Acting: Auditioning

A couple people were asking for advice about acting.  This is such a large category - but since I just went over the mindset of being pursuing any dream - I thought I'd stick to something very practical.

Acting:  Auditioning

You are coming into the room to show that you are an entertaining person to watch as that character.  Here are a few tips that might help you achieve that.

Just as you would in any scene - know where your character came from, know where you're heading, know what you want to accomplish while your there.

Make a choice, any choice - but make choices with every line.  Even in real life when people are babbling - they are doing it for a reason - usually they are waiting for some type of positive affirmation.

Go from here to there - create a progression in the scene.  Look for as many transitions as you can - try to find paradigm shifts in the material and play those.

Oscillate emotions.  Drama is created when you're on the crux of two opposing emotions - so whenever you can alter an emotion - you are going to seem more alive.

Know your type - work with it - make it coherent.   Find the character in your details. 

Find the alternate read - the one that no other actor thought of - the one that even the writer hadn't imagined.    However, in doing this - do not lose sight of the purpose of the scene and your character in the scene.  A good example of this is Kevin Weissman who played "Marshall" on "Alias" - he normally played very boisterous characters, but felt like that dynamic was not going to win him the role for this show.  What he did was to take his fantastic loud energy and contain it into a ball of nervous energy.  That was not in the scrīpt - he created that character for the audition and the creators of the show obviously recognized that now this role had some presence and interest which wasn't there before and they cast him.

Learn the lines, have them memorized - yes, it's expected.  If you can't... then make sure you learn the key paragraph so you can nail that home.  And then learn the next key paragraphs.  

(By the way you should practice doing cold readings because that does have to happen some times.  so practice looking at a photo or a face on the tv and speaking your lines to their eyes then going back to your page to grab the next line.)

Be nice to  the people in the audition waiting room.  One of them probably is working on the show - but be nice to everyone (as you should anyway) because the assistants really do say things like "that girl is trouble" when they come into the room.

After you audition.  Don't think about it.  It's over.  Move on to the next task, the next audition. 

An audition is a chance to perform.  It's not a job interview - it's a chance to perform for some people and no matter how grumpy or tired they are... they do WANT to love your performance.  It will make their day.  You are walking into that room to be what they want.  So - go in there and don't take any of their energy on to you.  You are there to give them something, not the other way around.  You are there to give them your energy and make their day better by allowing them to discover you.  Even if for some reason you don't get the part, make sure you give that energy from you to them.  That energy is what people call "presence" once you can share it.