Places to find auditions in Chicago

We have begun to teach our brand new Meisner Monologues class, and as such we are preparing these students to either begin (or continue) auditioning in Chicago. I decided to put a little list together of some of the places to find auditions in Chicago:

Actors Access - For film, commercial, theater, etc. It is free to set up a profile (it will cost you $2 every time you submit electronically).

Mandy.com - For film student and independent film auditions. Mandy is free to set up a profile, and free to submit yourself for projects.

PerformInk Hotlines - Webzine that posts theater, film, dance auditions and jobs-- this is like the Chicago version of "Backstage." In order to view the "hotlines" (audition notices) on PerformInk's Premium Pages, you must purchase "P.I. Dollars" ($1 U.S. = 1 P.I. Dollar), and you can top up your account in different increments starting at $10. You will be charged one P.I. Dollar every time you view the Hotlines. Now, I know a lot of struggling actors don't want to pay the money, but I think it's worth it to check PerformInk, because there are a lot of auditions in this trade paper that you can't find anywhere else. Note: PerformInk updates their audition hotlines every Tuesday and Thursday, and make sure that you see on their website that they have been updated before you spend the money. Because PerformInk lists all the auditions several weeks back, it is not necessary to check it twice a week, but once every week or once every 2 weeks is a good plan.

The League of Chicago Theatres - A free place to find many of the same auditions that are listed in PerformInk.

Chicago Improv Network - A free message board devoted to all things improv (and sketch comedy) in Chicago. You will need to join CIN but it's free. Check the "Improv Classifieds" for improv, sketch and some theater and film auditions.

Yahoo! Groups - Some good ones are "cthlist," "chicago-theatre" and "CraigsTheaterList." I subscribe to all of them.

Facebook Fan Pages & Twitter - Become a fan or follow of your favorite Chicago theaters and casting directors, many of whom post their breakdowns/auditions as status updates, like this Facebook fan page for TP&R Casting.

Craigslist - Ok, some of the postings on here can be sketchy, but once you figure out what a few sketchy ones look like, you learn to tell the difference between those ones and the legit ones. Check out "Gigs" --> "Talent" and "Jobs" --> "TV/Film/Video." Cragislist is also a great place to find part-time work so you can make ends meet around your busy audition and performance schedule :)

Actors Equity - Type "Chicago" into the Actors Equity Casting Call search engine to view the Equity auditions in Chicago. If you are a non-Equity actor, you will not be able to make an appointment so you will need to "crash" the auditions, which means showing up an hour or two before the first audition starts, and getting your name on a list, and waiting around (sometimes all day) just to get a chance to maybe audition. Bring snacks and a good attitude, and be prepared to sit. A lot. But it's worth it. Every non-Equity actor should have the experience of crashing at least one Equity call. Best to do your research, though. Some theaters don't like non-Eq actors to crash, so visit the company's website before you decide to do this. Also, by checking PerformInk or the theater's website, you may find out that the company will be holding Non-Equity Generals, and if that's the case, it's best to audition at those rather than an Equity one.

I'm sure there are others that I could add to this list, but this these are the ones that I check on a regular basis, and you should, too! By checking these sites often, you should have many auditions to go to and will be busy busy!

Happy Auditioning!

Big weekend!

We've got two free workshops going on tomorrow and Sunday. We can't wait to meet all the new folks we're going to be working with. The last one we had in December was a big success and we're sure this weekend will be as well. It's incredible to be opening new actor's eyes to Meisner's work. Hopefully we'll remember to get some pictures this time. Check back Monday for those...