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Now, I know most of us get a cold sweat when we think of auditions, and we are not alone!!
Katherine Hepburn once said "If I had to audition now . . . I'd never get a part." Even this wonderul successful actress felt terrified at the thought of auditioning.
Now - My aim is to help you do the best audition you can AND . . . .inspire you to LOVE auditioning!!!!
You see, the catch is that auditions are part of this game - especially when you are getting started!!Whether it's for Drama school, a short film or a major TV series, you are going to have to audition at some point.
Twice I have been reminded of this . . . “It’s not just about being a professional actor, you have to be a professional auditioner.” This is partly because actors discover that their life consists of many more auditions then it does actual acting work. But the phrase is also relevant if we look at auditions as an art in itself – a separate experience – and as actors we need to be as prepared for this as we are for that major film role!!
I began to learn this when I read a book called “Audition” by Michael Shurtleff. THIS IS AN AMAZING BOOK written by the casting director that discovered actors such as Bette Midler, Barbara Streisand and Dustin Hoffman.
One of the stand out messages in this book is this . . .
- Give the audition your full emotional commitment and energy!!
- Don’t hold back!!
- Let them see who YOU are!! If nothing else, they will remember you for the future.
The thing to remember is . . . you never know what a casting director is looking for so give them what you’ve got and who you are – because if they like what they see they will either 1) start changing the role to fit YOU or 2) they will remember you for future things – and this is a great help when you audition for them in the future!!
Auditioning is not just about being a good actor. It’s about showing them that you are good to work with, that you can take direction (and this does not mean sucking up) and showing that you have something that people want to watch!!!
The BEST WAY to do this is to be yourself and ENJOY your audition!!!
When you enjoy yourself you stop letting the nervousness controll you. No-one stops being nervous and it’s always good to have a bit of an adrenalin rush!!
Nervousness is Energy!! That energy can block you, make you tense, sweaty, shy and scared OR you can use that same energy to smile, be open and ready to empower your audition!!!
What I love about auditions is the opportunity they give you . . . to Act and to Learn.
They are a chance to practise you acting skills, to try something new, and to challenge yourself!!!
Also, you learn so much from each experience. What worked and what didn’t!! We all have bad auditions but you choose how you deal with it. You can choose to be angry, sad or resentful at the catastrophe or you can decide to learn from the experience, realise it is there to teach you something that will move you forward!!
Last year I got to the 2nd day of call back auditions for three Drama schools!! However I missed out on all three – of course I felt disappointed but I immediately thought back over how I had auditioned and realised that there was a part of my acting that was feeling blocked – I was holding back!! What a valuable thing to learn!!! I immediately thought about what I could do to get over that block and that’s when I enrolled for the Actors Centre’s part-time course, The Power of Acting, which has been an amazing learning experience and exactly where I needed to be!!!
The actor Felix Williamson, who taught a short screen-acting course I studied, said it this way . . .
“If you get the role, it’s a bonus . . . when you go into an audition you have the opportunity to give what you have to that character. Your thoughts, creativity and energy. You are part of the making and growing of that character, give it your all . . . if you achieve that, you can walk away knowing you have done a successful audition!!!”
Happy Audtioning Guys!!!
Brinley :-)
About Brinley --- My Complete CV --- Current Projects --- About Acting
