Audition Doings + Tips

The camera was rolling. The script in my hand looked clean, professional.

I was terrified.

It was 1PM, and  I stood bent behind the camera, focusing on the auditionee, MC*. "Which one should I start with?" she asked, looking over the three pages of dialogue.

"... Um, whichever one you want, I guess ..."

She looked up and smiled. She was a seasoned veteran at auditions. "It really helps actors feel more confident if you lay it out for them. If you pretend to be confident, even if you're not, they'll pick up on that and give you a better performance."

I nodded, making a mental note. I'd been to one play audition in my life, and had absolutely no idea how I was going to survive an evening of being 'on the other end'. What are you supposed to say when an actor comes in? How much are you supposed to film? What questions do you need to ask?

At auditions: who knew finding a box of Kleenax was this hard? Do we even need them?

Fast forward to that evening. We dashed around, setting up tables and chairs, taping signs, and chatting excitedly. As Agatha Swanburne (Maryrose Wood, The Unseen Guest) said, "Busy hands and idle minds have knitted many a sweater. Busy minds and idle hands have knitted many a brow."

We were in sweater-knitting mode, keeping busy to keep our minds off what we would have to do in half an hour.

Finally, we were in the audition room, the table spread with pages of script ('slides'), notebooks and pens. Mary Aby* auditioned first since she had come with us, so Lady Vang* and I could figure out how exactly one holds auditions. Lady Vang auditioned next, and the auditions had begun.

After the auditions were over and we were riding home in our car, I still couldn't believe how different auditioning and holding the auditions are. This is part of why I love filmmaking; I get to be on the other side of so many life experiences, which helps in normal life because I have a better understanding of what the people in charge are looking for, and I know that even though some things like auditions seem like huge deals, they're actually not.

So here are a few tips to keep in mind for your next audition:

• Breathe. Breathing slowly and deeply helps you calm down and focus, helping you keep your wits about you. 
• You're not going to die. What's the worst that could go wrong? You could not get a part. That's a lot less terrible than dying.
• It's not scary until you make it scary. As a general rule, the people watching your auditions are pretty relaxed. They've been doing this for a few hours. What they want most from you is to see your best. If they're acting critical and rude, you probably won't want to be involved in the production anyways.
• If you mess up a word, don't sweat it. If you've just started reading the line, you can start over. If you're further in, go back a word and start there. Don't make a big deal over it; if you let it go so will the people watching. 

MC's words act both ways: if you, the actor, act confident, so will the people watching. They'll remember you for your good vibes, and you'll be up high on their list of people they want to cast.

Thanks for reading! What are your audition experiences? 

*names changed for protection