WA Actors Out in Cold
Tue, 16 July 2002, 07:45 amAngelique21 posts in thread
WA Actors Out in Cold
Tue, 16 July 2002, 07:45 amThis has been really bugging me, so I'd like to hear what others think:
There is a feature film to be shot in WA next month which features a couple of big name actors (fair enough - box office and all that) and is, I believe, at least partially funded by Screenwest. However, there are several minor roles which WA actors where auditioned for. A handful of WA guys got roles (congratulations!). However, there were two minor female roles which (after months of waiting with baited breath) I have just found out were given to Eastern States actors. These would be one or two days shoot. I don't know, maybe I'm biased as my "availability was asked" for one of the roles - but knowing the wealth of talent in WA, I find this completely unnecessary (and somewhat insulting). What do you think? Should Actors Equity help local actors have first "dibs" on minor roles in locally funded projects by instituting some policy or other? I mean, we wait long enough for anything to happen here and when it does they'd rather pay Eastern Staters to fly over here! Its time we recognised that some major talent has come from (and still is in WA). Let's see...Judy Davis, Heath Ledger, Marcus Graham, and my old mate, Frances O'Connor (just to name a few)
Thou impertinent fool-born strumpet!
There is a feature film to be shot in WA next month which features a couple of big name actors (fair enough - box office and all that) and is, I believe, at least partially funded by Screenwest. However, there are several minor roles which WA actors where auditioned for. A handful of WA guys got roles (congratulations!). However, there were two minor female roles which (after months of waiting with baited breath) I have just found out were given to Eastern States actors. These would be one or two days shoot. I don't know, maybe I'm biased as my "availability was asked" for one of the roles - but knowing the wealth of talent in WA, I find this completely unnecessary (and somewhat insulting). What do you think? Should Actors Equity help local actors have first "dibs" on minor roles in locally funded projects by instituting some policy or other? I mean, we wait long enough for anything to happen here and when it does they'd rather pay Eastern Staters to fly over here! Its time we recognised that some major talent has come from (and still is in WA). Let's see...Judy Davis, Heath Ledger, Marcus Graham, and my old mate, Frances O'Connor (just to name a few)
Thou impertinent fool-born strumpet!
Re: Heat energy travels toward cold
Wed, 17 July 2002, 02:43 pmYes, as much as I get annoyed when someone is cast from the eastern states when I've never even heard of them (several of the Elston Shakespeares spring first to mind), and so I can't see any obvious advantage over a Perth-based performer; I have to accept that as far as a director's concerned, they're going to cast whoever impresses them the most.
If their resume comes with extensive experience at the STC or on one of the popular soaps, that's going to seem fairly impressive, compared to the actor from Perth, or anywhere else, without that sort of clout.
But there's no use getting into the argument about comparing actors on the basis of raw talent alone because, as has already been oft discussed, that's not the only reason people get cast. There are many other seemingly arbitrary and sometimes contradictory factors that will influence casting; including experience, name, looks, demeanour, physicality, compatibility with others cast, personality, even inexperience(!) if they're looking for a fresh face.
If you're a director in a position where you can afford to look Australia-wide, the options are opened up considerably, and statistics are going to favour the east simply because thats where the numbers are.
On the same platform, it means the odds are the same for an actor from WA to succeed anywhere else...there's always the chance that you could get cast for having that elusive "something" not found anywhere else. Again, the economics often dictate you may need to be near the action, which is why so many WA actors move east, but that's not a function of acting talent, it's a result of their being fewer production companies and so less opportunity.
More Perth actors will be cast when we have more & better facilities and companies.
To speak fairly of Elston's company, my first gig with him was "The Wind In The Willows", which had an entirely West Australian cast. It was interesting how the general public would continually ask us how we were enjoying Perth..! They automatically assumed an eastern states production would come with its own cast, and obviously didn't recognise any difference in talent or standard. The downside was the fact that there was any surprise at all, that Perth actors could be up to scratch.
If I was going to hazard a guess, I would think that a lot of Perth talent is actually better than the bulk from the larger states, simply because they are fighting from a position of underdog, and surviving despite the reduced opportunity. The same argument could apply to comparing female actors to male, especially remembering my Curtin days...as one of only two males in the class, I virtually had my pick of choice male roles, whereas the 15 or so females had to compete harder for far fewer roles...the ones who survived must've had far greater talent than I needed to succeed.
You couldn't put forward an argument on that basis that we should cast females and not males (granted, there are other arguments beyond the scope of this discussion); so I similarly can't justify arguing preference of Perth actors over anyone else. The industry, like sexual politics and everything else in life, is unbalanced.
All these things do change, and we all have a vision of what "fair" is, but really, if things were truly spread "fairly" I imagine even less Perth talent would be finding work here. I'm glad of the many unfair circumstances that have allowed me to continue to find work, through learning how to cope despite the imbalances.
Cheers,
Craig
- likes to be an avocado too
[%sig%]
If their resume comes with extensive experience at the STC or on one of the popular soaps, that's going to seem fairly impressive, compared to the actor from Perth, or anywhere else, without that sort of clout.
But there's no use getting into the argument about comparing actors on the basis of raw talent alone because, as has already been oft discussed, that's not the only reason people get cast. There are many other seemingly arbitrary and sometimes contradictory factors that will influence casting; including experience, name, looks, demeanour, physicality, compatibility with others cast, personality, even inexperience(!) if they're looking for a fresh face.
If you're a director in a position where you can afford to look Australia-wide, the options are opened up considerably, and statistics are going to favour the east simply because thats where the numbers are.
On the same platform, it means the odds are the same for an actor from WA to succeed anywhere else...there's always the chance that you could get cast for having that elusive "something" not found anywhere else. Again, the economics often dictate you may need to be near the action, which is why so many WA actors move east, but that's not a function of acting talent, it's a result of their being fewer production companies and so less opportunity.
More Perth actors will be cast when we have more & better facilities and companies.
To speak fairly of Elston's company, my first gig with him was "The Wind In The Willows", which had an entirely West Australian cast. It was interesting how the general public would continually ask us how we were enjoying Perth..! They automatically assumed an eastern states production would come with its own cast, and obviously didn't recognise any difference in talent or standard. The downside was the fact that there was any surprise at all, that Perth actors could be up to scratch.
If I was going to hazard a guess, I would think that a lot of Perth talent is actually better than the bulk from the larger states, simply because they are fighting from a position of underdog, and surviving despite the reduced opportunity. The same argument could apply to comparing female actors to male, especially remembering my Curtin days...as one of only two males in the class, I virtually had my pick of choice male roles, whereas the 15 or so females had to compete harder for far fewer roles...the ones who survived must've had far greater talent than I needed to succeed.
You couldn't put forward an argument on that basis that we should cast females and not males (granted, there are other arguments beyond the scope of this discussion); so I similarly can't justify arguing preference of Perth actors over anyone else. The industry, like sexual politics and everything else in life, is unbalanced.
All these things do change, and we all have a vision of what "fair" is, but really, if things were truly spread "fairly" I imagine even less Perth talent would be finding work here. I'm glad of the many unfair circumstances that have allowed me to continue to find work, through learning how to cope despite the imbalances.
Cheers,
Craig
- likes to be an avocado too
[%sig%]
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