Equity has serious concerns about recent casting and audition activity involving virtual – ie online video – auditions. We are asking members to take caution if considering an audition with Dark Matter Productions, but recent examples extend to other casting activity as well.
Follow our checklist for casting and auditions.
Quick check:
You should never:
- be expected to undertake any scene involving nudity, intimacy or any form of sexual activity for an audition.
- be requested to provide photographs or video in advance where you are partially dressed or nude.
- be asked to self-tape fully nude or partially nude.
- be asked to send fully or partially nude photographs to a Casting Director or Producer at any point during the auditioning process.
Do:
- report to Equity any such request and decline to attend the audition.
- leave an audition immediately if the above requests are made.
report the matter to Equity and the police.
**Warning: some of the content below is of a sexual nature.**
We have been contacted by members who have been asked to strip naked, simulate sex acts and climax as part of online auditions.
In cases involving Dark Matter Productions, Equity members have been told in writing that nudity and sex acts are required as part of the audition. The audition invite states: “the role … applied for contains adult scenes or sexual activity, [so] there will be an extension to the audition.” It goes on to say: “Once your scene is acted out, we would like you to strip naked and show yourself. Then we would like you to masturbate and climax.”
In another case with a different casting director, an actor was “graded” by an AI machine after doing an audition over Skype, apparently for a Netflix film. The audition involved “sexual acts” undertaken by the actor at their end of the Skype screen. Following the audition, the casting director deactivated Skype and Facebook and didn’t follow up, leaving the actor feeling “exposed”.
Equity is urging extreme caution for anyone considering online auditions. Follow our checklist and ensure you vet the casting notice to verify the casting director is based in a legitimate production team or casting office.
Members are encouraged to report unethical practices to Equity and to report any serious cases to the police.
Read our advice for staying safe at castings and auditions here.
Read our checklist for casting and auditions.
