“Even in the future nothing works!â€
-Rick Moranis, “Spaceballsâ€
Once upon a time, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, New York actors would sit in the waiting room of their agency and chat and read the paper. The phone would ring and a producer somewhere would ask the agent to send along some actors that fit a particular description. The agent would take a look around the waiting room and dispatch the appropriate personnel. Actors did so much walking around looking for auditions in those days that Actor’s Equity included a clause whereby the union would, if given a receipt, reimburse a member for a new pair of shoes twice a year. If you owned roller skates you possessed a major technological advantage (unless it was snowing).
Understatement: things are different now. Even the fax is ancient technology. When the iPhone comes out in a few months it will be possible to receive a call about an audition, get the sides for the audition, find directions on-line to the audition and listen to some music that will get you pumped for the audition all on one single device! No longer do actors wait for their weekly Backstage audition breakdowns. We browse through three or more websites daily, electronically submitting our headshots and resumes. Not only is making and mass-producing your own demo reel possible, it’s downright easy. I can have 100 or more postcards printed and ready for the mail in less than an hour (and do electronic submissions at the same time!)
While I do believe that technology improves the big picture, I have no delusions about its ability to solve problems. Our devices may free up our time, but they also create greater expectations of what we can accomplish with our time. This has been true since our ancestors “invented†fire and our ancestors’ managers forced them to work nights on the spear project.
As an information-age actor you have a responsibility to yourself to put available technology to work for you. If you can’t, you put yourself at a competitive disadvantage. It’s that simple. As a TVI consultant I am amazed—and frustrated—at the number of times I field calls from members who want help with what I consider to be basic computer skills. Saddest of all is when these calls come from people who have invested in top-dollar equipment, yet neglected to invest the additional time and money necessary to learn how to use it!
Do any of the following apply to you?
1.) Write out postcards by hand.
2.) Wait in line to buy stuff at the post office that you could order off their website.
3.) Buy print editions of the industry periodicals from which you find your auditions.
4.) Pay somebody to make your demo reel for you.
5.) Pay somebody to “dupe†your demo reel for you.
6.) Keep track of your industry contacts via an unorganized handwritten coffee-stained piece of paper that is rarely or never updated (if you keep track of them at all).
7.) Cut your resumes down to 8×10 size with scissors.
8.) Seal the envelopes for your gigantic 300-piece mass mailing by licking them.
9.) Have a dial-up internet connection.
10.) Are always the last to hear about anything industry-related (what agencies are building their files, which casting directors were tabbed to work on the new pilots, who is giving a worthwhile workshop and where, etc.)
Of course, there’s no reason to get out of control. Few struggling actors can afford to always be on the cutting edge of related hardware and software, nor is it reasonable to expect all thespians to be crackerjacks of advanced programs like Photoshop or Avid, or to subscribe to every available industry resource. Know your limits and stay within your budget. That said, however, if resizing your headshot so you can email it or upload it to a website is a baffling prospect, or if you are blissfully unaware of the resources that are available to on-line, you’ve got some catching up to do!