SAG-AFTRA members offer advice on successful auditions and bookings.

Acting isn’t for the faint of heart. To the untrained eye, it can appear that having a successful acting career comes down to just blind luck or being in the right place at the right time. But it takes work to be in the right place at the right time; luck is actually years of preparation meeting opportunity.

William Charlton

SAG-AFTRA Vice President, Actors/Performers

The goal of every professional actor isn’t simply to work, but to be able to work consistently on different projects. However, that goal can often feel elusive, especially during slow periods between gigs.

To discuss this important topic and to share helpful advice, the SAG-AFTRA President’s Task Force on Education, Outreach & Engagement hosted Wisdom of the Working Actor: 4 Key Ingredients to Being a Consistently Working Actor. Joining SAG-AFTRA Executive Vice President Ben Whitehair was SAG-AFTRA Vice President, Actors/Performers William Charlton and special guest, actor Jona Xiao. 

In addition to working on numerous television shows, movies and commercials, Xiao also runs Career ACTivate, an organization that offers advice, coaching and other services to performers on how to have successful auditions and book more work. Focusing on four major areas of auditioning and booking — branding, networking, planning and pitching — Xiao’s presentation gave viewers insight into making industry connections, understanding audition feedback and tactics for relationship-building with talent representation. Whitehair, Charlton and Xiao further discussed the ins and outs of auditioning and ways actors can be proactive in seeking work opportunities during slow periods. 

For more videos, visit sagaftra.org/videos

The views expressed by the guests are their own and not that of SAG-AFTRA. Any mention of products or services does not imply SAG-AFTRA’s endorsement.  

News

Help Center

On-Set Emergency

On-Set Emergency: (844) 723-3773

Help Center

How can we help? Call, chat with a rep, get answers to FAQs or send us an email.