Auditions from out of town

M

Mjb2k11

So I've begun the process of casting and re-casting some roles for my web series. I have a couple questions and they're probably stupid questions, but I want to be fair.

On the casting call, I specify that I'm looking for actors that live within 50-100 miles of the shooting location. This is because of the serial nature of the web series; different characters pop up every couple episodes. I also stated that this is a non-paying role and that all you will receive is credit. Yet, I'm getting flooded with submissions from actors from as far as 3-4 hours away.

I'm hesitant to give these actors a look because my lead actor lived 2.5 hours away from the shooting location, which is what led to me deciding to re-cast the role. I also have another actor who drove 4 hours for a shoot that took maybe 3-4 hours. At the time, I didn't know he was coming from so far and I wish I had.

So my question is do I even give the out-of-town actors a look? If this was a high-end production with paying roles, I'd say sure. But again, this is a web series that will most likely shoot on the weekends or when schedules open up. Most of the cast members have day jobs, so I've scheduled the shoot around their schedules.
 
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You kind of answered your own question. Don't second guess yourself. I know it's hard when you think "oh but he/she might be the one" but stick to your own rules and it won't end up biting you in the a$$.
 
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I have an actress who paid her own way from Serbia to be in my producction, because acting is her life. She picked up some paying gigs in the surrounding areas. But, she was on time and showed up everyday. She's been acting for 10 years and is very talented. We helped her with some dialogue, because of her accent. She learns fast and was a pleasure to work with. She loves science fiction. So, she wanted to be part of the production.

As long as they know it's no pay, don't limit yourself.
 
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I'm going to make wild assumption:

MDM's example is the very, very rare exception. Clearly
it happens but I know dozens of actors whose life is acting
that cannot afford to fly across the world (or the country)
to act in a movie. I wouldn't use the rare exception in my
decision to hire an out of state or out of county actor.

I lean more towards indietalks comment. You already
understand the downside of actors coming from a long distance.
Even actors who live to act can get bogged down when they
are spending their own money to be in your movie.

This is a series which leads me to believe you will be shooting
several episodes over a long period of time. Am I right? I can
understand an actor willing to drive a few hours for one or two
weekends to be in your web series - I can also understand an
actor (even a very dedicated one) getting tired of spending
every weekend (or even two a month) driving several hours to
be in your web series.

You also mention shooting when their schedules open up. An
actor who lives 20/30 miles away can pop over for a 4 hour
night shoot if their schedule suddenly opens up. I wonder how
many actors who get off work early will be willing to drive 3
hours each way to do a quick 4 hour shoot...
 
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