Before your next New York audition, have three things ready. First, a packed audition bag with printed headshots and résumés. Second, a marked, accompanist-ready book or two contrasting monologues. Third, a self-tape setup you can use the same night. New York is a hybrid stage-and-screen market, so you need to be ready for both in the same week.
WORK
CONTACTCASTING-READY ROUTE
Put the essential material in reach.
Start with the work a visitor needs to see, then make credits, representation, and contact details easy to find. The layout should guide attention without getting in the way.
Explore actor websitesNew York City casting right now
The city's TV slate is busy. As of September 2026, NYC's Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment listed Law & Order, SVU, Elsbeth, The Morning Show, Dexter: Resurrection and Tulsa King filming in the city. New York State raised its film tax credit cap to $800 million a year in 2025, the highest in the program's history. Add Broadway, Off-Broadway and commercials, and you can go from a chorus call to a co-star tape in the same week.
The audition bag, packed the night before
In-person theater auditions still run on paper. Keep this bag ready by the door:
- 5 headshots with résumés stapled back to back, at all four corners, trimmed to 8x10
- Your book (see below), plus a pencil for marking changes
- Dance shoes and clothes to move in, if there's any chance of a movement call
- Water, a snack and a phone charger. EPAs and open calls can mean hours of waiting.
- Your Equity membership info, or your plan for signing up as a non-Equity actor
Non-Equity actors can usually attend Equity Principal Auditions (EPAs), but they're seen only if time allows. Get there early and bring something to do.
A book an accompanist can actually play from
You can lose an audition before you sing a note by handing over a book the pianist can't read. Set it up like this:
- Put each song in a binder, not loose pages. Use non-glare sheet protectors, or no sleeves at all.
- Clearly mark your start and end with a bracket and the word "START" or "END."
- Write the tempo at the top. Better yet, tap or hum it for the accompanist, two bars, quietly.
- Have a 16-bar and a 32-bar cut of each song, both marked.
- Organize the book by style, like golden age, contemporary, pop/rock and comic. Then you can switch fast when the panel asks, "What else do you have?"
Not a singer? Keep two contrasting monologues, comic and dramatic, under 90 seconds each, ready to perform with no warm-up.
A same-night self-tape plan
TV and film first rounds in New York are mostly self-tapes, and a request at 6 p.m. due the next morning is normal. You don't have room for a studio, so build one that packs away:
- A collapsible backdrop that stores behind a door
- One LED panel with a softbox, plus a lav mic
- A blanket or comforter hung behind the camera to cut echo in small, hard rooms
- Two or three readers on call, and one backup in another borough
For exact framing, sound and export specs, see our self-tape checklist. It's the same standard New York casting uses.
Common questions
What is an EPA audition?
An Equity Principal Audition is an open call that producers of certain Actors' Equity contracts must hold for principal roles. Equity members are seen first, and non-members as time allows.
Do I still need printed headshots in NYC?
For in-person theater, yes. For on-camera work, casting almost always uses your online profile.
How do NYC actors get on Law & Order?
Usually through a co-star audition, often a self-tape, via an agent or a self-submission. Long-running procedurals cast many New York actors in small roles, so make sure your type and your footage fit that world.
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In New York, the actors who book are the ones who were ready before the call.
Pack the bag, fix the book, and build the setup. Then make sure the casting team can find you the next morning. RoseCo builds actor websites and demo reels.
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