EPA Auditions Help

Good morning, guys. Last night, OKLAHOMA announced understudy auditions. I am an actress with a physical disability and I would love to audition, but I'm non-Equity. So, I want to have some advice from you guys. :)

1) I don't think I can go because of a doctor appointment and apparently, you can drop off your resume/headshot. How common is this? Should I even travel from Baltimore to do that? Is it possible to mail it?

2) Even if I decide to go to the audition, what are the chances I'll get seen? What time should I get there? What should I prepare for?Â

Updated On: 12/22/18 at 10:10 AM

The truth is that no one with the authority to make a casting decision is required to be at an EPA(as opposed to a Chorus call). Also, no casting decisions are actually made at EPA, you would be required to come to New York for more auditions anyway.

I would suggest you contact the casting director and be ready to submit a video tape audition. Most actors have videos of themselves ready to go or are already online.. If you do not have one this is a good reason to start.

It’s perfectly okay to send a headshot/resume to a casting director along with a quick polite cover letter saying you’d like to be considered for a certain show/role - you can even explain that your disability makes travel more challenging and that you’d be happy to submit a self-tape if they’d like. And then you forget about it until you get a response which you very well might but no guarantees. Calling and pestering is bad but a self-submission is totally okay and offices get them all the time and people do often get appointments. It all depends on the project and what they’re looking for.

Crashing an EPA as non-equity is always a risk, especially for a new Broadway project which will probably be a very packed call, and you have EMCs who get priority if there are openings. If you’re nearby and can make it easily it may be worth the gamble but to make a trip from out of town seems like a recipe for disappointment.