Writer & Black Women In Hollywood Honoree, Raamla Mohamed & Director, Lena Waithe discuss the "dos and don'ts" when pitching and auditioning.
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00:00for both of you guys, give us three do's and don'ts
00:03that you think actors or writers should keep in mind
00:06when auditioning or pitching.
00:09Okay, I will say, do be kind.
00:14I think that goes without saying, a long way.
00:16I mean, whether you're, like you said,
00:18pitching or auditioning, there've been times
00:20where I've been in an audition or a callback
00:23with someone and the energy is kind of off,
00:25even if they do a good job, I'm kind of like,
00:27I don't know if this is someone I wanna be on set with.
00:31So that's definitely, I think, part of a do.
00:33And I also think don't hold back, right?
00:37Don't think, okay, I'm gonna do this version,
00:40but then when I get that callback, I'm gonna really show him
00:43but okay, what if you don't get the callback?
00:44Or you pitch and you're like, I don't really care
00:47about this project, so I'm just gonna kind of pitch it
00:50halfway because I've pitched things where I wasn't in love
00:55with the project, but then that executive remembered me
00:59for another project or moved to another company.
01:01So always give it, don't half-ass it,
01:04I guess is the way to say it.
01:06Great, how about you, Lena?
01:09I mean, to say be authentic is like,
01:11it may seem kind of vague, but I think the biggest thing
01:15is just to be such a unique individual
01:20that when you're auditioning,
01:22because that's the thing about auditioning,
01:23I think when you said, oh, we were talking about casting,
01:25I'm like, it's such a weird thing to talk about
01:27because it's such a guttural experience.
01:29Like, there's literally nothing a person can do,
01:31other than you can commit yourself to your craft,
01:33you can do theater work, you can build your community
01:37with other actors, but it's so funny
01:40because I just saw Jodi Turner-Smith yesterday
01:43at the Essence Black Women of Hollywood event.
01:45It was her first time being there,
01:47and obviously a full-circle moment
01:49because I'm super proud of her,
01:50everything she's done since Queen and Slim.
01:53On Netflix right now?
01:54Yeah, yeah, and then she's also got a show,
01:57she was asking me, have you seen my show yet?
01:59That's on Paramount+, I was like, I haven't seen it yet,
02:00but I'm about to watch it, I hear it's good things.
02:02But my thing is, I'm just like, I don't, man,
02:05I don't care if you, I don't know what it is,
02:06I'm like, the fact that you're still working
02:08is really an honor for me
02:10because when I'm casting somebody,
02:13yes, for that part and that role, and she was right,
02:15and shout out to Carmen Cuba,
02:17Jodi was in the first batch, first batch,
02:20where it was like, oh, damn, okay, there she go.
02:23And it was like, do we need to see anyone else?
02:25And we kept seeing people, we just measured them to her,
02:29and the thing was, it was just,
02:30we were measuring this, her magic,
02:33there was something special about her
02:35that was like, what is this?
02:36And then obviously with chemistry readings,
02:38we can't teach that.
02:39When Daniel reads with her for the first time,
02:41it's like, yep, there it is, there they are, okay, got it.
02:44So that's what I mean, it's guttural, it's godly,
02:47it's not like, so if somebody didn't get it,
02:48I see the actresses who came in and read for that part,
02:51I'm not gonna necessarily say their names,
02:52but when I see them out, there's a love and affection
02:55because they're like, yep, I didn't get it,
02:56but I was close, and I'm grateful you have me in the room,
02:59and it was cool, and I'm still working, exactly, amazing.
03:02It really isn't about what you did or didn't do,
03:05I think of it as, it is divine.
03:08Something that is not yours, it wasn't meant to be,
03:10and something that is will always come.