Don't call us, we'll call you (Or not)

Last week my agent let me know I didn't get a job and I was ecstatic. Not that I didn't want it, I would have loved to have been picked, but I was chuffed to confirm that this job was not happening. I was actually lucky enough to get some positive feedback (bragging) but that was a bonus, the real high came from a solid NO.

I'm a dreamer, a believer, the minute I get an audition I begin to imagine the enormous possibilities this meet will bring; the words I will read, the friends I will make, the places I'll see, the career I'll forge & the lovers I'll find. This meet is not just a scratch in the diary, it is the door to my (new) future. Now I know that this door is often closing before I've even knocked, but all I ask is to be informed when it's shut.

We're all talking about equality right now and great people are shouting great things, but with equality we must also fight for respect. An actor regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, hair colour, shoe size, whatever, deserves to feel that their part in the puzzle is recognised even if it doesn't make the final cut. I don't dare to understand the difficult & hectic world of a director/casting director/producer or any of the mystics that control my work load, but I do request a tincy bit more... We are all contributing towards the good of the work and play our parts to make the 'magic' happen. I read a play, research a role, take time off my other job, travel, talk and most importantly imagine! I would love it if there could be one more step in the casting process; a result. A generic email:

[Insert Name Here] has been unsuccessful on this occasion. Thank you.

I know I'm asking for more work but I really am asking nicely!

I had another audition recently (more bragging) with a director whose work is frighteningly brilliant and politically charged. I am in awe of him and his work, but I couldn't help but be disappointed when a friend of mine got a feedback text message via her father (who has connections!) and I'm still in the dark... Presuming I'm not the star of his next film and this isn't some elaborate rouse to highlight the social inequality festering within the middle class acting diaspora, I just want to be treated like a human being with the desire to know what's happening next.

Perhaps I digress.
Perhaps I am a pedantic narcissist who can't stop complaining, but Aretha Franklin had the right idea: All I'm asking is for a little respect...
And possibly an email.