Acting Auditions in Ireland: What to Expect, from Casting Call to Callback

It could be the chance of a lifetime or just some footage for your showreel. Either way, you first need to be chosen to audition, and then you need to book the role. Casting directors in Ireland have reported receiving as many as 1,200 applications for a single role. If you are selected to audition from that pile, you will be up against anywhere between two and two hundred other actors for the part, depending on the project, the role and the level you are auditioning at.

Self-taping changed the numbers. Not long ago, a casting director had no choice but to rent a studio to audition actors, and the cost meant they had to be extremely selective about who they brought in. Now they can ask any number of actors to send a self-tape, screen the tapes, and send the strongest on to the director, who makes the final decision. You are more likely to be asked to tape than ever before, and your competition has grown with it.

The odds, honestly

After an audition you can feel a bit like you are waiting for a call after a great first date. You cannot stop thinking about it, and you jump every time your phone rings. When the call does not come, your heart sinks. Meet rejection: it will be a regular companion in an acting career, and it is nothing personal.

There is no honest single number for how often actors book. If you are auditioning for regular to high-budget film and television roles, you can expect to book somewhere between one in every 20 and one in every 80 tapes, depending on variables such as your experience and credits, your age and type, how many roles are being cast for someone like you at that moment, where you are based, the size of the parts you are going for, and the state of the industry that year. Actors have taped 75 times before booking a role. The ratio says very little about your talent and a lot about the numbers.

One note before we start: this guide is about auditions for film and television roles. Commercial castings are their own breed, and they often hinge on a look as much as on acting. Everything below still helps, but the process in the room can be different.

The breakdown

The breakdown carries the core information you need for the audition: the where, the when, the who and the what. If you have an agent, they will pass on everything the casting director has sent, whether you are being invited to self-tape or to audition in person. If you applied yourself, it comes straight to you. Read every line carefully and follow the directions you are given.

For a face-to-face audition, aim to arrive about ten minutes early. You can be in and out in five minutes or, if they are running behind, you can be there for up to an hour. That is more common on commercial calls.

Preparation

Whether you are auditioning for a speaking role or not, the casting director will usually send lines to learn so that you have something to perform. Learn them back to front, but do not lock yourself into one rhythm so tightly that you cannot take direction on the day.

If the show you are auditioning for is already on air, watch an episode or two before you tape. Every series has its own tone and pace, and the casting team usually picks performances that sit inside that tone. Knowing it lets you pitch your choices to the show rather than guessing.

Dialect is the other thing that may need preparation. If you are asked to perform in a specific accent, do enough work that you can switch it on in front of the camera. If you find it hard to move from your natural accent into the required one without carrying over a little Irish, that is fine: stay in character as you enter the room and politely ask the casting director if it is all right to go straight into the scene. That saves you chatting in your own accent and then trying to jump into another one cold.

If it is a self-tape

Everything above still applies when you are asked to self-tape, except that you do it at home and the casting director is not in the room. You provide your own reader and your own equipment, and you follow their instructions on how to label and send the finished tape. If you have an agent, they may want the tape sent to the agency rather than straight to the casting director.

On Actorly, a self-tape request arrives in your inbox with the deadline and the casting director's notes, and you upload the tape through TapeDrop, so there is no guessing about file names, links or where it needs to go.

What to expect in the room

The audition might be held in a hotel conference room, in a studio, or at the production company's or casting director's office. You may see a few actors with the same look as you in the waiting area. Remember that each of you brings something different, and the casting director hand-picked you to be there.

When you walk in, you will most likely meet the casting director and possibly a casting assistant. Depending on who you are auditioning for, either the casting director reads opposite you or the assistant steps in. Unless you are directed otherwise, always play to the reader's eyeline when delivering your lines, not to the camera.

You will stand or sit in front of the camera where they have placed a chair or a mark on the floor. Follow their directions. Once you are set, you may be asked to slate: your name, your agency, and sometimes your height and where you are based. After the slate, the casting director may ask you to go straight into the piece. After a few auditions you will find that most of them run the same way.

The callback

They loved your performance and want to see you again. The director will have chosen you to come back, so expect to see them at the callback, and perhaps the producer too. On a commercial callback the audience can grow to six or so, including people from the ad agency. Do not fret: they like you, and you already have their approval.

Now do it again, exactly the same, unless you are told otherwise, right down to the same wardrobe. The director may want to work with you, directing you through the scene to see how well you take direction and make adjustments. It is worth bringing a hair tie so that you can change your look if they ask.

Being pencilled

First the audition, then the callback, then you get pencilled. If you are pencilled, it means they like you a lot, but for reasons that have nothing to do with your performance, they are not ready to book you. One or two other actors may be pencilled alongside you. Hold tight, and do not go changing your hair colour or shaving your beard.

Being pencilled can feel like a tease, and it is disappointing when it does not go your way. Take the positive from it: you have what it takes.

Good luck

Going out for roles, whether you have an agent or represent yourself, is how you build a showreel, a network, and time on camera or on stage. Casting directors post their castings on Actorly, and it is free to join and free to apply. Create your free actor profile and start applying today.