1. Southern warmth abounds, but so do professional boundaries.
Theater folk in Atlanta are incredibly supportive of one another, and you won’t find a lot of public standoffishness or bitterness in the air, thank goodness. Allow Atlanta’s hospitable vibe to inspire you and embrace the camaraderie. Local thespians wear multiple hats—directing, acting, producing, casting, writing, teaching, graphic design, you name it—and the community is close-knit.
Most people in traditional “power positions” consider many actors their friends, which means etiquette lines get blurry. So tread lightly when communicating about auditions, offers, and “no’s.” Keep it professional and respectful, and remember that though you may be dealing with someone you know socially, theater is also a business.
2. Cultivate your on-camera skills in the Hollywood-of-the-South.
A huge amount of television, film, industrial, commercial, print, and web-based work is happening in Georgia, and the momentum doesn’t seem to have an expiration date. Take classes. Seek auditions. Self-submit. Above all, make it your mission to land an on-camera agent ASAP. Bonus: fine-tuned and simpler camera acting will only help you drop in more truthfully to many of the contemporary plays being produced in the American theater today. Also, camera acting helps pay the bills.
READ: Why Local Hire Means Local
3. Explore all opportunities, but recognize local producers’ roles, too.
Happily, the Atlanta scene is rich with work, and that means actors are often under consideration for multiple or conflicting projects. Still, please don’t accept an audition invitation, read for a show, or accept an offer if you absolutely know you have immovable conflicts with a production’s rehearsal and performance dates. Look out for upwardly-mobile career opportunities, sure, but also know that recasting a project is challenging, and putting theaters in a bind isn’t easy for anyone, nor quickly forgotten. Honesty and transparency are crucial for longevity in our market.
4. Consider each audition an opportunity to wow us anew.
While members of the casting team may have seen you do brilliant work—perhaps at our own theater—we probably haven’t seen you do THIS role. And if other right-fit actors come in prepared, take direction, and are pleasant and professional, you’re not guaranteed a callback or offer simply based on pedigree. Be amazing in the present.
If you’ve been invited to act (and not simply offered a role), you’re starting at the same level of possibility as everyone. Please follow the directions of the audition notice, and arrive with specific, personalized choices. Play actions, not emotions nor concepts. Know that we WANT you to be the top choice, and we grasp very well the stress you’re under, particularly those of us in the room who also perform. We love that you’ve invested time and energy into our project, and we really do hope you’re “the one.”
5. Self-produce.
Atlanta is home to many performance venues—traditional and otherwise—of various sizes and price tags, and our theater artists are branching out into various disciplines: directing, writing, founding companies, web-series work, independent films, festivals, and readings. If you’re not booking frequently or just want to see a project you love come to life, then diversify, self-produce and self-promote!
Check out our Atlanta audition listings!
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and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Backstage or its staff.
