Chapter 3 The Hardships of Running for a Young Actor
"Several assistant directors in the circle have posted information about actor auditions on Weibo, and are now collecting resumes. I need to run to the crew and go to Piao Home, Hu Tu, and a few other hotels to go downstairs."

The crew's preparations are basically carried out in hotels, and mostly concentrated in a few hotels.

The so-called "door-sweeping" means submitting resumes to each floor one by one. New actors, whether they are professional actors or not, as long as they have not signed a contract with an agency, will go door-to-door to find new crews, except for those who have mines at home.

Hearing that Huang Mengying was going to run the group today, Yang Hao became interested.

Beijing Film Academy generally does not encourage freshmen and sophomores to perform outside, but in fact, many of Yang Hao’s classmates would quietly go to various crews to submit their resumes during the weekends.

Before becoming famous, the acting industry is really stressful and you have no idea where your future lies. Everyone wants to go out and act early to have more opportunities. If you really have to wait until you graduate from your senior year to join a film crew, you might as well change careers early.

Normally in the dormitory, I often see Zhang Yishan and Li Xian taking their resumes out, probably to visit the team.

"Dear... do you want to go with me?"

Huang Mengying hugged Yang Hao's arms with both hands and spoke in a tender voice, which made Yang Hao feel a little itchy early in the morning.

"No, no"

It was totally unnecessary for Yang Hao to run around the group. After coming to Beijing Film Academy for two years, he had already decided to earn his first pot of gold by opening a braised chicken shop, and then bring the money into the group. This was the correct way to open it by using the system.

It's totally unnecessary to run around and suffer from not being able to play any good roles.

"Go ahead... At worst, when you come back in the evening, I'll give you benefits and agree to your request last night."
When saying this, Huang Mengying felt a little embarrassed and timid. She lowered her head slightly and did not dare to look at Yang Hao.

"Huh!?" Having said that, Yang Hao was no longer tired. He immediately became energetic, got up and dressed quickly, forgetting about bringing money into the group. The most important thing was to inject funds into Huang Mengying in the evening.

"Do you have a resume ready?" Huang Mengying asked softly.

It is well known that Yang Hao was devoted to opening a store and making money in his freshman and sophomore years. He had never been to a film crew. Huang Mengxin expressed doubt as to whether he had a resume.

"Uh! It seems that this is not the case," Yang Hao touched the back of his head a little embarrassedly.

A student who is almost finishing his sophomore year at the Performance Department of Beijing Film Academy has not prepared a resume. He is definitely not doing his job properly.

"Go out and buy breakfast, I'll help you with your resume." Huang Mengying has made actor resumes several times and is quite skilled at it, so she volunteered to help Yang Hao make it.

Half an hour later, Huang Mengying and Yang Hao were eating breakfast together.

Yang Hao looked at the resume Huang Mengying had prepared for him, a handsome and charming artistic photo with his height, weight, and alma mater noted next to it.

Below the stills are notes such as where the actor performed in a certain drama, what role he played, whether he won any awards, etc.

"Your resume is really too simple. You only performed in a few plays at school, and they were all minor roles."

Huang Mengying shook her head helplessly, thinking that her boyfriend was too insignificant.

“Let me take a look at your resume.”

I snatched Huang Mengying's copperplate resume, which had beautiful artistic photos on the front and back. It was not much different from Yang Hao's, but the introductions below the photos were much richer. It looked very intimidating, but upon closer inspection, they were all plays, more than a dozen in total, and no TV series, movies or the like.

"Haha, your resume isn't much better than mine, it's just some drama performance experience."
As soon as he said this, he saw Huang Mengying's face darken a little. Yang Hao also realized that what he said was a little inconsiderate, so he quickly changed the subject.

"Yingying, I remember that every year there are some crews coming to Beijing Film Academy to select actors. Don't teachers usually give priority to recommending senior students who are in their third and fourth years? Haven't teachers ever recommended you?"

"How could it be my turn? There are so many senior girls in the senior year who have never been in a proper film crew. Teachers must give them priority."

"It turns out that when teachers recommend students, they also consider seniority."

After chatting for a while and finishing their meal, they went to the printing room near Beijing Film Academy to make resumes. Yang Hao made 500 copies at a time. After all, it was because of Yang Hao that they wasted time. When they arrived at Piao Home Hotel, it was already past eleven o'clock, and it was almost time for lunch. It didn't feel right to submit resumes at this time, so the two of them found a place to eat and rest for a while.

Even before starting the running group, Yang Hao felt tired just from the commute.

I am somewhat nostalgic for the map navigation of later generations. At that time, Baidu Map app had only been online for a short time, and its functions were far inferior to those of the future. There was no walking navigation or bicycle navigation. You could only check the bus and subway routes. When you arrived at the station, you had to search for it according to the house number. Those who have experience in finding places by house number know that it is really tiring.

At about two o'clock in the afternoon, the running group officially started.

The hotel’s background wall has basic information about each crew. Write down the crew’s house number and knock on each door one by one to submit your resume.

"Hello, director." "Hello, teacher." Just put down your resume and you can leave.

This is the most common situation.

But once I met a weird one.

A middle-aged man in his forties, a little fat, probably an assistant director of casting, picked up Yang Hao's resume pretentiously and looked at Yang Hao's face and figure for a while.

Assistant Director: "Why do you want to join our crew?"

Yang Hao: "I want to act in a TV series."

Assistant Director: "Our crew does not accept inexperienced actors."

Yang Hao: "I need to join a group to gain experience."

Assistant Director: “Then come in.”

Yang Hao: "Aren't I here?"

Assistant Director: "Do you have any acting experience?"

Yang Hao: "If you don't let me join the crew, how can I get acting experience?"

It may seem like a joke, but this is the most common thing that happens to new actors. It is difficult for those who have no experience as a special actor to get a special role, it is difficult for those who have never played a role actor to get a role actor role, and it is difficult for those who have never played a leading role to get a leading role.

Every film crew wants skilled workers and people with good business skills, but if they are not given opportunities, how can they become skilled workers and have good business skills?

It’s like when a company recruits, whether you are a human or a ghost, you need three years of work experience, but how can you get three years of work experience if you don’t work?

The vigorous running group continued until after six in the afternoon.

Almost all the crew of Pineapple Hotel have submitted their resumes. There are more than a dozen crews, big and small. If new actors want to get a role, they can only cast a wide net and leave the rest to luck.

Collecting resumes is an important part of the crew's early preparations.

Generally, thousands of resumes are collected, and then several assistant directors discuss and select about five actors for audition based on their temperament and image for the roles in the play. This is the first round of auditions. Some actors whose acting skills do not meet the requirements will be eliminated in the first round of auditions. Those who survive the first round of auditions will then face the core members of the crew, such as directors, producers, and screenwriters for another audition. Some crews with high requirements will also start a third round of auditions with makeup.

A film crew will ultimately only select a dozen or so people from thousands of resumes.

For a new actor to stand out, it is like a thousand troops crossing a single-plank bridge.

In fact, students from Beijing Film Academy still have some advantages. If they can humble themselves and start as special or supporting actors, it is still easy to find a crew.

(End of this chapter)