Auditioning.... Love it or hate it but unless you are at Angelina Jolie or Tom Hanks level, you’ll have to audition to get the part. Most actors audition their WHOLE LIVES! If you think about it, with millions of people wanting to pursue acting, just GETTING an audition is a win on its own.
Now with self tapes becoming a new norm and how easy and quickly it is to submit a tape nowadays, casting directors and filmmakers will be even MORE bombarded with auditions from actors all over the world, so the stakes are even HIGHER!
Even though auditions have significantly slowed down during this pandemic, THIS is the time to….
#1 Become a BEAST at auditioning (maybe even start to fall in love with it)
#2 Live in an “Audition On-Camera” class
The only way to get good at auditioning is to AUDITION a lot! Wether it’s in class, from self submission or auditions you get from your agent.
As an acting career coach my goal is to help you get more auditions, more importantly get more auditions that are right for YOU, for your type and brand as well as help you land representation who can get you auditions at a higher level.
However when I look over actor’s materials and specifically their self-tapes, I keep noticing the same common mistakes that I want to share with you guys, so that when you get an audition (which is already a win) you won’t fall into the trap of doing the same things as other actors who haven’t mastered the game of auditioning yet.
Here it goes….
Lack of SPECIFICITY
#1 Environment
One of the main strengths that I notice with working actors is that they are able to bring the environment of the scene in their audition. You can see them in the restaurant or in the hospital, you can see them hearing the noise or smelling the food. You can even tell what time of the day it is. It’s SO SPECIFIC! A lot of it is through physicality and the tone of the voice and the right use of props.
Where are you at? Make it specific with your acting choices!
#2 Relationship
Who are you talking to? The way you talk to your partner or your mother or your best friend is completely different. Then how come it all sounds the same when you are acting? As a viewer we want to SEE the person you are talking to, not physically, but we have to be able to clearly imagine your lover, brother or noisy neighbor.
#3 Intentions/choices
What do you WANT in the scene? Why are you talking to this person? And the most interesting thing to watch is the journey of how you’re going to get it. You want to convince the jury that you are not guilty, are you going to cry and play a victim, are you going to flirt, are you going to angrily defend yourself? Make it specific, interesting and different.
RUSHING
Are you rushing because your character is in a hurry ( which could also be played in different ways) or because you as an actor are nervous? When you are rushing in an audition you skip over moments, transitions, thoughts & emotions. You don’t let the viewer take you in and really feel for you or with you or be affected by what you are doing at all.
It’s boring to see one continues thought. Stop rushing, process what is happening in the scene, listen and react, this is YOUR space and time to SHINE.
Catch you ACTING
Stop acting and start being and just existing in the scene. You are enough. You don’t need to ’show us” you are in pain, you don’t need to “show us” you are concerned.
If at the end of the day you hear “wow you are such a great actor” instead of “ omg this divorce that you’ve gone through “ in the scene) must be too painful, you didn’t do your job!
Just knowing these mistakes is not enough, you have to PRACTICE it in order to fully own your audition.
What has been your #1 challenge when it comes to auditioning?