Hypothetical question: actors helping actors

[Unknown User]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 11:37am

Let me throw this out there: let's say you're an actor, or a playwright, or composer, or whatever. And you have friends who are too. You're all trying to make it big in theatre. An opportunity comes up that you'd both be good for, like a grant, or a role.

Do you tell them about it, in the spirit of friendship and community, or do you keep it to yourself, thus increasing your own chances of getting it?

[Elphaba]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 11:39am

it's like any job. If in my industry I knew of a great opening at a company, I certainly would NOT tell my fellow employees who may want to apply.......

I am going through that right now. Why on earth would I tell them about it.....unless I really didn't want it.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 11:43am

I never think about it until it's over - for instance, I'll tell someone about an audition I'm going to if I think they're right for the project, and then later realize they might end up getting cast over me.

But who cares? The person who gets the job is the person who gets the job. Everything happens for a reason. It wouldn't bother me if I told someone about a job and because of my alerting them, they got it. I just can't spend my life being jealous and bitter - if you love your friends, you're happy for them and want their careers to blossom as you want your own to. And it will come back to you.

[erikaamato]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 11:48am

I'm with Rath on this one. Like her, I often mention auditions and work opportunites to people, 'cause it's just in my nature to share that sort of thing. And then, yes, sometimes after the fact if the person I told about an audition booked the role I might think, "Huh. She didn't even know about that audition until I told her." But that's it.

Karma is a powerful thing.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 11:54am

well that's a rather silly inference, the jealous/bitter part.....albeit typically Rath.
Please, you either want a job, or you do not....and anyone who supposedly does would be a fool to "tell all their wonderful friends" to interview/try out, whatever.

That is NOT wanting a job, that is playing the interview/try-out game.

There is a point where being Mr. Nice is ridiculous.

We're not talking about someone dropping a $20 bill in front of you and you bringing it to them for Karmas sake, or letting someone know the parking place they just took is someone elses.

We're talking about career.......and letting the world know a part (or a job) they might be perfect for is available, that YOU are trying to get is just not very bright.......

[erikaamato]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 11:56am

P.S. I loaned my book of sheet music to a fellow actress who showed up last minute at an audition (her agent called her while she was out and about, and she didn't have her book) and even suggested the song for her to sing. We were up fo the same role. She booked it. I actually kind of felt good that my help had been so worthwhile. Am I a sap? Maybe. But I'm happy with who I am.

[erikaamato]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 12:01pm

Elphaba, are you saying I'm not bright? :-P

Anyway, when it comes to auditions, it's not like they're super-secret anyway.

Now, I will say that if it was a grant I was up for, then perhaps I wouldn't be going around telling other people to apply for it. But an audition? It's a day-to-day thing to say to another actor, "Hey, are you going to the such-and-such call?"

And to be clear about the sheet-music thing, the other actress was an aquaintance (we had lots of mutual friends, and had done an industrial together), and she asked me, very politely, if there was any way she could borrow my book. I would hope that if I were in the same situation, someone would do the same for me, so I obliged. Elphaba, would you really have said, "No, sorry," right to her face?

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 12:12pm

I'm with Erika and Rath. I often pass the word if I know a friend is right for a role or company that I am also auditioning with.

I have also loaned sheet music to individuals who have forgotten or misplaced their music.

It has happened that people have landed roles over me because of this before, but I'm okay with that, there are always other jobs and I am happy to know that another friend is working.

Updated On: 2/24/07 at 12:12 PM

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 12:12pm

I have to agree with Rath and erika.

Think of it the other way. Wouldn't you want a friend telling you about an audition you didn't hear about? This particular part may be right for them and not for you. Who knows- you could audition the next day for something else and get the part (and maybe it's better!) It's almost like choosing between having a friend or having a part in a show. Personally, I'd choose the friend. A part in a show only lasts so long. A friend is there for you and can last a lifetime.

To have a friend is to be a friend. Friends help each other out.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 12:13pm

Elphaba, if someone is more right for a role than I am, they should be the one cast in it. The same goes for an office job or anything else. The world is much bigger than a job.

Updated On: 2/24/07 at 12:13 PM

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 12:27pm

I'm with Rath. If it is not a perfect fit for me, I'd rather have a friend book it than a stranger.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 12:29pm

Exactly!

[Elphaba]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 12:32pm

ok.....perhaps it is different in the world of theater. And no Erika (and I know you were joking) I do not think you or Rath is not bright.
In fact sometimes Rath is too bright! And while I may not agree with a lot she says, there are few here I respect as much.

All I know in the world of business, the less said the better.

Erika, I guess if I felt someone was perfect for the part, I'd question why I was trying out......but then again, the world of theater appears to be different, so I stand corrected......NOW, off to shop!

Updated On: 2/24/07 at 12:32 PM

[erikaamato]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 12:45pm

Elphaba: I'm not one of the people who said anything about thinking someone else was perfect for a part. I just think sharing info about auditions, etc. isn't a big deal. Again, it goes back to the whole "I hope they'd do the same for me" thing.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 12:53pm

sorry, I was responding and had a moment of madness....Wheeee,
must be the coffee

[erikaamato]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 12:55pm

You and your French press... Jeez...

[Unknown User]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 1:04pm

Don't diss the French Press...
(says the guy who can drink the entirety of one)

Great replies, thanks. I always find it interesting where people will draw the line in their careers. I'm on a playwrights mailing list, where someone recently posted asking about funding opportunities and how to approach particular people, and I noticed nobody replied to it, and I wonder - is it because people don't want to give away their own strategies? I mean, all artists, especially in theatre, are trying to pull out of the same financial pot.

[Pippin]

Posted: 2/24/07 at 1:18pm

I'm With Elphie on this one. I've been stabbed one too many times by sharing my business with other "Friends" who just want to get ahead as much as I do. So I have made a decision not to talk about anything business related until after it happens. Of course, if it is a part that I know I don't care about, or that I'm not right for, then I will suggest that to my friend. But why, with already so much competition in the world, would you want to add one more person who is your type to the audition pool, and decrease your own chances? It just doesn't make sense.

I like to mind my own business, and would expect others to also mind their own.