Audition Advice for Actors
Audition: Love it or hate it, as an actor, it’s your only chances of getting work, so here’s some useful advice that I’ve learned in my career that should be of help to actors out there:
ONE: Don’t focus on the expressions of the audition panel. It’s not an accurate indication of what they are feeling and you’re making yourself more self-conscious. I know this, because I’ve got a horrible, thunderous, you’re shit expression, which does not reflect what I’m thinking. Focus on your task. Don’t know what that means? Send me an email, I’ll help you out.
TWO: Don’t bring in props, just mime it. They make you look stupid.
THREE: Cleavage. These are not the assets that you should be showing off in the audition. Have the sense to put them away and keep them away. The reason for this is simple. When you enter the audition room and your chest comes first, this is likely to occur: The gay men on the panel won’t thank you for it, the straight men will be appreciative but as this is a professional audition, they will either spend the entire time trying to avoid looking at your tits – in which case, they won’t be paying attention to your audition, OR the straight men will be staring at your tits, which means they won’t be paying attention to your audition. The women on the panel will immediately lose respect for you and you can’t afford to do that. Get cast based on your abilities, not your breasts.
FOUR: Don’t be everybody’s friend, lighting up the room with your effervescent personality, they’ll smile to your face and hate you when you go. Don’t go on about the writer or director’s work, they’ll think it’s false, you won’t get the part. If you want to compliment the writing, then do it justice. Do it well even if it’s the worst crap you’ve ever read. If you want the job, make it come to life, treat it like it’s Mamet, Coward or Shakespeare, do it as well as you can and go.
FIVE: No matter who you know on the panel, keep it professional.
SIX: Do not change the tiniest part of the script. Most writers spent a long time on their script, if you want to write, write your own script.
SEVEN: Just do your audition. Don’t ask for direction before the audition or ask if they want to see it different. If they want to see it different, they’ll ask for it.
LASTLY: Be GREAT. That’s all they want. All other audition tips are basically void when compared to this instruction. Go in and be great. Easier said than done? Well, that’s your job, don’t moan about it.
Of course, there are many more things I could tell you about auditioning, but you’ll have to be a patient!