A Friday in November and chasing the next job

First, a word on auditions: If you are lucky enough to have an agent, he/she will submit you for auditions. The Producer or casting director or director will look at all of the headshots and resumes submitted and decide who they would like to invite for an audition appointment. If you don't get an appointment, you can usually go to the union hosted auditions which are called Equity Principal Auditions. For these, you arrive early in the morning (they are first come, first served) to sign up for a time later in the day. These lines can begin forming as early as 5 or 6 in the morning and often attract hundreds of actors, depending on the project. Obviously, it's preferable to get an appointment through your agent rather than burn an entire day getting up early, signing up, returning for audition, etc. Keep in mind, not all actors have agents. Not all agents get their clients every audition. Sound complicated? It is. And we haven't even discussed chorus auditions or non-union auditions. We'll save those for another time.

Today, I emailed my agent to find out if I would be getting an appointment for an upcoming show. I have an excellent agent. I'm one of very few actors who don't complain about their agents. Unfortunately, this time she wasn't able to get me an appointment. This doesn't happen often, especially given that the audition in question is a decent job, but not exactly the highest of profile. End result: I'll be going to the Equity audition on Monday. Things like this are happening to me and my friends more often right now. Why? Well, it's a fairly quiet time right now for auditions so competition is more fierce. However, I think there's another force at work here: the Writers' Guild Strike. Television and film production has virtually stopped and that means a lot of tv and film actors looking for work. Where do they head? Many head back to the theatre leaving the rest of us with a larger pool of competition. Competition with face recognition from the screen. I'm not blaming the writers at all. I'm in full sympathy with their strike, actually. Reality however means that some of us will be left scrambling for jobs.

So I began this blog to take back some control during an uncontrolled period in the workplace. And to share the actor experience with anyone who is interested.

This weekend I'll be seeing a show. Good shows excite me and motivate me. Bad shows can make me angry or sad. They almost always make me frustrated at the waste of money creating "art" that is too often controlled by corporate entities. We'll see how the show makes me feel...
Enjoy your weekend!

A beginning

It seemed like an auspicious time to begin this new blog. Broadway resumed last night after a 19 day strike by the stagehands union. The year is coming to a close and hope for the future is in the air. So here I am.
And who am I? My name is Mark Aldrich and I've been a working professional actor for well over a decade. I'm far from famous, but have made my living pursuing one of the most difficult and unpredictable careers around. It can also be one of the most rewarding, full of interesting people and travel and creativity. Those come hand in hand with the rejection, self-doubt and instability. Actors are misunderstood in many places. Most of us are neither rich and spoiled nor starving in a garret tortured by creative demons. We simply want to raise a family, have a home, pay our bills and be actors. True, some seek fame. Some seek wealth. Most that I know simply want to work.
So here we go. Follow along as I blog about what it really is to pursue this in that supposedly harshest of cities, New York. I guarantee you're in for some surprises.


Some words about myself: I've appeared on LAW&ORDER and LAW&ORDER:SVU. I was (briefly) in the film GODS AND GENERALS. However, I mostly appear on the stage, often singing. I've been seen in numerous Off-Broadway shows, some have won awards, some have passed unnoticed. I've performed in nearly all the 50 states. I can be heard on a few cast albums. There are two shows I'm a part of that are looking to be on Broadway within the next year or so. I belong to the three major acing unions: Actors' Equity, SAG, and AFTRA. I'm an actor. I live in New York.