Acting Frequently Asked Questions
Why have a resume and headshot online?
How much does it cost to put my headshot and resume online?
How do I get my resume and headshot online?
Is the first 30 days really free?
What can I expect to get by joining TheRightCast?
How many auditions can I expect to get during my 30 day free trial?
What services do you offer to actors?
New to acting? Check out our new actors FAQ.
How do I begin an acting career?
How do I get an agent?
Can you get me a role in the new “STAR WARS” movie (fill in your favorite movie here)?
Why have a resume and headshot online?
Marketing. Actors need to market themselves and having a home on the web is the cheapest, easiest way to market yourself as an actor. TheRightCast.com gives you an easy to remember URL (www.therightcast.com/act/your_name) which you can print on business cards, postcards and flyers. If you run into a producer or director all you have to do is give them a business card with your URL and they have instant access to your headshot and resume. Or all you need to get from them is their e-mail address and you can e-mail them your URL.
But there’s also other benefits to having your headshot and resume online at TheRightCast.com.
TheRightCast.com’s casting notices lets you submit directly to casting directors. Many independent producers and casting directors use TheRightCast.com to cast their projects, and with a paid memebership to TheRightCast.com you can submit to them electronically. Click here to take a look at our current casting notices.
As a paid member of TheRightCast.com you will be included in our searchable database. Many casting directors and producers from all over use TheRightCast.com’s searchable database to cast their projects. All you have to do is join TheRightcast.com and jobs could potentially come to you.
You can post your reel online at TheRightCast.com so producers and casting directors can see your headshot, resume, and reel 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.
How much does it cost to put my headshot and resume online?
It’s free for 30 days, but after that it’s $ per month. We bill for 1 year at a time which is only $ per year. You can pay by check or money order, or online through paypal.
How do I get my resume and headshot online?
To put your resume and headshot online you simply go through TheRightCast.com’s easy to use, user interface. It should take less than 15 minutes and at the end you’ll have your own unique URL. And you can update and edit your headshot and resume as often as you like by logging in and making the changes. It’s that simple. Click here to get started.
Is the first 30 days really free?
Yes. 100% completely free with no obligation or risk what-so-ever. We don’t require any payment or credit card information to create an account. Simply sign up and try it out for 30 days. During your 30 day trial period, if you decide you like our service, send us a check or money order or online through paypal. It’s only $ per month, paid in yearly installments of $. After 30 days, If you haven’t paid, your URL will simply be turned off. You don’t have to contact us or do anything further.
What can I expect to get by joining TheRightCast?
- By joining TheRightCast you get your own URL, (http://therightcast.net/yourName) which you can print on business cards and letter head to let people know that they can always find your updated resume and headshot. Our online tool make your account editable 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, so you can keep your URL up to date, always.
- If you submit to our casting notices regularly and you live in Los Angeles or New York City, you can expect to get auditions through our casting notices. You can find our casting notices at http://www.therighcast.com/casting-notices
- In addition, we have a variety of online tools, like our e-postcard feature, which will help you promote yourself. You can send your resume and headshot to anyone with an email address in a nice looking html email.
- You can get your URL indexed by Google and other search engines, so that people can find you either be searching by your name, or by doing a general search for “actors.” It is important to have some sort of online presence so that people can always find you. It’s very common in this day and age to “google” someone. And if you have a TheRightCast URL online, it’s easy to make your URL first in the search results. Instructions on how to get your actor’s URL indexed by search engines is included in the site.
- You can post your video and audio reel online for NO additional charge.
At TheRightCast we feel that the proof is in the pudding, so we give a free 30 day trail to see if you think our service is worth $/year– and you don’t have to give us any payment information up front. Just join and start using your account. At the end of the 30 days you’ll get a simple email asking for payment. If you make payment your account remains active, if you decide you don’t want to use TheRightCast you can just ignore the email and your account will be shut off automatically. Try out TheRightCast and see for yourself why it’s such a great service.
In addition, check out our complete services page at
http://www.therightcast.com/acting-services/
How many auditions can I expect to get during my 30 day free trial?
If you submit to zero casting notices during your free 30 day trial, you can expect zero auditions. However, if you look at our casting notices regularly and submit where appropriate, it is highly likely that you will get at least a few auditions. All of our casting notices are placed online by the casting directors themselves, so they are actively looking to fill the roles they mention in their notices. Most of our casting notices are either in New York or Los Angeles, so if you live outside of those areas, your chances of finding an audition on TheRightCast are dramatically decreased. We’re trying to build the number of casting notices in other areas of the country and world, but Los Angeles and New York City remain the most active areas for actors. To take a look at our casting notices click here: http://www.therightcast.com/casting-notices
New to acting? Check out our new actors FAQ.
How do I begin an acting career?
Starting an acting career isn’t brain surgery– it’s really not that hard. The problem most people run into is that they want to start out as a ‘star,’ and that’s very difficult.
The key to starting your acting career is to get yourself out there and start acting in anything you can– local theatre, local television, student films, etc. These first jobs acting will not be glamorous and probably won’t pay any money, but they’ll get you some experience for your resume, you’ll start building your contact list of producers and directors and you’ll meet other actors. Some of the directors who are shooting student films today, will be working professionals in a few years. Also, many of the actors you meet will have more experience than you have and will be quite happy to help you move to the next level. They’ll know where to find local acting jobs. They’ll know which local agents are good and might be able to recommend you to their agent. They’ll know which acting classes to attend. They’ll know which places take the best headshots for the most reasonable rates. This is all vital information when you’re starting out.
One good place to start looking for casting notices is right here at TheRightCast. The casting directors for these projects are not expecting agent submissions and are often open to hiring new actors. You can find our casting notices at: http://www.therightcast.com/casting-notices
In addition you should just drive down to local theaters and find out when their next production is holding auditions and find out how you get an audition. Many local theatres are happy to give new actors a small role, since they won’t be able to pay much, if anything. But this is valuable experience for a new actor.
You should also go down to local colleges and universities and talk with the film professors. Tell them you’re an actor looking to be in student films. Many student films need non-college people to be in them.
In addition to looking for small acting gigs, you should also be taking acting classes. Again, local theatre and colleges would be a good place to start your search for an acting class. Most instructors will let you audit the first class for free so you can see if it’s something you want to do on an ongoing basis. Try out as many as you can so that you feel comfortable choosing an acting teacher. Obviously acting classes will help you build your range and work on the art of acting, but they also offer good networking opportunities. Acting teachers are usually seasoned professionals who can give you valuable advice. And of course you’ll meet other actors who might be able to help you also.
You’ll need to have some professional looking headshots. These don’t have to be expensive, in fact for your first set you don’t want to spend a lot of money. As you gain experience you’ll want to take more pictures, so just get a decent set to start. All they have to do is clearly show your face and be in black and white. Here’s an example of a few professional headshots:
http://www.therightcast.com/act/rebekahbayard/
http://www.therightcast.com/act/brookecadorette/
http://www.therightcast.com/act/jeffryestein/
The key to starting an acting career is to start acting. It sounds easy enough, but most people get tripped up before they even begin. Don’t get discouraged. Even when you audition for small roles you’ll get rejected more than you get accepted. That’s not bad it’s just the way it is. It’s an old Hollywood cliché, but holds true– ‘the over night success takes 10 years.’
How do I get an agent?
This is by far the most common question that we get at TheRightCast. And typically this question is only asked by a rank amature. It’s a common misconception that a beginning actor needs an agent. They don’t. An agent can’t help someone who hasn’t done anything. This sounds like a catch-22, you can’t get an agent without experience, and you can’t get experience without an agent. But this is the misconception. While it’s tough, maybe even impossible, to get cast in the next Steven Spielberg movie without an agent, that’s not the point. A beginning actor should be building their acting resume with small, local projects like student films and theatre. See our “How do you start an acting career?” question for further information on beginning your career as an actor.
Look at it this way: If Spielberg is casting his next movie and the casting director is trying to fill a role, and he brings your headshot to Spielberg, the first question Spielberg is going to ask is, “what’s she done?” If the casting director can say, “She played Juliet in a great local theatre production, she was great in this student film I saw, and she really made great choices in this independent film I saw at a film festival,” Spielberg’s probably going to take the casting director’s recommendation seriously. He’ll look at the headshot, and maybe even watch the student film that she was in. However, if when Spielberg asks, “what’s she done?” and all the casting director can say is, “well nothing, but she knows she has the talent, she just needs to get a break, and all her friends and family have told her since she was a kid that she has that ‘star’ quality and would make a great actor,” the casting director is going to get laughed at and probably fired. There’s thousands of actors trying to get each role, so you’ve got to establish yourself and build your resume one project at a time. If you’re looking to be an overnight success and aren’t willing to start small, I recommend that you just buy a lottery ticket and hope for the best. Your chances are much better at winning the lottery than they are that you’ll be picked up and made an overnight success without having to work for it.
To answer the question, however, there are some ways to get an agent. The best way, in my opinion, is to start working in small projects and become friends with other actors, and then, eventually, you’ll meet an actor who has more experience than you have, he’ll have an agent, and he’ll recommend you to that agent. Like any other industry or profession, a personal recommendation is very powerful. You can also submit a headshot directly to the agent with a professionally written query letter. Agents are inundated with actors, so finding an agent this way is not easy, and takes a lot of work. Most of your query letters will not illicit any response what-so-ever. A few will get flat out “no’s.” But maybe, one or two will result in an audition with the agent. SAG (www.sag.org) will give you a list of SAG franchised agents. You can get that, and simply mail your headshot and query letter to them. There’s also a trade publication called The Hollywood Creative Directory, which has an “Agent’s and Manager’s” version. This is a good way to find managers as well as agents, and again, submit your headshot and a professional query letter. Once again, however, your chances of an agent responding to your query are greatly increased if you have some experience under your belt, even if it’s just small acting jobs. And you should only submit to agents who are located in your general area. Of course that means that people in Los Angeles and New York City are at a great advantage since most agents are in these two cities.
Once again, and I can’t emphasize this enough, there’s really no reason for a beginning actor to spend their time trying to find an agent. They’re much better off spending their time looking for small acting gigs to actually build their resume. I would say as a rule, if you have to ask the question, “How do I get an agent?” then you’re not ready and you don’t need an agent. When you’re ready for an agent, you’ll know exactly how to get one, and more importantly, it won’t be difficult.
Can you get me a role in the new “STAR WARS” movie (fill in your favorite movie here)?
No. TheRightCast does not cast any projects. We simply provide online tools for actors, which includes some casting notices. You can see our casting notices section at: http://www.therightcast.com/casting-notices
You’ll probably notice that your favorite movie is NOT being cast off TheRightCast. Submitting to a major motion picture is not done through websites like TheRightCast. You need a high powered agent to submit you to those sort of casting notices. See our “how do I get an agent?” question for more about getting an agent.