Actors in the Time of Covid-19
As of now – mid March 2020 – most of Europe is on some form of lockdown.
Countries like Italy are virtually closed with deserted streets and a complete ban on public gatherings. Other countries, meanwhile, are waiting to see what happens with the most likely scenario being that they, too, begin to lockdown to prevent the spread of Covid-19 or coronavirus.
Cinemas have shut their doors and in many places auditions have simply stopped.
Here at enCAST we’ve seen a major reduction in the number of casting notices coming our way and this is reflected right across the industry.
But what does all this mean for actors? And what happens next for us all?
The current industry situation
In Italy and France and right across Europe, filming has stopped and probably won’t start up again till the Summer.
But you might be surprised to know that the background work still goes on. Films are still being developed and any pre-production which can be done remotely is still going ahead.
According to this article in Variety magazine: Riccardo Tozzi, founder and co-chief of the Italian production house Cattleya (behind Gomorrah and ZeroZeroZero amongst others) said that the industry has a duty to work because when the crisis is over, the country cannot be in ruins.
So while it might seem as though Europe is moving to a standstill, the background work still goes on and whilst filming itself has been put on hold, newer productions are still being developed and moved forward, ready for when the crisis is over.
Simply put this means that there’s the potential for a lot of work coming in at once when this terrible situation is behind us and new and postponed projects begin shooting.
First steps – what to do now?
Well first and foremost, you need to stay safe and healthy.
You will all know the advice by now but it needs to be repeated: wash your hands, use a tissue when sneezing or coughing, and avoid people. (For more detailed advice, see the NHS site here)
Some of you will have to self-isolate now because your government has told you to do so. Others will do this voluntarily because it’s simply a good idea right now.
In your enforced downtime
But as actors, you should try and use this enforced downtime for the best.
As we said above, come the Summer and productions will be booting up again and we predict a surge of castings as both new and postponed productions look for the actors they need.
Which means you need to be ready!
Your material
Get your material up to date!
Make sure your CV and application email texts are the best they can be. Look at the jobs you got and those you lost; did the material you send make a difference to winning or losing the job?
And then your headshots. You won’t be able to do any new ones right now but that doesn’t stop you beginning to talk to photographers about arranging for new ones when everyone is allowed to start going out again.
Enter the monologue competition!
Why not shoot a quick monologue and enter our Self-Isolation Monologue Competition! It’s easy and free and you could win a year’s subscription to the site.
Take a look here for more.
Promote yourself
How about making yourself a website to promote yourself and your acting career?
It’s very effective and can bring in work. And fortunately you don’t need to be able to program a computer to build one – if you can write a Word document, you can build yourself a website.
Plus, these days there are plenty of places where you can easily build and host your own website so it might be worth taking some time to look into the idea (it’s pretty easy) and put your headshots, showreels, and other material online.
These are some good, free, places where you can build your own website. Perhaps the best are Wix and Site 123 but there’s plenty more free sites compared here.
Practice self-taping
If you’ve never made a self-tape, then try one now.
Even in this time of lockdown self-tapes are still being asked for and they are the future of castings. So if you’ve never done one before, make one now so when the time comes you’ll be ready to prepare, film, edit and send off in less than an hour.
Keep practising & learning
Downtime is the ideal time to keep working on your craft so learn some monologues, check out acting videos on YouTube, make some self-tapes for critical examination, watch new films and be critical when you do.
But above all…keep applying
You might think that a job in Italy, for example, should be avoided at all costs. But remember that it won’t begin production for possibly months down the line by which time Covid-19 will be all but gone.
Don’t be scared of applying for work now because the situation is going to change very soon and you don’t want to miss out on that.
The bottom line
Covid-19 is a terrible thing and it has caused to the death of thousands across the world.
Fortunately, however, the vast majority (98/99%) of those who get it will survive and some 80% will recover without any hospitalisation or special treatment.
Despite the fear and pain, we have to make the best of the whole situation though.
And whilst lockdown might initially seem a frustrating time, it’s a small price to pay for keeping us all safe, so why not also use it to do something positive?
Please follow the guidelines for keeping healthy and safe, and in the meantime we’ll continue to post castings when they come in… and look forward to the upturn we predict for the summer!
#StaySafe #StayAtHome #IoRestoACasa
