Casino news from http://www.shreveporttimes.com/
A full house of hopefuls showed up at Fairfield Studios on Aug. 10 to audition for a TV commercial for Coushatta Casino. Asked to hold a winning hand of cards and tell the camera how happy he was, Dudley Talbot exclaimed, "Goodness gracious. How 'bout that? I won!"
Joan Roy hammed, "Oh, heaven. I got the pictures, baby. Way ... to ... go!"
Jason Bratlie shook his cards and said, "All right!"
Most of the two dozen people who showed up had never auditioned for a commercial, TV or film project. Novices were eager to just see what it was like.
"It was a pretty interesting way to spend a lunch break," said Bratlie, who works at a car dealership by day and as a musician by night. Bratlie laughed about the opportunity to show his worst poker face. "I'm a poker player. When you get a good hand, you don't show it."
Gail del Corral, who was providing talent for the audition through her talent and modeling agency, said commercials often do not require acting expertise. People simply have to show lots of interest and look the part.
"Casting directors are looking for charisma and someone that's outgoing," del Corral said. "They are looking for a lot of energy."
Amy Staub, the commercial's casting director, agreed. "I am looking from someone fun, exciting, someone who has enthusiasm," she said.
Staub added that novices should not feel nervous just because they are new to the experience. Naivete can sometimes be an advantage. "We can always find that diamond in the rough, and I love doing that."
Monte Levitt, a retired biochemist, showed up to audition for the commercial. It was his first, which he described as "quite short," "pleasant" and "scary."
"Am I going to do well? Am I going to look like you just had won a million dollars?" he pondered after his audition, which took about 90 seconds.
If he gets a callback from Staub, Levitt will have to drive to Baton Rouge for the shoot. He will be paid $500 and mileage expenses. They will feed him on set.
"My career is just starting," Levitt quipped with a rye smile.
Del Corral asked him to audition with friends Martin Lewis and Warren Harris. The were first-timers too and came because of curiosity.
"You hear about it, but until you get out there and see it for yourself, you really don't know how it's going to be," Lewis said.
He and others filled out paperwork in the lobby and waited for their numbers to be called. When it was, the casting director led them to the audition studio, where a few brigt lights, a white backdrop, a camera and a television monitor awaited them. Their improvised auditions, which ended with a wink at the camera, were over in 60 to 90 seconds.
Joan Roy, a real estate agent, came with her husband, Norman, a real estate appraiser. They live in Shreveport and took a long lunch break.
"It's a challenge. I came in not knowing what to expect and dressed in various and sundry things," she said with a laugh. "I can talk easily, so it was fun. It was different."
Norman Roy had mixed reviews about his audition. "It just gives me a chance to be a big ham. They thought I was funny, but I didn't think I did very well."
To him, the audition was a break in the workday he would have to "make up for at night."
Carson Sibley, a retiree from Shreveport, has taken interest in movie and TV productions since they began shooting in Shreveport in late 2005 after Hurricane Katrina forced many film and TV productions scheduled to shoot in New Orleans to northwest Louisiana.
For the fun and a little extra money, Sibley has worked as an extra in "The Guardian," "Not Like Everyone Else," "Ruffian" and "Premonition," averaging about $75 per day. The movies and TV films were shot locally.
"We're not going to get rich doing extra work," Sibley said. Though he would like to land a speaking role in front of the camera, he believes casting directors are sometime cautious about giving parts to talent they've never worked with. "I understand that because they have their reputations on the line."
Shreveporter Tommy Tompkins, a manager at a local mill, has been seeking and landing work as an actor or commercial talent since the late 1980s. He is a member of the Screen Actors' Guild, a national labor union.
His face recently was used on a billboard campaign for a New Orleans hospital. The work earned him an $8,000 check.
He cautioned work as an actor can be hot and cold, so it's best to be persistent.
"There's a tremendous amount of rejection. You are devastated at first, and then you just learn to move on," he said. Going to any and all auditions is just part of the process of finding more work. "At least your head is out there. You never give up."
Tompkins shared a bit of advice for anybody heading to auditions for humorous commercials. "You can't be too goofy," he said. "The sillier it seems to you, the more they like it."
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