Our Guide to an Open Casting

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Step 1: Do your research

So, you've read in a newspaper or on the net that there is an open casting call looking for someone to play a part you want. The most important thing that you must do is to do your research. Make sure you know the following things:

Is the Casting Call for an independent film or a major film production? If it is a big film this will give you a clue as to how many people might attend!

Are they looking for a girl or a boy? Or are they looking for brothers and sisters, couples, groups of friends?

Are they looking for someone with a playing age of 16, or someone who actually is 16?

Are they looking for someone of a particular nationality, hair colour, height?

You must be aware of all these things before you attend the big day. You will probably be asked to bring along your passport and other forms of identity to prove that you really are what they're looking for. If you do not fit the requirements, you should not attend, it is as simple as that. If they've asked to see aged 14 - 16 year old girls, for example, and you're not in the age range, don't bother going. Even if your 14th birthday is the next week, they won't want to see you, simply because they can't make exceptions. You will be wasting the time and effort of many people if you do.

So do you really think you stand a chance? Great! Now it's time for the big day. Excited? Yup!

Step 2: Be Prepared

Now you should make sure that you know what to expect, so you must judge the type of casting it's going to be. If you know that lots of people your age will be attending, or that there was lots of press hype surrounding the casting call, you will be prepared for very long queues. If you know there will be a big turn out to the castings, prepare for a nice long wait in a queue before you even reach the front. At the Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter 5) auditions I waited 6 hours! Prepared people bring fold up chairs, drinks and snacks. Here are some tips:

If you want to avoid a 6 hour wait, be ready to get up very early to attend the casting.

Plan your route before you go. Open Castings are mostly held in London, so if you will be taking the train, allow plenty of time to get there. You never know when a train might get cancelled!

Dress according to the weather! If you're going to queue for hours outside in winter, wrap up warmly for the cold. You will be standing still for a long time!

Bring something to entertain you, an iPod, a book, or even a few friends to have a chat with.

Step 3: Don't be a Pain

Remember that there will be a lot of people like you in the queues, so Open Castings are a great way to make new friends! If you're complaining the whole time you won't really get much of an experience out of your day. Although it is grueling, you must:

Always be polite to the professionals wanting to meet you

Don't be a pain and moan about the long wait. Stay optimistic! No one is interested in casting Mr. Grumpy.

I remember reading somewhere that at the Lavender Brown (Harry Potter 6) auditions the girls were asked to say one interesting fact about themselves. One girl answered "Oh, I'm too tired after that long wait to think of something!". Uh-uh. WRONG! Being boring is a complete turn off for the casting directors. You'll appear to want the job less and probably won't even be considered. Which leads us onto..

Step 4: Impressing the Professionals

So, finally, you've reached the main building, and are ready to be seen by the Casting Directors!

You will most likely have to fill out a form, which will probably need you to include your age and height and any basic details, but also facts like your hobbies, interests, and any previous experience. Don't put that you played the donkey in your Nativity play! They will not be interested in every scrap of information about you. They don't necessarily want to hear that you've had reams of professional work either. The reason Open Castings are held are to find raw talent, so facts like this aren't necessarily essential. We recommend that you note down any unusual hobbies that will grab someone's interest (providing that you aren't lying, of course!) stamp collecting, karate.. if it's unusual, you get a brownie point. Things to remember:

Casting Directors and their assistants will be looking for someone with the right appearance. It is essential that you have a suitable look for the character, otherwise you will not be considered. 

Don't slap on tons of make-up, or get all over-dressed. They'll won't be able to see the real you underneath it!

Be yourself. Casting Directors can only like who you are and pretending to be anything otherwise won't get you very far. Be natural and they should love you for it!

I think it's very important to stress this last point. If you know what the character is meant to look like - for example, film makers are turning a popular book into a film and the character is a black-haired girl who wears a certain type of clothing, this does not mean that you should dye your hair or turn up wearing your fancy dress costume. You should be yourself unless they've specifically asked for something else.  For example, when the Luna Lovegood auditions were announced, they stated:

"Girls should come as themselves - no costumes, make-up or high heels will be allowed."

Yes, always be yourself - simply because that's who they want to see. For an account of the Luna Lovegood auditions you can check one out on the  CBBC Newsround Website.

Another common mistake is to think "Although my hair is a different colour to the character's - they can dye it!" No company will want to spend extra money, time and effort making someone look more like a character when there are others who look like them already, and naturally.

Step 5: Acting for Screen

If you are lucky enough to be taken aside, and even offered with a script of piece of dialogue to read, all the advice we can offer you with is to be natural.

A lot of people are more familiar with acting in theatres and in front of friends, and it is important to remember that acting for the stage is completely different for acting on screen. It may be obvious to some but it's important not to over-act merely because some one is used to projecting their voice and enlarging facial expressions for a larger audience. Lines are meant to be spoken naturally, but deliver your lines so that everyone in the room can hear you and try to be the character as though you're talking to a friend. It is probable that you will be filmed during your reading, but make sure you don't look into the camera. Direct all your lines towards the assistant who will be reading the script with you.

It might be that you're given the script to read by yourself for a couple of minutes beforehand. You aren't expected to learn it all by heart in such a short time, just familiarize yourself with it. Make sure you know it well enough to be able to take direction. Being able to change how you say your lines is an essential skill, and something that the Casting Directors will be looking for. 

So, to Sum up:

Do your research before the casting

Know what the filmmakers are looking for

Be prepared for the worst

Be natural and simply be yourself, it's the best you can do!

Make sure you enjoy the experience, have fun, and make new friends!

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