Soap Auditions

Casting and auditions information for 'General Hospital' in Los Angeles

The ABC daytime drama "General Hospital" is in production and auditions for talent is ongoing year-round. The casting directors accept photos and resumes from AFTRA members in good standing who are reliable, and familiar with daytime drama protocol. General Hospital is taped and broadcast in high definition at ABC Prospect Studios in Hollywood.

General Hospital became the oldest American soap opera on September 17, 2010, when As the World Turns ended. On April 14, 2011, ABC announced the cancellation of both All My Children and One Life to Live, leaving General Hospital as the only soap opera airing on the network after January 2012.

Principal Actor Casting:

See the post titled Headshot and Resume Information regarding how to submit for acting roles.

Please submit photos and resumes by mail only.
No phone calls or personal drop-offs.

Mark Teschner
c/o Prospect Studios
4151 Prospect Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90027

Under-Five and Extras Casting:

Gwen Hillier
c/o Prospect Studios
4151 Prospect Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027

Production Company:

Do NOT send photos and resumes to the production companies, as they will most likely end up being thrown away. They do not cast the films, rather they hire casting directors who sort through the thousands of submissions.

American Broadcasting Company
500 S Buena Vista St
Burbank, CA 91521-4551

Producers:

Frank Valentini
Robert Guza Jr.
Mary O'Leary
Michelle Henry

Directors:

Scott McKinsey
William Ludel
Owen Renfroe
Phideaux Xavier

Starring:

Bradford Anderson - Damien Spinelli
Brandon Barash - Johnny Zacchara
Maurice Benard - Sonny Corinthos
Julie Marie Berman - Lulu Spencer
Sean Blakemore - Shawn Butler
Steve Burton - Jason Morgan
Nathin Butler - Dr. Ewen Keenan
Jason Cook - Dr. Matt Hunter
Chad Duell - Michael Corinthos
Jane Elliot - Tracy Quartermaine
Anthony Geary - Luke Spencer
Nancy Lee Grahn - Alexis Davis
Rebecca Herbst - Elizabeth Webber
John Ingle - Edward Quartermaine
Kodi Kitchen - Dr. Maggie Wurth
Lisa LoCicero - Olivia Falconeri
Kimberly McCullough - Dr. Robin Scorpio-Drake
Kelly Monaco - Sam Morgan
Nathan Parsons - Ethan Lovett
Scott Reeves - Dr. Steven Webber
Kirsten Storms - Maxie Jones
Kelly Sullivan - Kate Howard
Jason Thompson - Dr. Patrick Drake
Laura Wright - Carly Benson
John J. York - Mac Scorpio
Dominic Zamprogna- Dante Falconeri

Story:

The series is set in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York. Port Charles is a midsized to large city located in Upstate New York. Contained within the city are popular establishments such as General Hospital, the large hospital for which the show is named; the Metro Court Hotel, a five star, luxury inn; Kelly's Diner, a popular, vintage-type diner; Jake's, a popular bar in Old Town run by Coleman. Prominent citizens include the Quartermaines, the Cassadines, Sonny Corinthos, Jason Morgan, Patrick Drake, Robin Scorpio, Jasper Jacks, Alexis Davis, Sam McCall,and Carly Corinthos Jacks.

SAG-AFTRA

The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) is an American labor union representing over 150,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. The current organization is the result of the March 30, 2012 merger of the Screen Actor's Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

According to the SAG-AFTRA Mission Statement, the union seeks to: negotiate and enforce collective bargaining agreements that establish equitable levels of compensation, benefits, and working conditions for its performers; collect compensation for exploitation of recorded performances by its members, and provide protection against unauthorized use of those performances; and preserve and expand work opportunities for its members.

The Screen Actors Guild was founded in 1933 in an effort to eliminate exploitation of actors in Hollywood who were being forced into oppressive multi-year contracts with the major movie studios that did not include restrictions on work hours or minimum rest periods, and often had clauses that automatically renewed at the studios' discretion. These contracts were notorious for allowing the studios to dictate the public and private lives of the performers who signed them, and most did not have provisions to allow the performer to end the deal.

SAG-AFTRA is the primary performer's union in the United States. The union is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. SAG-AFTRA claims exclusive jurisdiction over motion picture as well as radio, television, Internet, and other new media. Internationally, SAG-AFTRA is affiliated with the International Federation of Actors.

How Soap Operas Are Cast

The soaps writers and producers agree on new roles they wish to add to the show. Then they give the script with the new roles to the casting directors, who in turn send out "breakdowns" of the new characters being cast.

These "breakdowns" actually are sent out by a service called "Breakdown Services" and are only available to licensed Talent Agencies.

Then the agents at these talent agencies submit photos, resumes, and sometimes "demo-reels" to the casting directors. Then the casting directors call in the actors that fit the roles they are casting, usually many many actors are called in.

Then they narrow it down to the best actors who came in and "call back" these actors to read again for the director, sometimes the writers, producer, etc. Then they narrow it down further, and sometimes there are 3 - 4 "call backs" before an actor is finally hired.

Soaps Operas generally do accept submissions from actors and extras directly. The casting director will call in an actor who sends a photo and resume on their own without an agent if they fit the look of the role(s) being cast. But they really do like to see soap opera credits on the resume.

Headshots

What a good headshot is NOT:

1) Your high school yearbook picture.

2) What you think you look like.

3) What your Mom, Dad, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandparent, priest girlfriend or best buddy thinks you look like.

4) Something created at Sears, Penny's, Glamour Shots or Willie's Weddings Unlimited.

5) A display ad for Cover Girl Makeup, Fashion Gal, Jim's Jewelry, Adidas sportswear, Garfield, The Simpsons, Harley Davidson, ad infinatum, etc., and so on.

A Good Headshot:

1) Really looks like YOU.

2) Doesn't hide the dime-sized purple birthmark on the bridge of your nose.

3) Looks like the camera caught you unaware that you were being photographed, and that you were really thinking about something specific, not just trying to look good for the camera.

4) Communicates your "essence" through your eyes, so that whatever you were specifically thinking about when the photo was snapped is something that will attract the viewer of the photo in a powerful way, so that the viewer will think, "Who is this person?"

How To Memorize Your Lines

1. First use a pencil and write down or each page of the script (you can also do several pages at a time as opposed to the entire script).

2. Take the page into a quiet room, shut the door, and eliminate all distractions.

3. Look at the first line in your notes and read it out loud. Then, close your eyes and say the line without looking at it.

4. Repeat the step above, this time with the first 2 lines.

5. Next, try it with 3 lines. Then 4. Repeat until you have memorized every line in the pages/script/sides.

After a study session, take a quick nap. New memories are very vulnerable, but studies have shown that sleep helps your new memories stick. After your nap, repeat the memory technique once more for maximum retention.

Important Safety Information

I always recommend using a PO BOX instead of your home address when submitting to television shows. This is another good reason that getting an agent as soon as possible is of utmost importance. Then your agents contact information is all that is listed on the resume, cover letter, and envelope. There is an earlier post about how to get an agent in my blog archives (or table of contents).

Also, NEVER meet someone outside of a professional environment such as a studio or casting/agents office. Do NOT meet someone at a restaurant, private residence, etc. You should ALWAYS let someone else know EXACTLY where you are going, WHO you are meeting, and WHEN you are going there.

And a parent or guardian must ALWAYS accompany minors. A parent or guardian should NEVER be out of eyesight of the minor, whether it be at auditions or on set.