Think Twice Before You Post On TikTok About Not Getting Cast

by Chris Peterson

I saw a TikTok recently from an actor who didn’t get cast at a regional theatre. Their response was to go online and accuse the theatre of favoritism and bias.

Based on what was shared, there wasn’t evidence. There wasn’t some larger story involving multiple actors coming forward. They just didn’t get cast.

I’m sorry, but you have to be very careful here.

Rejection sucks. I’ve been there. Anyone who has auditioned for any length of time has been there. You leave thinking you nailed it. Maybe you got a callback. Maybe the room felt great. Then the cast list comes out and your name isn’t on it.

And your brain immediately starts trying to explain why.

They already knew who they wanted.

They always cast the same people.

The director doesn’t like me.

Maybe one of those things is true. But there is a pretty enormous gap between thinking it in your car on the way home and putting a theatre company on blast publicly.

Because sometimes you just didn’t get cast. That's it.

I think actors sometimes forget how many things go into casting that have absolutely nothing to do with whether you gave a good audition. You can be terrific and still be wrong for the role.

Maybe another actor has worked with the director before, and the director knows they can handle the material. That last one especially gets labeled “favoritism” way too quickly.

Yes, directors cast people they know.

Sometimes, there is actual favoritism involved. Theatre certainly isn't immune from cliques, bias, or people taking care of their friends. But sometimes a director keeps hiring an actor because that actor shows up prepared, learns quickly, treats people well and delivers every single time.

That's called having a professional relationship.

And there are absolutely situations where actors should speak publicly about what happened to them. Discrimination is real. Abusive rehearsal rooms are real. People should not be scared into silence when something genuinely wrong happens.

But “I auditioned, and they didn’t cast me” is not evidence that something wrong happened.

And once you name the theatre publicly, this becomes bigger than blowing off steam. You're making an accusation about actual people and their professional reputations.

You're also telling future directors something about yourself. Because theatre is an incredibly small world. Much smaller than people think.

People talk.

I'd much rather have someone remember that I gave a great audition and handled a disappointing result professionally than remember the TikTok I posted accusing everybody of corruption because I wasn't cast.