first refusal

The mommy cam, part 2

The long wait is over (I think)

Well, I’ve decided the long wait is over. I happen to know that some friends of mine who were also on first refusal for the train commuter audition were contacted about the commercial. However, I wasn’t. No phone call. No email. Zip.

Now, typically, when one is on first refusal for a gig, one of two things happens:

the client decides they like you and the casting director calls to hire you for the gig; or,
the client decides they won’t use you and the casting director calls to release you from first refusal

In this particular case, neither of these happened to me. So, any … Continue reading »

The long wait

Ten days ago I had a second audition for the role of a train commuter in a television commercial. The commercial is slated to shoot in about a week, but none of the actors have heard anything, yet. Or, at least I haven’t. We’re all still on first refusal. (Or at least I’m assuming all have elected to stay on first refusal.) Essentially, we’re waiting. I sent an email inquiry today to see if the casting director knew anything about where things stood with this particular spot. This is the response I received:

“Hey! WE are still waiting to hear!! WE will let you know … Continue reading »

Not my first refusal

So, last week I was asked to be “on first refusal” for an overnight commercial shoot for a well-known bank. The spot is slated to shoot tonight. I agreed. Working overnight isn’t that bad; one is just really tired come breakfast-time. How does first refusal work?, I hear you asking. Well, to “be on first refusal” means simply that the client is interested in using you, isn’t sure if s/he/they will use you, but would like for you to hold the desired time(s) for her/him/them. However, as the talent, you are not committed to the project and, if something … Continue reading »

The Best Type of Gig, Part II

A message was just sent to me via email. I have been released from my first refusal, as the spot has been booked. So, this event turned out to be not quite the best type of … Continue reading »

The Best Type of Gig

In the world of performance, the best types of jobs are those in which no audition is involved. Instead, someone just calls you up and says, “Jim (or, whatever your name happens to be), we’re doing a [insert type of job here] and we’d like to cast you as the [insert role here]. Are you interested?” Once one has acquired such name-brand recognition, doors begin to open on a much more rapid scale. And, in fact, this is what happened to me yesterday–sort of.

One of the CDs in the area called me to find out if I was willing to be placed on first refusal* for a television … Continue reading »