Most actors have found themselves in an audition that didn’t feel quite right. A bit too much nudity required. The sides sound a little off. The reader happens to be the producer, director, co-star and cameraman.
The casting notice, in hindsight, usually contains clues about what's in store. British actor Miss L has been hunting for the humor in these foreboding postings. Her research into the listings has turned into a great series titled “Casting Call Woe,” which is on tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter.
Many focus on the sexism female performers face in the unsigned, non-union world. One post reads: “We need women comfortable with dressing in revealing clothes, for the scenery." Another casting call audaciously proclaims, "Payment: smiles." Still another announces, "She needs a full bosom. Large breasts are somewhat essential for a few bouncy scenes." On and on they go, with outlandish true-life texts lovingly paired with idyllic scenery in a series of casting-call-themed memes.
For her project, Miss L looks for ads seeking a particular type of person, with certain looks, builds, and skills. She finds those calls that are a little more unusual, in which the auditioning actors would seemingly need to be out of their minds to even respond. A high tolerance for nonsense, insults, or downright abuse are the hallmarks of a casting call that catches Bates’ eye.
“For my site, the more ridiculous they are, the better,” she says. “I tend to focus on ones that are particularly sexist and degrading towards women.”
Miss L, who also runs the site EverydaySexism, admits that she probably responded to some of the seedier-type calls herself earlier in her career. “I didn't really know any better,” she says. “I just wanted to work, regardless of whether it was a role I actually felt comfortable doing.”
This rings true for a lot of actors, which makes the dark humor in the out-of-context casting notices ring so spot on. As humorous and shocking as some of the casting calls are, actors should take some of them as giant warning signs and just not audition for anything that doesn't feel right.
“The really bad casting calls are, thankfully, few and far between, but there are still a lot of pretty terrible ones out there," Miss L says.
As could be expected, Miss L has some feelings about what goes into a good casting call. Basically, she believes honesty is the best policy.
“Let actors know what to expect. If you can't pay, let them know that no one else is getting paid, either,” she says. “And if you're not paying, let actors know what they will be getting. Even just the small things, like it being catered or having travel expenses covered. And if you must have nudity in your production, reassure your actors that they will be looked after and not exploited. These all seem like obvious things, but it's amazing just how many people [leave] these things out.”
Miss L has an eye towards the bigger picture too, hoping that by shedding light on these casting calls, there can be changes in the industry.
“If it makes people think about the female characters that they're writing, then I see that as a real achievement. I've had people come to me for advice about writing casting calls, and I know that my tumblr has been used to help teach film students,” she says. “I’m really proud of that.”
What started as what she described as a “bit of fun” has become a more time-consuming endeavor than actually acting. The site has led Miss L to more writing gigs about the industry and she has even managed to work her project into a 10-minute stand-up act.
“If I can just encourage one person to write better roles for women,” she says, “then I'm happy.”
Want more L.A. news? Sign up for our Backstage L.A. newsletter!