Paige Craig Photography

One thing every actor, heck – every person generally appreciates is affirmation.  We look for affirmation in every facet of our lifes; whether it be relationships, life goals, work, hobbies, etc… One way actors look for affirmation is through booking work (duh).  I would argue however, that you can also find incredible encouragement from being called back for a commercial and it feels doubly (is that a word?) good to be put on “avail”.  At least this is what I’ve been telling myself.

My callback ratio for commercial auditions is about 65-70%, which means that for every 10 auditions I go to, I get called back about 6 or 7 times.  My encouraging agent, Anna Leigh, at Daniel Hoff has assured me that they view callbacks very similarly to actually booking a job.  She said that a callback means you did the audition well and now the client just has to decide what direction to go (blond, brunette, tall, short, quirky or “all-America”, etc…).  You can only imagine how great it feels to be put on avail (which, generally means it’s between 2-3 people).

I have been on avail for some pretty incredible jobs.  It’s hard not to get your hopes up (and start counting the money, a sure sign of death I’ve decided).  For instance, I spoke with a casting director at a callback and he told me that over 20,000 submitted for the job, 300 for put on tape (meaning, they had 300 people come in to audition both on the east and west coasts), and then they narrowed it down to 11!  I was on of the 11 and while I should be thrilled (and I am), it’s almost that much more difficult on the psyche when you don’t actually book the job - – especially when it’s shooting in the Bahamas!  Since then, I’ve been put on avail for at least three other great gigs.

With an uber competitive industry, one has to look for moments of light in the smallest of things, such as a callback.  It’s a subjective industry and you can do only so much until you realize the rest is out of your control.  Who knows, I could look like the casting director’s ex-wife, or maybe I’m too tall?  If I start thinking of all the reasons, I would go crazy.  Instead, I give thanks for the ability to pursue my passion and be exposed to some pretty incredible people.  I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, God is teaching me persistence through all of this.  My parents always told me that anything worth having is worth working hard for.  I agree, because when I book a job, the victory is oh so much sweeter and the gratefulness I feel is abundant.