for in‑person reads. He emphasizes how rare it is to be selected for a read, making each audition a significant achievement. Aaron closes by encouraging viewers to celebrate audition calls, offering his contact information (Facebook, website, email) for further questions.
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Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, and I want to share some information with you that I just witnessed and experienced last week. And basically, the title of this blog is Why You Should Feel So Happy About Getting an Audition. I mean, normally people will say, it's an audition, you know, I'll be happy when I book the job. But let me tell you, you should be incredibly excited When you get the audition. And here's the reason why. There's an agent that I work with in North Carolina, and I had auditions in Virginia— this is last week— in Virginia one day for a feature, in Charlotte, North Carolina for a feature, and then I had a callback in Atlanta. And when I decided to stop into the agent's office in Charlotte And basically, you know, we were just talking about the industry and about auditions, and he showed me exactly what takes place and how people are called in to read for an audition. And I tell you, it just gave me a much greater appreciation for every time I get a call to audition for something. So the short version is this: the agent will get emails all throughout the day. These are breakdowns describing the character, the types, the ages, the looks, you know, things like that. And then typically, depending on the project and depending on the casting director, this agent might submit— could be 10, could be 15, could be even up to 20 people. And they will just shoot out a JPEG with a resume to the casting director. And keep in mind, this casting director could be getting information and headshot submissions from, you know, 30, 40, 50 agents, you know, depending on the part, depending on the location. So that casting director is going through a ton of actors. And once again, there's no set rule. Certainly it depends on the part and things like that. But the casting director might decide to see 15 people, you know, maybe 20, maybe 10. Quite often it's not all that many. They're not going to bring in 50 people to read for a particular part. So it just made me realize that it's hard. It's hard to get called in to read for a project. It really is. And the fact that I had 3 auditions last week for 3 different feature films in 3 different states And, well, the fact that I drove over 1,400 miles to get to those places, it really made me feel great about just getting the opportunity. And hey, by the way, and as it turns out, I'll give you more details about this later, I just booked one of the films that I auditioned for, which was really exciting. So anyhow, I just wanted to share that with you. And when you do get that phone call about an audition, Feel good because there are a lot of people who submitted for the project and you were one of the few people who were being asked to come in and read for it. Anyhow, I hope that was helpful to you. If you have any questions at all, you can always reach me on my Facebook page. It's facebook.com/howtomodel. You can also reach me on my website, howtomodel.com, or you can email me at aaron@howtomodel.com. A-A-R-O-N, @howtomodel.com. Looking forward to talking with you soon.
