Chantel Riley – RACE and THE LION KING |065 - Actors Talk - Come Inside The Acting Business

Chantel Riley - From Open Call To Broadway

Chantel Riley was working at an insurance agency in Toronto,CAN and pondering if she should become a dance instructor at the school where she had studied. Then IT happened. A friend told her about and open call for Disney. For THE LION KING.

Let's put a hold on Chantel Riley's story for just a second. Time for a reality check.

Open Call - Cattle Call

Google search the term OPEN CALL or alternatively CATTLE CALL and, if you're an inexperienced, hopeful actor/singer/dancer, prepare to be jolted into reality.

Open Calls are just that - OPEN. To anyone who fits the basic profile of the talent sought - age, gender, height, body type, sometimes even ethnicity can all be relevant to what the producers are searching for.

Still since we are talking Open Calls, there is almost a certainty that if the casting call specified the producers are looking only for blonde women at least 6 feet tall, there will be a certain number of hopefuls who show up not even coming close to the desired specs. They've heard the stories about actors getting discovered in stranger ways and JUST MAYBE THEY will be the lucky one who gets picked ahead of the mass of actors who DO actually meet the desired spec. Stop it. Throw cold water on your face and get a grip on reality.

Chantel Riley has been in THE LION KING on BROADWAY for several years as of this writing and now she's landed her first role in a major Hollywood film. RACE from Focus Features is the film about American track star Jesse Owens and his experiences at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. After seeing the trailer for this film several times recently, RACE has the look of a good film and hopefully, a big hit.

Chantel Riley, Paging Chantel Riley

Typically everyone is told to arrive at the same time. The actor (or the actor's parents) will sign in and take a seat. Then they will typically wait. And wait. And wait.

According to Chantel Riley, when she arrived at the open call she attended, it was packed. She signed in. And she waited. Just like everyone else.

At some point, if the actor is actually in the ballpark physically, she/he will be called to audition. If the audition goes well, the actor may get a callback. Or, as with any other audition, the actor may be terrific, but just not what the producers are seeking. Such is the nature of the business.

That's the good news.

Open Calls - The Bad News

The bad news is that the experienced, trained talent is grouped, at least initially, in with the likely majority of 'talent' who have little or no training and a similar amount of experience. This is one reason experienced, trained actors stay away from open calls. There is no filter for who is allowed to attend.

I'm not even going to get into the total SCAM OPEN CALLS that purport to be casting for Disney or some other reputable entity when in fact they don't. Does that really happen? Again, just take to Google or your favorite search engine and do some research.

The bottom line on Open Calls and Cattle Calls is this: If you have the time and patience and if you have little training and no agent representation, then go for it. If you have training and experience but you're not booking work then you might want to consider an open call. As long as no one asks you for any money, ANY MONEY, all you're likely to be out is your time. You might even get some good from the experience.

Back to the Chantel Riley story

Why all the above about OPEN CALLS. Because this episode of Actors Talk is about a dancer / singer who did take the shot at a legitimate Open Call and hit the jackpot.

Chantel Riley was working at an insurance agency in Toronto,CAN and pondering if she should become a dance instructor at the school where she had TRAINED. (Keep that word TRAINED in mind.)

Then IT happened.