In Donald Glover’s stand-up special Weirdo he says:
“No matter how “famous” I get, people always ask me to audition. This is strange to me because I can’t imagine walking on set one day and forgetting how to act.”
Before hearing this I assumed A-Listers “just show up” and everyone else has to prove their worth. Thanks to a bit of research, it turns out I was wrong. Sometimes A-Listers screen test, sometimes C-players hook a gig after lunch with the producer.
Shortly after watching Donald’s routine, an interesting marketing opportunity called my bat line. The next step was to submit a formal application.
But rather than core questions like “how would you make X better” or “what’s your approach,” the application insisted I send mind-numbing (and unrelated) research to an intern. I declined.
From this experience I realized auditioning has little to do with skill and everything to do with skill perception. Your work should speak for itself, and great managers can synthesize past performance into future potential. Hint: bad managers can’t.
In 2015 I’m going to do a better job of a) helping managers see my value, but also b) swallowing the occasional pride pill with a song and dance routine.
I hope you do too.