Episode
Episode 392: Avoidable Errors In Your Auditions
- Podcast
- Acting Business Boot Camp
- Published
- Jun 3, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 658
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Summary
I want to tell you about a little experiment I ran. I was helping a director find and cast actors for some ADR for a film. I reached out to my network and posted in a very popular voiceover group. It was not a complicated audition. Narration piece, sides were provided, instructions were very clear. Basic. I got 208 submissions. And when I sat down to go through them, I am not exaggerating, over half had at least one avoidable error. Not the wrong voice for the role. Not didn't nail the read. Errors that had nothing to do with talent. Errors that happened before the person even opened their mouth. Today I'm going to tell you exactly what those errors were, why they matter more than you think, and what you can do right now to make sure you're not in the half that gets filtered out before anyone hits play. The Breakdown I actually tracked this because data, to me, is everything. 25% of submissions didn't follow directions. Mislabeled files, wrong file formats, ignored tone and approach guidance. Just wrong. 16% asked for information that was already in the email. I sent detailed sides, character notes, tech specs, and one in six people replied to ask me things that were answered in the first two paragraphs of the casting notice. 6% didn't read the provided script. I sent the sides and these people recorded something entirely different. Their own interpretation of what the spot might be, or a section of audio that felt close enough. Not what I asked for. 3% sent demos instead of the requested lines. I said please record these specific lines and they sent me a 90-second reel of things I didn't ask for. Add all of that up and you get 50%. Half of submissions had at least one error that was completely preventable. Why This Matters More Than Talent Here's what I want you to un…