Reel PROs

Serving the Professional Actor
with Cold-Reading Workshops

What to Expect from Cold-Reading Workshops

Reel PROs offers different kinds of classes, our most popular being the cold-reading workshop. When you decide to attend a cold-reading workshop, we would like to make certain that you understand what this type of class does and does not provide, so there is no confusion over its purpose.

Our cold-reading workshop consists of a program of approximately 2 1/2 hours, during which a maximum of 24 actors will have an opportunity to perform a scene with a limited time to rehearse. The reading will take place in front of the other actors and an industry guest. Often the industry guest is a casting director, director or producer, and will be at RP in order to bring you the benefit of their experience and knowledge. There will be a question and answer session and an opportunity to obtain feedback on the reading.

A cold-reading workshop provides these benefits:

• Practice of and feedback with respect to cold reading skills
• Through insights offered by guests, demystifying the process of obtaining employment with a production company
• Learning what industry guests look for in performances
• Networking with and being supported by other actors

We like to have as guests those individuals who are actively working, as they are best in a position to provide feedback and answer your questions about the industry of today. It is also important to realize that actors are not auditioning in our workshops for a specific role a casting director may be currently casting. We do not procure or attempt to procure employment for actors. When we invite a casting director to attend a workshop, it is solely for their knowledge, experience, feedback, tips, insights and redirect. We do not attempt to determine for what roles a casting director is or will be seeking actors. We are not, in any regard, a representative of any production company.

It may be helpful for you to understand how actors are generally hired, when deciding whether or not to attend a cold-reading workshop. There are many paths by which actors are hired for productions. These include:

• Requests by the producer or director
• Having been seen in another role, been previously cast by, or been previously known to the casting director
• Referrals by others in the industry
• Submission by an agent, manager, or teacher
• Observing the actor in theatre, at industry events, and learning about an actor through other means (i.e., the Academy Players' Directory, published by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)
• Submission by the actor by post card, mail submission of headshot and resume, and other unsolicited submissions

Casting directors screen and audition actors for roles, but casting directors do not, generally, have the unilateral authority to hire actors. When a casting director needs to fill a role, and the casting director believes an actor might fit that role, the casting director will generally call that actor in for an audition. If the audition goes well, the casting director will usually bring the actor in for a callback with the producer and/or director of the project. Normally, these people combined will make the final casting decision.

It is very helpful to have an agent who can assist you in finding and negotiating the terms of any engagement which you may be offered. Agents do vary greatly in their effectiveness. We do not consult with actors as to what appropriate terms of employment may be.

We are proud of the fact that many workshop participants are currently successful working actors, or have gone on to become prominent in their field. We like to think that we contributed in some manner to that success. Most successful actors pursue engagements through several of the paths that are mentioned above. Many actors have succeeded without attending cold-reading workshops.

You are ultimately and inevitably responsible for deciding how to pursue your career as an actor. We hope this explanation will be of value to you in deciding how to do so.