Blog Finding and Vetting Open Casting Calls

OK. You’ve got your mic. You’ve got your sound-dampened space. You’ve got your favorite DAW up and running.

So where are all these auditions you need to get your voiceover career started? Ugguhhughgug do you have to add more expenses on top of what you’ve already paid for software and equipment on pay-to-play (P2P) sites?

First answer: Lots of places. That’s literally why we’re here today, after all. Second: No. Not when you’re first starting out, unless you have the money and super want to sign up for a P2P site, anyway. In which case, our advice about red flags still applies, so feel free to stick around.

Where to Find Open Projects (For Free!)

Most voiceover artists these days get their start online, and luckily there are plenty of opportunities out there to gain experience both paid and unpaid. We recommend taking a little time each day to browse the following listings and make note of auditions (and deadlines!) so you never miss an opportunity.

AudioDramaAuditions

Voice actors wanting to work in the audio drama sector must give this Twitter account a follow. It tweets out paid and unpaid audio drama audition opportunities, in addition to comments about current industry events and voiceover classes or workshops open for enrollment.

Casting Call Club

Of course we’re going to list our sister site here! Casting Call Club covers a wide range of projects, from unpaid hobby and fan productions to indie studios following GVAA rate guidelines. The community is beginner-friendly and come-as-you-are: no demo reel or expensive equipment required to find your footing.

reddit

Yes, we’re being serious here. reddit. Some casting directors post their calls to the varied subreddits centering voice actors and nowhere else. Most of them tend toward YouTube channels and fan projects, but other opportunities come up as well. Some of the ones we use include the following:

  • r/recordthis
  • r/VoiceActing
  • r/voiceover
  • r/VoiceWork

    • Like Casting Call Club, many of the auditions on reddit do not ask for you to have a demo reel or broadcast-level studio to participate.

    VACastingCallRT

    If you’re a Twitter user (and for voice actors especially, we heavily recommend you set up an account), @VACastingCallRT deserves a place of honor on your newsfeed. All throughout the day, the account retweets paid, suitable for work (SFW) casting calls and demo reel pulls for audio dramas, video games, commercials, animation, and more. As a bonus, they also retweet whenever casting directors and studios open their private rosters to new talent!

    Voice Acting Club

    We’re recommending Voice Acting Club on a list of where to find auditions, but the community extends far beyond that. You would do yourself a great disservice as a performer if you neglect the other conversations happening about industry news, business advice, equipment tips, and pretty much everything you need to know to start and continue your voiceover career.

    They also have a Discord server where conversations and casting calls not found on the message board show up—and vice versa. Make sure to look at both when you’re audition hunting!

    Always open rosters

    Rosters aren’t quite the same thing as an open listing site, but they still offer a chance to have auditions sent to you. Inclusion on a roster won’t guarantee you opportunities, as you may not necessarily fit what the casting directors consulting the list want. However, we always recommend submitting for inclusion if you meet the requirements. You never know who might reach out!

    As a rule, we don’t condone sending your demo reels, résumés, or other materials to rosters, casting directors, or studios unsolicited. The following rosters are always open, so you don’t need to wait to submit.

    PGM VO List

    PGM VO List provides audition opportunities to people of color located around the world, regardless of their experience levels and equipment.

    Queer Vox

    Queer Vox has an open roster centering the LGBTQIAP+ community. It embraces members who may be questioning their gender and/or sexuality as well.

    Casting Call Red Flags

    No matter where a casting call gets posted, you need to do your due diligence and parse through the listing for any potential red flags. Sometimes, other voice actors may point toward a lack of previous experience or character artwork as a reason to skip over an audition. We’d like to reiterate that these are personal boundaries rather than genuine problems. Many beginner creatives don’t have a portfolio, and artwork is sometimes withheld from casting calls for legal reasons, or because it hasn’t yet been finalized.

    Rather, the casting call red flags out there point more toward unprofessionalism rather than experience level. Keep an eye out for the following potential issues:

  • Involvement with artificial intelligence (AI). Your voice could be outsourced for potentially criminal or otherwise unethical ends without your knowledge and consent.
  • Asking you to make up your own sides for a project not involving improv. This indicates that the casting director and/or producers don’t have a clear idea for a character yet and expect you to go beyond your pay grade (if there’s a pay grade at all) in your development work.
  • Requiring payment to audition. Even if you’re on a P2P site like Backstage, money should only pass from you to the platform, never from you to a potential client. You need to be paid for your work. The studio should not be paid for the chance that you might get work.
  • No details. Similar to the “create-your-own sides!” example above, the less you know about a project, the more you should consider not auditioning. The best casting calls provide as much information as possible to entice actors to join their projects. Again, if the casting directors and producers have no real vision in mind for the final product, they may rely too much on voice actors to do jobs they weren’t brought on (or are even qualified) to perform. In addition, a lack of strong, cohesive ideas likely means that a project won’t even see completion.
  • Casting before the deadline. A genuine rush casting call will always indicate that it’s a rush casting call. Casting directors who give a firm deadline but cast roles before the date hits show that they don’t value actors as collaborators so much as a means to an end. It may also be a red flag displaying a willingness to ignore factors such as time zones, personal schedules, illness, and other realities during production.
  • No contact information. Casting directors should provide a way to contact them if you have any questions about the audition. Failing to give you a Discord handle, Twitter name, or email where you can communicate with them doesn’t bode well for the project’s future.
  • Not disclosing not suitable for work (NSFW) status. Legitimate NSFW projects openly state that they’re NSFW, allowing adults to decide for themselves if they want to audition or not. Some of the sketchier casting directors will request that you contact them for audition materials, then send NSFW content without warning or consent. Please keep in mind that the red flag isn’t in asking for actors to DM or email for sides—this is standard practice for many studios since it helps keep their projects semi-private. The red flag occurs when the casting directors do not make space for performer boundaries.
  • Allowing minors to audition for NSFW projects. Self-explanatory. If you see casting calls for NSFW/18+ material that allows minors to participate, please report it to the web host for removal.

    • We also have a guide on the red flags to look for when you go to look at contracts. If you’re a casting director or producer, check out Jessica V’s guide on how to write up the casting calls that voice artists and singers will flock toward.

    Closing Credits: Help Finding What You Need

    Both in and outside of class, Closing Credits’ instructors and staffers are here to give you advice on anything you need to know about starting—and maintaining—your voiceover career. We’ve also got a thriving, positive, and supportive creative community happy to help with sharing tips and tricks on finding audition resources. You may even find a practice group for a second, third, and possibly a fourth (or more!) set of ears when developing your auditions!

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