What Is a Breakdown? (Showbiz Term of the Day)

The term “breakdown” is one you are likely to hear when you are starting your journey into show business. And the term “breakdown” here is not used to refer to someone’s psychological state or a car quitting on the side of the road.

I remember having my daughter’s talent manager refer to the information in what he called the “breakdown” when he was telling me about her first acting auditions. He did not send me a copy or give me any other information about it, so I really did not know what a “breakdown” was.

I discussed breakdowns and who gets the breakdowns in “Who Gets the Breakdowns for Acting Auditions for Big Movie and TV Roles?” So please check that post out for additional information on this topic.

So, “What Is a Breakdown?”

A “breakdown” in showbiz is a write-up of the 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 commonly 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.

A breakdown may also include other pieces of information that are important to the production of the project.

When you view projects on Actor’s Access, Casting Networks (a.k.a., LA Casting in the LA area), or Now Casting, what you are commonly viewing is the “breakdown” for that project.

Breakdowns for union television shows, movies, and plays are usually submitted by casting directors to Breakdown Services and released on Breakdown Express to specified talent agencies and certain talent managers.  A small subset of these projects are also released to the general acting community on Actor’s Access, Now Casting, and Casting Networks.

For more information on this and many other topics related to show business, be sure to sign up for Your Young Actor’s Newsletter. When you do, you’ll also receive a free mini-course in Getting Started in Show Business.

To your great success,

Debbie Sikkema