Most professional auditions are by appointment. An agent submits you, casting picks who to see, and you get a time slot or a self-tape request. An open call works the other way around. Casting posts a notice, sets a time and place, and sees whoever shows up and fits the brief. That makes open calls one of the few doors in the business that you can open entirely on your own.
They have a reputation for long lines and short auditions, and both are often deserved. They have also launched plenty of careers, because the people behind the table really are looking.
Open call vs appointment auditions
At an appointment or invited audition, casting has already chosen you from submissions, usually through an agent or a casting platform. You get a time, prepared sides, and a reasonable amount of attention.
At an open call, no pre-selection happens. Anyone who matches the notice (age range, gender, skills, union status) can attend. The trade-off is volume: casting may see hundreds of people in a day, so each audition is short, and you may wait hours for it.
Open calls are common for:
- Theater, especially musicals, regional theater and touring productions
- Film and television roles needing a particular community, language or real-life skill, or an unknown face, often for children and teenagers
- Extras and background work
- Theme parks, cruise lines and live entertainment
- Student and community productions
In the UK and Ireland, open auditions are rarer for screen work, where most casting goes through agents and Spotlight, but they do happen for large musicals, new talent searches and productions looking for specific communities.
Equity open calls: EPAs and ECCs
In US professional theater, the union for stage actors, Actors' Equity Association, requires producers on many of its contracts to hold open auditions for Equity members. You will see two types most often.
Equity Principal Auditions (EPAs) are for principal roles, meaning the named parts. Actors usually perform a short prepared piece, such as a monologue or a cut of a song, within a time limit given in the notice.
Equity Chorus Calls (ECCs) are for ensemble roles in musicals, with separate calls for singers and dancers. Dancers are often taught a combination in groups and cut down over the course of the call; singers usually sing a short cut of a song.
Equity members are seen first. Non-members can often attend and sign up on a separate list, and are seen if time allows, which varies from "most of the afternoon" to "not at all." Sign-up procedures, priority rules and membership pathways have changed in recent years, so check the notice and actorsequity.org for how it currently works. Other countries' stage unions have their own arrangements, so check with Equity in the UK, ACTRA in Canada or MEAA in Australia.
What is a cattle call?
The slang for an open call so large it feels like livestock being sorted. Lines around the block, numbers on your chest, groups of ten ushered in and out. The word is a little unkind, and actors use it with affection anyway.
At cattle calls you may be typed out: casting lines up a group, looks at them, and asks some people to stay while the rest go home, before anyone performs. It is blunt and it is not personal. They are matching a picture they already have in their heads, often driven by height, age or the look of an existing company. Being typed out tells you nothing about your ability.
What to bring to an open call
Read the notice carefully and bring exactly what it asks for. The usual kit:
- Headshot and resume, printed and attached back to back, trimmed to the same size. Bring several, since you may be asked for more than one. For formatting, see how to format an acting resume.
- Your prepared material. A monologue that fits the project, rehearsed to land inside the time limit; how to choose an audition monologue helps you pick one. For musicals, your sheet music, marked clearly for the accompanist, in a binder.
- Dance clothes and shoes if there is any chance of a dance call, plus clothes to change into afterward.
- Water, food and something to do. You may wait for hours.
- A pen, for sign-in sheets and forms.
- Your schedule and availability, including any conflicts with rehearsal and performance dates.
Dress the way you would for any audition: clean, simple, flattering, with a nod toward the role but no costume. What to wear to an audition covers the details.
How early should you arrive?
Early enough to get a good place on the list, which for popular calls can mean well before the doors open. For a big Equity call in New York or a major musical's open audition, actors may line up hours ahead. For a local theater or a student film, arriving thirty minutes early is usually plenty.
Check whether the call uses an advance online sign-up, a numbered list or simple first-come, first-served. That changes everything about timing. If you can, ask actors who have attended that kind of call before.
Once you are signed in, stay within earshot. Names and numbers are called without warning, and missing your turn can mean going to the back of the list.
In the room
Open call auditions are short. You may get ninety seconds, or a single verse, or one look at a dance combination. Prepare material that lands quickly: a monologue with a clear want from the first line, a song cut that shows your voice in the first few bars.
Walk in ready. Have your headshot and music out, give the accompanist a clear tempo, say your name, do your piece, and say thank you. If they ask you to try something different or hand you sides, that is good news; you are getting a closer look. Being handed pages on the spot means a cold read, so look up as much as you can.
Some open calls lead straight into a callback later the same day or week. Stay reachable, and keep your evening loose if they say they might want to see you again.
Where to find open calls
Open calls are usually posted in a few predictable places:
- Union websites, for union calls (in the US, Actors' Equity's casting call listings)
- Casting platforms and trade sites, such as Backstage, Actors Access, Playbill, Casting Networks, Mandy and StarNow, depending on your country
- Theater companies' own websites and newsletters
- Local arts councils, universities and community theater groups
- Social media accounts of productions and casting offices
For well-publicized productions, open calls are often announced through local news as well. Wherever you find one, check that the casting office or production company is real and has a track record.
How to spot an open call scam
The most useful rule in this whole page: legitimate open calls never charge you to audition. Casting is paid by the production.
Be suspicious of any call that asks for a registration or audition fee, requires you to buy photos from a particular photographer, insists you enroll in a paid class or workshop before you can be considered, or promises representation in exchange for money. Be careful also with calls held in hotel ballrooms by companies you cannot find any production history for, and with anything aimed at parents of young children that ends in a sales pitch.
Real open calls name the production or company, give a clear role description, and ask for nothing but your time and your work. If you are unsure, search the company's name with the word "scam," ask your union, or ask a working actor you trust before you hand over any money or personal details.
More questions
What is a cattle call?
Cattle call is informal slang for a very large open call, where hundreds of actors line up and are seen quickly, sometimes for only a few seconds each. The name is a joke about being herded. The audition itself works like any other open call.
Do you need an agent to go to an open call?
No. That is the point of an open call: anyone who fits the notice can attend. Represented actors go to them too, especially for theater, but you do not need representation to be seen.
What does typed out mean at an audition?
Being typed out means casting dismissed you based on look, height or general type before you performed, usually by lining people up and choosing who stays. It happens most at large dance and chorus calls. It says nothing about your talent.
Can non-union actors go to Equity auditions?
Often, yes, but members are seen first. At many US Equity Principal Auditions, non-members may sign up on a separate list and are seen only if time allows. Rules have changed in recent years, so check the notice and actorsequity.org.
Should you pay to attend an open casting call?
No. Legitimate casting never charges actors to audition. Be wary of any call that asks for a registration fee, a mandatory photo shoot, a paid workshop or a deposit. Paying for real training or photos is your choice; paying for access to an audition is a red flag.