The Biggest Challenge Actors Face Isn’t a Dearth of Opportunities
I try to meet actors of all stripes and talk to them about their journey. It’s an important part of how Castiko’s own journey is shaping up. While each artist has a unique story, over the last few weeks a pattern has started emerging that I think is an important one to highlight.
At the end of the day, every actor wants bigger and better opportunities to earn a living, showcase their talent, and to feel that pride and satisfaction of a job well done. An actor’s life revolves around these opportunities: projects they’ve done, projects they didn’t land, and projects that they’re being considered for right now…
Yet, so much can go wrong when it comes to casting! Maybe your schedule clashes. Maybe you can’t do that particular strain of Hindi. Maybe you don’t have any experience with that particular dance form. A friend recently told me how she had four opportunities lined up when she met with an accident that put her out of action for several months. She lost all the progress she had made.
But here’s the thing — every actor knows and accepts this reality. You win some, you lose some, and you just have to stick it out. That’s not what bothers them.
Over the course of several (hundred?) conversations, this is what I’ve discovered: what really kills an actor is information asymmetry.
And I don’t just mean not having enough information. The problem is knowing that some other people might have much more, and better information, and you could lose out as a result. How many times have you heard these lines from actors:
- “Who was auditioning for that film? I would’ve been a perfect candidate for that role!”
- “Who is the casting director on that upcoming film?”
- “Who got selected in that audition I gave last week?”
- “What is the criteria on which I was finally rejected?”
- “Where is the audition for that project? I thought it was at that other place!”
- “But someone told me the budget was much lower than that!”
(Or these lines from casting directors:
- “This actor would’ve been perfect for that previous project!”
- “This person is perfect for my project, but I don’t know his/her name!”)
These lingering, unanswered questions create an overall atmosphere of uncertainty and distrust. In a community of artists, trust is crucial. In fact, trust is often the bedrock on which a creative team is built. But in an atmosphere of incomplete and asymmetric information, this trust is impossible to cultivate.
At Castiko, we’re trying to break this cycle. We believe that more, accurate, and complete information will benefit everyone in the ecosystem. With Castiko, actors and casting directors will have access to relevant, comprehensive information that we will (try to) keep as updated and accurate as possible. Who is working on a project, which auditions are relevant for me, who is selected for a given project, and so on and so forth.
One important step we’re taking towards fostering trust and direct communication is through our events.
At Castiko’s unique events, casting directors and actors are brought together under one roof for an intimate evening of performances. We try to create a relaxed, friendly environment for the generous sharing of art, so that the right people feel comfortable enough to connect and hopefully, collaborate in the future.
Knowledge is power. Creating a more symmetric information ecosystem is going to be difficult, but it’s really important we take steps in this direction. If you believe in this idea too, reach out to us and let’s talk about what more we can do, together!
