Behind-the-Scenes Photos of the tv-show Mad Men photographed by James Minchin.

(via montyburgess)

Source: accidentalism

The Page UK redesign

We thought it would be useful to talk your through some of the major changes that we implemented on our 2013 redesign of The Page UK and why we decided to do a redesign in the first place.


Were we in need of a complete makeover? Probably not! We know we had the best looking actor’s profiles with features that no other site could match, yet that was not enough. We were experiencing issues surrounding the usability of our site.


Our research indicated that it was difficult for users to perform basic tasks such as add a headshot; this was our fault when designing the first iteration. We perhaps were guilty of spending too much time making it “different” to really nailing the user experience.

Alongside this there was a considerable time gap between the launch of the casting section and the agent section which has been launched alongside the redesign. The casting section had a completely different feel and aesthetic to the actor’s side, at first we felt this was the right way to go however upon reflection that was another error on our behalf.


As a new fledgling company these errors are bound to happen, the key is in improving and fixing them quickly which we have tried to do.

We believe that our new look not only is as beautiful as before (if not more so) but is much easier and simpler to navigate and use. Our media selector has had a major overhaul as has the way you edit your personal information with inline editing now available.

The other key innovation to launch with our 2013 redesign is our brand new SWIPE CV, this is a first for a casting resource, a swipeable cross device profile with the ability to quickly with a swipe of a finger view media, credits and information on your CV. Take a look at it yourself, we are very proud of it and we will be adding more functionality to this wonderful new tool in the future.

We have worked hard to streamline the casting process and make it not only simple to use but beautiful to look at, we have dispensed with the old school way of delivering information using a table where possible, now all jobs are posted on casting cards and you can quickly filter them before your eyes to locate suitable jobs.

If you are a casting director we have greatly improved the layout of our casting section and have made it much easier to access the tools you need straightaway. Your welcome page now contains your castings, most recent messages and replies to your casting invites, you also have the ability to create a breakdown, send out invites and our favorite innovation is after a casting you can write up your actors notes and deliver them to your client using our innovative SWIPE CV so you client can view all the auditioned actors on any device including mobiles!

We are also proud to announce the launch of our dedicated agents section, this will allow agents to manage their clients using The Page UK, group your actors into specific groups and submit multiple actors for any role, communicate directly with the casting director through our online messaging tool. Also for the first time ever showcase all your clients using our innovative SWIPE CV function which allows you to send your client gallery to anyone you want and it can be viewed on almost any device including mobiles all with just a swipe of a finger!

Online CV’s have never looked so good.

The days of the paper CV are going, however we have built The page UK to offer 4 versions of an actor’s CV, the standard Page Profile, the SWIPE CV for use across almost any device, a standard HTML CV for use on legacy computers and a PDF print ready document for use in hand.

No other casting site offers this flexibility.

We hope you enjoy our new changes and we welcome you to the future of online casting!

The Page UK Team.

When I grow up…

So, the other day, I took a friend’s daughter out to the shops to get a few bits for her ‘make my school uniform look like I actually chose to wear it’ accessories. The last time I saw this kid she was young enough that the word ‘bum’ made her laugh beyond reason, and now she shops in the same places as me. Terrifying. We were having a chat about what she wanted to be when she grew up (she’s leaning towards novelist) and she mentioned that her mum told her I’m an actor. ‘Are you famous?’ she asked,
‘Uhm, no, not really.’
‘Well, have you been in anything I’d recognise?’
‘Oh, well, do you know the band Apollo 440?’
‘Are they like Little Mix?’
 ’Uh…not really’
‘Then probably not.’
‘I did a big play a while ago!’
‘In London?’
‘Well….it was more of an East Anglia sort of based tour. I do lots of voice work! You’ve probably heard lots of the radio ads I’ve done!’
‘Do you earn lots of money?’
‘Hahahahahahahahahaha.’
‘Is that a no?’
‘erm…’
‘So you’re not a successful one yet then?’
‘Well, I am sort of. I’ve done a play for 4 months of this year, loads of voice work, including a job for a massive designer company, a fair few short films and music videos, a couple of adverts and I’ve earned a bit of cash. Better than a lot out there!’
‘But you’re still not rich or famous?’
‘Wow…no, but I’ve only been out in the industry for a year and a half…And I get to do a job that I love! That is, when I’m not working in a job I hate to fund the job I love…..’
‘So you have two jobs?’
‘Well….yeah. I also work in a call centre so that I can afford to do acting’
‘Oh. Do you do that less than you do acting?’
‘Nooooo….probably a bit more….’
‘and you don’t like it?’
‘No. Don’t work in a callcentre kid, it’s soul destroying’
‘So why do you do it? Did you not get very good marks at school?’
‘Well actually I have two degrees, and quite high grades in them too! I do it because it’s very flexible, so I can call in and cancel whenever an audition comes up’
‘So you do a job you hate so that you don’t have to go to it? That seems silly’
‘Sigh…you’re actually right…’

In summary Reader, I would say AVOID conversations with idealistic young kids. It will emotionally destroy you more than the worst reviewer would. Although, saying that, it made me realise that life is too short to work in a job that was turning my brain to sludge, so I threw in the towel at the call centre and found something more challenging, which pays more (and is just as flexible, if not more so!). And actually, it makes me feel a bit better about the fact that I don’t always earn massive amounts from acting, because I still have something regular coming in, from a job I actually quite enjoy-which means I turn up to auditions not feeling too desperate, which has to be a good thing right?
Let’s hope!

Ash
x

You can reach Aislinn at the following:

Resting, life, & time

What does ‘resting’ even mean? I’ve never understood why actors use the term resting for when they are not acting as it suggests time off relaxing. Technically speaking I’m always resting as I rarely do any acting. Yes, there are loads of projects going on, profit shares and the like, but I don’t like working for free or minimal pay & I would probably have to take time off work. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be able to pay my bills instead of struggling to pay them due to taking time off. However, I will work for free when the right project comes along.

Right now you are probably saying to yourself “Why wait? Make it happen”. Truth is I would love to, but my path doesn’t seem to cooperate with pro-activeness. My 2 film based credits both came completely out of the blue. They were both in the form of phones calls from the director. The first was way back in 2007. I had just finished University and was working in a call centre in east London with tons of other actors who had all advised me to take parts in student films so I could get a show reel together. I was reluctant due to time & quality of work. Anyway, my mobile rings, I answer, it’s the director, this is how the conversation went (me and the director went to the same secondary school and are good friends):

Director:Hey, dude. How’s it going?

Me:Good, I’m just working in a call centre at the moment looking for my first acting job.

Director:Well that’s good because I’m doing my first feature and there is part you are perfect for. You’ll be playing a stoner, the part was cast but he had to drop out. I don’t know why I didn’t just think of you in the first place. Do you want to do it?

Me:Yes

That was it, I had got the part without an audition or anything. Best of all, the film is really good quality. It is based on a book by Philip Pullman ‘The White Mercedes’, but the film is called ‘The Butterfly Tattoo’. You can even see me in the trailer at 0:46 seconds. I’m very easy to spot, I’m black.

The same director called again three years later. The phone call was similar:

Director:Hey, dude. How’s it going?

Me:Good, I’m just working in a different call centre at the moment. I had non speaking role in ‘Ruined’ at the Almeida Theatre a few months back.

Director:Well, I’m doing another feature and there is part you are perfect for. It’s actually been written for you. Can you do it?

Me:Yes.

Once again, you can see me in the trailer at 0:23 seconds. Just in case you forgot, I’m black.

Now, it’s taken me a very long time to get to my point, but here it finally is. It took me 3 years to get my show reel sorted. The scenes from both ‘The Butterfly Tattoo’ and ‘Being Sold’ were used to create my show reel. In recent auditions casting directors have expressed how much they liked it. I was very surprised by that, I shouldn’t have been because it’s good quality. Yes, three years is a long time. But if I had rushed into things and done lots of free projects just for the hell of it, who knows what I could have ended up with. 

I don’t think there is any need to rush things. Time is an enemy, but it can also be a friend. This year I have had a few auditions and done no acting. But I know that there are various projects being written that are all at different stages, that I will be involved in, in some way. 

As it seems like I am eternally resting, I have decided to occupy myself with other things. Such as mastering various US and UK accents, and occasionally doing stand up comedy. Doing stand up is fun. I don’t think I would like to do it professionally. However, it does give you that stage buzz and you also get to write your own material. If it doesn’t work you can always tweak it before the next gig. I hadn’t done any stand up for just over two years. Recently I got given the opportunity to do some stand up last week. It went very well indeed, I’m doing another gig this week. Does that sound like resting to you? I suppose the acting world is paradoxical in many ways. I still don’t like the term ‘resting’ though.

Resting, my arse. We never rest.

You can reach Alvin at the following:

An awesome live version of one of our favourite bands The National. About Today is a truly wonderful track, check it out.

An Open Letter

A cocktail of emotions…

Reader, seeing a play that really knocks you for six is a bit of a mixed bag as an actor. Especially when you know the people behind it. You want to just be really really happy for them, but in all honesty you go through a whole series of stages:

 

Excitement: ‘Oh my god, this play is brilliant. Bloody hell, they’ve done so well! Wow, this bit is so good I want to wee a little bit! Ooh time for the bows, I REALLY want to stand up and whoop and applaud and jump up and down, this should win some kind of award! God, where are my tissues, I’m still a bit weepy from that dead sad bit…’

 

Jealousy: ‘Why am I not in a play as good as this? I could totally do this! How comes no one asks me to ever be in their play? I’m going to do a play and I’m going to be the only one in it and the stage will be mine for hours, mine I tells ya! Grrr how are they so talented? How did they get so good? How comes they get to be paid for this and I have to do free stuff? So unfair.’

 

Hope: ’Maybe one day I can be as good as them! This just goes to show that there is still room for creatively unique thought. If they can do it, so can I! We are so blessed to be in this exciting new age of theatre and ingenuity! Wow, the world is a great place.’

 

Self-deprecation: ‘I will never be as good as these guys. Oh god, why do I bother? Maybe I should give up and work in a Fish and Chip shop. At least then I’d get to eat all the chips I want. And I wouldn’t have to compete. Aw man. I’m never going to look that good in a costume! I need to lose a stone and a half. Must stop eating fruit and nut toblerone.’

 

Pride: ‘They were SO good. I just want to hug them and squidge their faces! Aw I think I might cry again. Maybe I should get them a trophy of some kind. I should have a sign saying ‘I KNOW THE PEOPLE WHO MADE THIS BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF THEATRE’. Or is that too much like a cringey mum? They’ve done so brilliantly! I’m FRIENDS with these people. I KNOW them!’

 

Iago: ‘I have to take this idea and steal it away. And maybe stop them from ever becoming famous. There can only be one! If I can’t do it, no one can! Mwa ha ha ha ha!’

 

Reverence: ‘I have witnessed something sacred. Did that man just rustle his crisp packet? HOW DARE HE. Does he not realise he is in the presence of genius?! I will destroy him. No…no…this play has taught me that there are more important things in life. I shall let it pass. Ommmmmmm….’

 

Inspiration: ‘I have so many ideas! I want to go and do a play now! Right, off home to read all the plays I can. I can get funding! I know it! Get me on that stage this instant! Ooooh, maybe I should try that style of lighting they used, only with my own little twist! I loved that face that actor pulled, maybe I can incorporate that into a character!’

 

And it goes on and on. You have a weird mix of being completely over the moon that your friends have created something truly wonderful, you are inspired to go make beautiful theatre yourself, but at the same time you are insanely jealous and the little devil voice that tells you ‘no no’ comes out and does a dance on your shoulder. Ultimately though, I tend to feel hugely proud of my very very talented friends, and yes, it makes me want to go and create more things that will delight other people. 

 

I was lucky enough to go to see a play today that made me feel all of these things today (well, more excitement and pride and less of the Iago *shifty eyes*). You should go see it too, because it’s the best bit of theatre I’ve seen in a good few years and it’s got some wonderful actors in it, all of whom have worked incredibly hard to bring the show together. The show is I Am A Camera (the story that Caberet was based on) at the Southwark Playhouse and my god, it is fabulous in a slightly orgasmic way. It runs till the 22nd of September and the tickets are airline style (cheaper the earlier you book) so book as soon as possible. I got mine for £9 which was a bargain, the show was much better than most west end shows I’ve seen of late and you end up paying far more for those tickets! In particular you should keep an eye out for Rebecca Humphries who shines as an exuberant Sally Bowles who you want to befriend, slap and just watch for hours at a time all at once, Joanne Howarth-who plays the most convincing and kindly Nazi sympathiser I’ve ever encountered and Freddie Capper as the charming and loveable rogue Fritz (which he pulls off beautifully). To be honest though, all of the actors pull off their roles with utter aplomb and believability. I quite want to go see it again in fact! Book tickets at the following link. You won’t be disappointed (although, if you’re anything like me, you might be a bit jealous)

Tarrah for now Reader!
Ash
x

You can reach Aislinn at the following:

Source: thepageuk.com

Castings.

A Case of Speed Over Quality.

By KyriSaphiris

As any actor will know, most castings tend to be over in a flash. All the auditions I’ve attended in recent months have been over before you can say “Ross Kemp”. In my earlier days as an actor, I seem to remember auditions lasting longer, allowing time to repeat a scene two or three times and offer the casting panel an opportunity to see the portrayal of a character presented from alternative perspectives. This usually provided the foundation for a thorough audition process, a sense of satisfaction and, coupled with some time for questions and a chat at the end, an overall well rounded casting process. On the rare occasions when the audition lasted less time than it takes for me to open a bottle of beer I’d feel cheated and empty. I’d leave the audition thinking that I wasn’t what they were looking for and it would always turn out that I was right.

 

But this has now become the norm. Maybe it’s something to do with the triple dip recession or whatever stage of economic decline we’re in at the moment; maybe production companies and casting directors can’t afford to book a casting studio for too long; maybe they’re in a rush to go to the pub. Or maybe it’s something else and maybe I actually know what it is.

 

At the end of a recent casting session I discovered, through means I shall keep to myself for fear of being hunted down by someone with a nasty dog, that more than fifty (I know the exact figure but won’t disclose it for fear of … yes, nasty dog), that’s right, more than fifty actors were being seen for this one very small part with three lines of script. Let’s just do the mathematical calculations (“the math”, if you’re American): anyone good at ratios? It’s more than 50:1 which means you have a probability of securing the role at a figure of less than 2.0%. The whole casting process that day can be described as being sucked in and spewed right back out, like a chunk of donner meat that you suddenly realise tastes more like burnt rubber than seasoned, charcoal grilled lamb (because you forgot to get pissed first). It’s in and out without shaking it all about. It’s casting by numbers. It’s missing something vital.

 

So now we (probably) know. The reason so many castings seem so abrupt is because those that arrange them arrange to see a huge number of artists. This in turn does not allow sufficient time for the casting to incorporate the scene being acted multiple times to portray a variation that might be useful for the casting panel to see. Neither does it give the actor time to adjust and show adequately, if at all, their skill and potential for the role. When you act a part, you have already learnt the lines, worked on the character, done your research, analysed the socio-psychological dimension of the part, the scene, the story and rehearsed. Now obviously you’re not going to do all that in an audition. Obviously! But you do need a few minutes to gain some understanding of the character and the part, to practice it with two or three takes whilst guided by the panel as to what they want and therefore to do justice to the audition for everyone’s benefit.

 

So here is my plea: casting directors, please don’t just get everyone in to audition for your part! Take a bit more time to look at the résumés and/ or photos and videos and draw up an informed shortlist of those actors that you believe possess the potential suitability for your project. Less people to audition, who have been carefully selected, means more time for each audition, which in turn means a better quality and mutually more fulfilling audition process!

 

If, next time I go to a casting, I find again that there are fifty-five actors being seen for that one role I am just going to walk out on principle! Whoops, did I say fifty-five?

Find Kyri here:



Source: thepageuk.com

Good news, everyone.

Because we are so awesome, we’ve decided to give the world more time to take advantage of our 3 months free offer. Why? Well, why not! You now have until 8th September to take advantage of the offer. So, spread the word, tweet it, facebook it, shout it from the hilltops. Hit the link below and start standing out from the crowd with a Page UK profile.

The Naked Truth…

Reader, everyone has a dodgy audition eventually. You know, one of THOSE auditions. It’s something we all fear (particularly us female actors who are often asked to do questionable things in the name of art) with memories of THAT scene from Fame still fresh in our minds. They’re the auditions where we wish we’d listened to our mums and brought someone with us, the one where we worry the term ‘casting couch’ might get dropped by an overly eager, slightly sweaty director.
Reader, I think I almost had one of those auditions of late. The thing is, as an actor, it’s highly likely that at some point you’re going to get asked to get your kit off. For the lads, auditioning like things like Bent and Equus mean getting your bits out must be considered, for the girls…well, let’s face it, it seems it’s pretty much every third job that wants you to strip these days. I’d actually been a bit surprised (and a bit relieved) that so few requests for nudity had come up. I did have one director when I first left drama school who asked me to travel to Manchester to perform a graphic sex scene in a Horror film, completely unpaid. Erm…no. Obviously. Even as a recent graduate I wasn’t green enough to go for that one. But as your career progresses, the line between acceptable and seedy blur a little bit. 
A director recently approached me asking me to audition for his short film. It was a director I’d never worked with or heard of before so from the off my warning light was blinking a little.He mentioned ‘lesbian kissing and some nudity’ would be required. And he didn’t mention any payment. Warning light began blinking a bit faster. When I asked about payment, he said that the project would be low budget but that there would be a fee (which actually turned out to be a not so bad fee at all). Then he sent me a script. Now, it wasn’t that the script was the work of a sex obsessed deviant. In fact, the sex scene was actually a bit predictable  (albeit surprisingly structured. Clearly a lot of thought had gone into it.). What I found worrying was that the script itself was like an afterthought-a device so that he could direct a lesbian sex scene. Of course, it could have just been bad writing. Wanting to assume the best (and also slightly because it has been a few weeks since I’d had an audition and I was starting to feel a bit panicked) I agreed to go for it. 
It was slightly surprising.
The chap hadn’t brought a paper copy of the script, so we read from his i-Pad. He also didn’t bother to film it. And he wore a full suit, even though it was a baking hot day and he was clearly uncomfortably hot in it. It looked a bit like he was trying to look like a professional. He had no idea what his budget was, even though he wanted to film the project the following week, and he seemed unable to talk about the sex scene without a) stuttering and b) trying overly hard to convince me that he wasn’t just trying to get girls to get their kit off. I left feeling a bit sorry for him, that he was probably just new to the game. Then I got an email asking me to come for a second audition, and if I was cool with him doing a ‘body check’ in it. Oh dear. I politely explained that one of the first things you get told at drama school is not to get talked into getting your bits out at an audition, but that I was reasonably alright with nudity for the project (I really don’t have an issue with nudity. I was Miss. Fontaine in The Censor for goodness sake…) and he was hugely apologetic. Then the day of the recall he cancelled it saying that the recall was just to do a body check anyway so there was no need to have me in. It was at that point that I became a little concerned-what about reading with the other actor? Or doing the scene on film? Surely he wasn’t purely looking for an actress who would just whip her boobs out at the earliest convenience? A friend who was with me at the time asked if I thought he’d gone ahead with the ‘body checks’ of other (perhaps slightly more naive, new to the business) actresses who hadn’t realised it wasn’t terribly normal to be asked that. Worryingly, I couldn’t say for sure. I had decided to turn down the role if it were offered to me, because the whole audition process had been so odd, but luckily he chose someone else. For the first hour or so I was a bit insulted (Reader, it was a bad script, but I did a blummin’ good job of the audition, eliciting lots of impressed noises from him), but then the pure relief of not having to get naked in front of him set in, and for such poor reason too!
Well Reader, every audition teaches you something! This one taught me that my standards are a little higher than I had thought…and that saying no comes easier than I’d thought…
Onward to the next audition then!
Ash
x

You can reach Aislinn at the following:

Source: thepageuk.com