'Pay 2 Play' - A Very Bad Way to View Auditioning

Although 'Pay 2 Play' is most likely a sarcastic term for 'paying to audition', it is still a very bad way to look at auditioning on the web.

As I am watching software change around me, in all businesses, I am seeing that the Internet is becoming less about 'playing' everyday. Sure, you have media sites that provide videos and news, but what must never be lost when using a site that you have paid to host your profile, and audition for, is the sense of urgency that this is still a 'business'.

It is often said that 'sarcasm' can be described as indirectly showing aggression by hiding the true feelings behind what would make a person vulnerable by revealing themselves. Quite often, I find 'P2P' used as a term by those who have the hardest time auditioning online. Therefore, it becomes a 'gamble'.

Yet...how is this entire business not a 'gamble' to begin with. A person could go to school for years for VO's, acting, singing, dancing etc. and it still does not guarantee they can work in the business, unless their original intention is to teach.

For those that feel that using the web to audition is 'playing', they will always find themselves missing work. The belief that one is 'at play' removes the sense of urgency that is necessary to 'sell something.' When you become too comfortable in your own settings, and feel as if 'it is time to play', you are busy being too comfortable to actually sell someone your voice.

I remember auditioning at MTV for a casting director who just happened to be my friend. We had many college stories in our past, and many private jokes. However, I was so comfortable that I did awful. I was thinking, 'Its no big deal. I know her.', and that lack of urgency is what killed me.

I say this because anyone who steps behind a mic at home and thinks, 'I paid my subscription. There is plenty of work here to play and practice with. I am a shoe-in.', soon finds themselves upset one year later that they never worked. Many then turn to saying 'it is pay to play' because they feel it is a computer, a website, and therefore, does not count as a business and must be a kid's game.

That is hardly the case.

Each audition should be treated as if an agent or casting director is staring at you while you read, and you should never be 'too comfortable' behind the mic. I know that 'nervous energy' is helpful sometimes.

The 'nervous energy' is caused by a fear of failure or looking or sounding foolish is a driving force to succeed, and if one is 'playing', they may not take the process seriously, and thus...as talents....they themselves will not be taken seriously.