Ross Reports - UK Equivalent?
This question came in from Allison, a US/UK dual national who spent the past eight years working as an actress in New York.
Q: How do you figure out which TV series are in production in London, and how do you keep tabs on that? In NY, that was so easy - I'd just consult Ross Reports. I'd often discover several cable-channel series I'd never heard of were currently being shot, and thus be able to tell my agent I think I'd fit in well, or contact the casting directors and get auditions that way. Or I'd simply start watching the series to get familiar with it should I get an audition in future.
But here in London, this seems impossible. Since I barely grew up here, I don't automatically know what TV series are new and being made, and which ones were cancelled last year. Also, the word "drama" here seems to apply to both "one-off" TV specials, as well as drama series. So I've made the mistake several times of contacting a casting director about a show I assumed to be a series, but it was just a one-off production. How embarassing! Thus, its very hard to know even what to look up in IMDB or which casting directors to look up. British actors seem to automatically know what is current on TV. One actor mentioned that maybe Equity has a list of at least films in production, but wasn't sure.
A: Yes, to my knowledge there is no Ross Reports equivalent over here, which is frustrating. The way I keep on top of stuff is through word of mouth with other actors, by asking my agent, and funny enough by reading the Sky magazine that comes in the mail as part of my Sky subscription. The Sky magazine has feature articles about new shows and lists everything that's currently airing including details about the show, who's in it, who directed and such. Now it's not ideal because usually the shows have already been made, and are not in production and therefore casting is often complete but it's a good way to get on top of shows here.
One-off dramas are harder to get wind of unless you know lots of people in the industry but once a series is announced it's fair game to write to the casting director and suggest yourself for upcoming episodes. You can find their details in Contacts 2011
. While you're at it, why not look up production companies, check out their websites and research what they're producing - be it TV or film?
You can also check out www.tvguide.co.uk and read about TV shows at the Time Out London website. You might also have a look at TV/Film industry magazines like Empire which sometimes announce projects in production, from there you might be able to find out who's casting with a little internet searching.
Q: How do you figure out which TV series are in production in London, and how do you keep tabs on that? In NY, that was so easy - I'd just consult Ross Reports. I'd often discover several cable-channel series I'd never heard of were currently being shot, and thus be able to tell my agent I think I'd fit in well, or contact the casting directors and get auditions that way. Or I'd simply start watching the series to get familiar with it should I get an audition in future.
But here in London, this seems impossible. Since I barely grew up here, I don't automatically know what TV series are new and being made, and which ones were cancelled last year. Also, the word "drama" here seems to apply to both "one-off" TV specials, as well as drama series. So I've made the mistake several times of contacting a casting director about a show I assumed to be a series, but it was just a one-off production. How embarassing! Thus, its very hard to know even what to look up in IMDB or which casting directors to look up. British actors seem to automatically know what is current on TV. One actor mentioned that maybe Equity has a list of at least films in production, but wasn't sure.
A: Yes, to my knowledge there is no Ross Reports equivalent over here, which is frustrating. The way I keep on top of stuff is through word of mouth with other actors, by asking my agent, and funny enough by reading the Sky magazine that comes in the mail as part of my Sky subscription. The Sky magazine has feature articles about new shows and lists everything that's currently airing including details about the show, who's in it, who directed and such. Now it's not ideal because usually the shows have already been made, and are not in production and therefore casting is often complete but it's a good way to get on top of shows here.
One-off dramas are harder to get wind of unless you know lots of people in the industry but once a series is announced it's fair game to write to the casting director and suggest yourself for upcoming episodes. You can find their details in Contacts 2011
. While you're at it, why not look up production companies, check out their websites and research what they're producing - be it TV or film? You can also check out www.tvguide.co.uk and read about TV shows at the Time Out London website. You might also have a look at TV/Film industry magazines like Empire which sometimes announce projects in production, from there you might be able to find out who's casting with a little internet searching.
And if you're a member of Spotlight.com, they've just announced the launch of The Spotlight Link Board - where casting professionals will be able to post details of forthcoming jobs which they want to share with ALL performers, regardless of their agency representation. That means every Spotlight member will have the option to view these casting opportunities.
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