Who Gets the Breakdowns for Acting Auditions for Big Movie and TV Roles?

TV/Film, Acting Auditions

Yet another thing I was confused about after I came to Los Angeles was the term breakdowns.  When my daughter’s manager called to tell us about her acting auditions, often he’d say he was reading the description of the character from the breakdown.

The only breakdowns I’d heard about before that were those related to a person’s emotional state that typically resulted in hospitalization in a psychiatric facility.  And obviously that was not what he was referring to.

Perhaps you’ve heard people talking about the breakdowns for acting auditions and wondered about exactly what a breakdown is.  And, even more, you’ve probably wondered how to get the breakdowns for acting auditions yourself, so you can find out about all the best acting auditions.

So, exactly “What is a breakdown?” And ” Who Gets the Breakdowns for Acting Auditions for Big Movie and TV Roles?”

What Is a Breakdown?

A breakdown is a write-up of a particular project that includes a synopsis or description of the project in addition to descriptions of all the characters/roles in the script for the project. It also typically includes names of the people involved in the project such as the directors, casting directors, and producers as well as proposed project dates and locations, and a few other pieces of information.

A breakdown is what gets submitted by casting directors or perhaps other individuals affiliated with a project when that project is ready to be released to talent agents and talent managers (and possibly to the acting community) for submission of actors for casting of the various roles in the project.

Breakdown Express/Breakdown Services

When you hear the term “The Breakdowns,” typically this refers to the set of project breakdowns that is released only to qualified subscribers through a service called Breakdown Express through Breakdown Services.

Who Gets Theatrical Breakdowns?

Only licensed talent agents throughout North America and approved talent managers in Los Angeles and New York are allowed to subscribe to Breakdown Services for the Theatrical Breakdowns (see “Do You Know What Theatrical Acting Auditions Are?” for more info).  Talent managers must belong to the Talent Managers Association to be considered for approval.

No one else is allowed to get the breakdowns, and those who receive them through Breakdown Express are not allowed to share them with other people.

The projects posted in the Theatrical Breakdowns with Breakdown Services include feature films, tv movies, reality tv, episodics, pilots, short films, industrial films, theatre, a small number of commercials, and some print and modeling projects.

Casting directors will let Breakdown Services know where and to whom to release the project breakdowns they post. Sometimes projects are released only to certain areas or only to certain agencies.

The talent agents and managers who receive the breakdowns then submit the actors they represent who they feel are appropriate for the roles included in the breakdowns. The casting directors then view the submissions and request certain actors come in for acting auditions for those roles.

Breakdowns Released for Actor Submissions

If a casting director posts a project on Breakdown Services and is willing to accept actor submissions, they can have  Breakdown Services release the breakdown on Actors Access as well as on Breakdown Express.  Additionally, the casting director may decide to post the breakdown to other casting sites, such as Casting Networks and Now Casting.

Keep in mind that the projects posted on casting sites for actors to see are most often for non-union projects, student projects, low-paying projects, no-pay projects, or projects where special skills (juggling, gymnastics, etc.) or special looks (twins, mixed ethnicity, etc.) are required, or where casting must be done very quickly.

You can create a profile for your child/yourself on a number of sites such as Actor’s Access, Casting Networks, Now Casting, and The Casting Frontier. You can then submit for the projects posted on those sites and possibly get acting auditions from your submissions.

While this is a great thing to do, particularly when just starting out in acting, it is by no means the best way to get acting auditions.  The auditions you’ll see on these sites and other ones you find online are just a small subset of what is available in terms of acting auditions in the entertainment industry.

Commercial Express/Breakdown Services

Commercial Express is the commercial counter-part to Breakdown Express. Commercial breakdowns are posted with Breakdown Services and released through Commercial Express.

Who Gets Commercial Breakdowns?

Commercial Breakdowns can only be released to licensed talent agencies. No one else, not even personal managers, are allowed to receive the Commercial Breakdowns (unless they also have a talent agent’s license). Some personal managers sometimes go ahead and get their talent agent license so they can get the Commercial Breakdowns.

Clients of Breakdown Services are able to add two pictures and a resume for their clients at no charge to enable them to submit their clients electronically. They can also submit a Performance Video or Actor Slate if the talent has paid for these services.

Why Does Casting Restrict Who Gets the Breakdowns?

The main reason not everyone can get the breakdowns from Breakdown Services is to control the number of submissions that casting directors get for projects and roles. This also helps to filter the submissions casting directors get.

Sometimes only a certain number of submissions are allowed even by agencies for particular roles. The casting directors depend on talent representatives to submit only talent right for the roles listed. Talent representatives put their reputations on the line when they submit talent to casting.

For more information related to becoming an actor, subscribe to Your Young Actor’s Newsletter. You’ll also get a mini-course on Getting Started in Show Business.

Sincerely,
Debbie Sikkema