The Uncertainty of Voice Over Auditions

There are actors who display a certain acceptance about how auditions may come and go without results, and there are actors who seem to expect a phone call back – whether to be told that they got the part or to be told ‘thank you for your time’.

It stands to reason that one should get a phone call either way, right? But the reality of it is – in many cases, after an audition, casting directors, producers or clients may or may not call you at all.

This is what Paul Clayton, an actor and chairman of the Actors Centre, mentions in his article published in The Stage. He called it ‘the vicissitudes of the voice over booth’ and to quote from the last line of that article – “I don’t know if the commercial will ever get made. If it does, it’ll probably be voiced by Stephen Mangan.”

Many accomplished voice actors in the voiceover industry have experienced this – they come in for an audition, take direction,  read and reread for an hour or so, finish the audition, but once they leave, they don’t know what will happen next. There is not even a certainty that the commercial will indeed be made or aired out.

It’s been said before and is still being said now – voice actors spend most of their lives recording for auditions than recording for an actual job. You will hear successful voice over talents talking about doing 800 auditions and only getting hired for 200 of them. Despite only getting 25% success rate, he is still considered a successful talent having bagged a few steady projects in one year. Do you think he got a call or an email confirming he got the job (or not) in all those 800 auditions? Highly unlikely!

However, there are also those clients who would take the time to send out a thank you note to everyone who has auditioned for a part. There are those who would indeed take the time to thank a voice actor for his efforts and politely inform that they have decided on someone else.

Attitude has a lot to do with it. The resiliency of getting up and trying again and viewing these auditions as a chance to get your voice to be heard, allowing your voice to try out projects so you are also gauging yourself and see where you can improve more. The bottom line is, there are no guarantees to auditions but you can certainly make the most out of it.

Remember, getting the project is not the job… auditioning IS the job!

So unless, you are receiving favorable news – would it make a difference if you were told you didn’t get the part or not?