If your looking for acting audition tips this is a good place to start, It will give you a few ideas though because of space its not
totally exhaustive, so just consider this a starting point.
Acting audition tips can broken down into roughly three sections, The Preparation, The Performance and The Result. We
will look at all three and hopefully by the end of the article you will be a little more relaxed about the whole process.
The Preparation
Preparation, as all good job interview books will tell you, is essential.
* Firstly, any research that you can do into project will help, be it the character you going to play, director, the company or
even the writer. It will show a degree of thoroughness and dedication that could be the deciding factor in your favor.
* Secondly, make sure you know your monologues (if that is what's required, it may be a cold read), you should have
practiced them out loud in front of a variety of people to get a diversity of opinions, if this is not possible you may find it
useful to record yourself, this gives you the chance to evaluate your own performance from a slightly different perspective.
* Thirdly, know exactly where the audition is, how long it takes to get there and arrive early. This allows you to relax and
find some where to warm up
If your audition is a cold read, follow the advice below:
Don't be afraid to take your time. Usually the audition panel will give you a few minutes to look over the scene. Take
them. Sometimes, in the fear of wasting time, we don't really take the time to do this right. Read the scene all the way
through once, slowly, really thinking about the character you are reading and what is happening in the scene. Spend this time
wisely - don't try to memorize. Just get a really good handle on what is happening in the scene.
Remember your basic acting technique. Often when faced with new material we forget all that "common sense" stuff like
speaking slowly, clearly, and loudly. Even if everything else falls apart, make sure that they can always hear you and see your
face (hold your script at chest level). Take your time.
Don't feel that you need to memorize the cold reading - the purpose of the cold reading is not to test how quickly you can
memorize, but to see what you can bring to a character (using your skills and creativity) on short notice. Instead, look at your
next line as the other person finishes speaking, so that you can look up while delivering it and not at the paper.
Listen carefully to any directions that are given to you. Sometimes the audition panel will introduce the character you are
reading to you. Listen carefully to this as there may be some hints as to how they might like it played. But beyond that, don't
be too worried about making the wrong artistic decisions. Making no decisions at all about the character you are playing is far
worse than making the wrong ones. As long as you make a decision about the character and fully commit to it, the audition
panel will notice that you are willing to take risks, and that is always a good thing for an actor to do.
Take water, a snack and a book with you, you could be there some time.
When in the audition environment it is good practice to be nice to everyone, it sounds cheesy, but todays' rival actor could be
tomorrows hot new director. This leads us nicely onto the topic of the other actors auditioning with you, they will be just as
nervous as you, if not more so, and if some appear to be over confident try not to let that intimidate you. A cocky actor does
not make a good actor.
The Performance
When you enter the acting audition room be confident, positive and friendly. First impressions count, it may be helpful to
remind yourself that these people in front of you are on your side, they actually want you to be great! Its good to be as open
and personable as possible because you want the director to want to work with you personally as well as professionally and
any advantage is an advantage.
Try to keep any questions you may have to a minimum, time is precious and too many questions can seem overly ingratiating.
If you are asked to prepare a monologue of your own choosing, it should not really be more than two minutes long, have
others of a similar length prepared, these should show the range and diversity of your talent, and also have a longer
monologue prepared, just in case the director requests it.
The director might ask you to reread after direction, so showing good listening skills is important, its better to ask questions
than to assume that you know what the director wants accepting direction also requires flexibility, so avoid sticking too tightly
to the same old way you've done the reading in the past, be prepared for a degree of unpredictability.
The Result
No article on acting audition tips would be complete without a word or two about rejection.
As you have just read there are many ways that you can improve your chances of getting a role, but most actors will get
turned down for most jobs most of the time. You could do all of the above and more and still be overlooked, but you should
not take this as a comment on your ability. It just indicates that the casting panel thought that someone else was more suitable
to that particular role at that particular time.
If you do get a role, or called back for a second audition, then well done.
Good luck!
totally exhaustive, so just consider this a starting point.
Acting audition tips can broken down into roughly three sections, The Preparation, The Performance and The Result. We
will look at all three and hopefully by the end of the article you will be a little more relaxed about the whole process.
The Preparation
Preparation, as all good job interview books will tell you, is essential.
* Firstly, any research that you can do into project will help, be it the character you going to play, director, the company or
even the writer. It will show a degree of thoroughness and dedication that could be the deciding factor in your favor.
* Secondly, make sure you know your monologues (if that is what's required, it may be a cold read), you should have
practiced them out loud in front of a variety of people to get a diversity of opinions, if this is not possible you may find it
useful to record yourself, this gives you the chance to evaluate your own performance from a slightly different perspective.
* Thirdly, know exactly where the audition is, how long it takes to get there and arrive early. This allows you to relax and
find some where to warm up
If your audition is a cold read, follow the advice below:
Don't be afraid to take your time. Usually the audition panel will give you a few minutes to look over the scene. Take
them. Sometimes, in the fear of wasting time, we don't really take the time to do this right. Read the scene all the way
through once, slowly, really thinking about the character you are reading and what is happening in the scene. Spend this time
wisely - don't try to memorize. Just get a really good handle on what is happening in the scene.
Remember your basic acting technique. Often when faced with new material we forget all that "common sense" stuff like
speaking slowly, clearly, and loudly. Even if everything else falls apart, make sure that they can always hear you and see your
face (hold your script at chest level). Take your time.
Don't feel that you need to memorize the cold reading - the purpose of the cold reading is not to test how quickly you can
memorize, but to see what you can bring to a character (using your skills and creativity) on short notice. Instead, look at your
next line as the other person finishes speaking, so that you can look up while delivering it and not at the paper.
Listen carefully to any directions that are given to you. Sometimes the audition panel will introduce the character you are
reading to you. Listen carefully to this as there may be some hints as to how they might like it played. But beyond that, don't
be too worried about making the wrong artistic decisions. Making no decisions at all about the character you are playing is far
worse than making the wrong ones. As long as you make a decision about the character and fully commit to it, the audition
panel will notice that you are willing to take risks, and that is always a good thing for an actor to do.
Take water, a snack and a book with you, you could be there some time.
When in the audition environment it is good practice to be nice to everyone, it sounds cheesy, but todays' rival actor could be
tomorrows hot new director. This leads us nicely onto the topic of the other actors auditioning with you, they will be just as
nervous as you, if not more so, and if some appear to be over confident try not to let that intimidate you. A cocky actor does
not make a good actor.
The Performance
When you enter the acting audition room be confident, positive and friendly. First impressions count, it may be helpful to
remind yourself that these people in front of you are on your side, they actually want you to be great! Its good to be as open
and personable as possible because you want the director to want to work with you personally as well as professionally and
any advantage is an advantage.
Try to keep any questions you may have to a minimum, time is precious and too many questions can seem overly ingratiating.
If you are asked to prepare a monologue of your own choosing, it should not really be more than two minutes long, have
others of a similar length prepared, these should show the range and diversity of your talent, and also have a longer
monologue prepared, just in case the director requests it.
The director might ask you to reread after direction, so showing good listening skills is important, its better to ask questions
than to assume that you know what the director wants accepting direction also requires flexibility, so avoid sticking too tightly
to the same old way you've done the reading in the past, be prepared for a degree of unpredictability.
The Result
No article on acting audition tips would be complete without a word or two about rejection.
As you have just read there are many ways that you can improve your chances of getting a role, but most actors will get
turned down for most jobs most of the time. You could do all of the above and more and still be overlooked, but you should
not take this as a comment on your ability. It just indicates that the casting panel thought that someone else was more suitable
to that particular role at that particular time.
If you do get a role, or called back for a second audition, then well done.
Good luck!
| These audition tips are copied and adapted from MusicalTheatreAudition.com and ezinearticles.com. |