'A' IS FOR… AUDITIONS

PICTURED: Auditions for ITV WEST Television Workshop's production of BUGSY MALONE (2005)

WHAT ARE CASTING DIRECTORS LOOKING FOR?
Finally, the day you've been waiting for has arrived - you get a message from a Casting Director asking you to come in for an audition. How do you prepare? How do you know what they'll be looking for?

PREPARING FOR THE AUDITION:
Your first task is to find out as much as you can about what the audition is for. If it's for a play, get a copy of the play and read it. If it's for a film, ask if you can get a copy of the script from the casting office. This way, if there's time at the audition, you're now prepared to chat a bit about the plot, characters, costumes and so on; and you'll have a much better understanding of the material.
If the audition is for a commercial, find out as much as you can about the product. You'll want to make choices in your audition that are consistent with the way the product is marketed.

Think about what to wear too. In other words, you'd dress and present yourself differently at an audition for the part of a very rich and successful business tycoon (and dress smartly) than you would for a tramp, drug-dealer or homeless person (for which you might dress a bit more shabbily). Why? Because auditions are like job interviews. Dress accordingly!

If you're asked to bring a monologue, prepare it thoroughly. Casting directors are looking for actors who know how to prepare themselves - which includes having all of your lines learned, being able to get into character on the spot, and doing a good job. Choosing a new monologue three days before an audition and then expecting to do it well can be a big mistake - because unless you can learn lines very fast, you'll be focusing more on keeping the lines and actions straight than you will be on your acting.

Choose a monologue that you KNOW backwards and forwards, that you can do anywhere, that is about as comfortable as your favorite old t-shirt. Knowing your monologue that well will take the edge off of your audition nerves, and you'll feel more like you're performing (which is what you really want to do) than struggling to remember your lines in front of someone and "being judged."

REMEMBER:

DON'T LEARN YOUR LINES - KNOW THEM!

If it's a cold reading, and if you can get a copy of the script beforehand, make some choices as to how you'd present the scene. Try a few different possibilities at home, but don't set anything in stone, as the casting person may want you to try the scene in different ways. The key here is again to go prepared with some ideas, but be open to the course that the audition takes and ideas that the casting person might have.

AT THE AUDITION: Most important, BE ON TIME! You're building a professional reputation with every audition that you go to, and if your reputation consists of: "They're always late!" - you won't get many calls. You owe it to yourself and the people you hope to work with to allow plenty of time so that you can arrive relaxed and ready to work.

TURN UP ON TIME!
BETTER STILL - TURN UP EARLY!
THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR BEING LATE.

WHY? Because if you are late on stage for a play - you just destroyed the show! If you are late on a movie or TV set - you just wasted time and that means wasting money.

NOBODY WANTS TO HIRE SOMEONE WHO IS UNRELIABLE.

Whether on a movie set or a shoe shop - why even consider hiring someone who can't turn up on time?

NO EXCUSE MATTERS.

Train delayed? Car broke down? Dog has flu? Sprained your toe? Whatever your excuse - it's still an EXCUSE. If it's unavoidable PHONE the Casting Director IN ADVANCE and apologise and see if it's ok to re-arrange your time. But don't bother turning up late and making excuses - it's unprofessional and it will lose you the job before you've even auditioned.

REMEMBER: It takes years to earn a good reputation in show business - but seconds to gain a bad reputation. DON'T BE UNRELIABLE!

Many actors have a mistaken notion that the casting person wants to see all of their feelings and idiosyncrasies hanging out - they may think that this makes them "look more like an actor." Often, this approach will simply make the casting person think that an actor is weird or emotionally unstable! Like everyone else, casting directors like to meet pleasant people who seem to have their act together.

What casting directors are most hoping for is an actor who is friendly, personable, confident, reliable, respectful, and positive, but who has the ability to let all of those vulnerabilities and quirks out when they're acting, and who has a good, solid acting technique.

Practice connecting with people in the business as the best "you" that you can be, and allow yourself the freedom in your acting to be more creative and expressive. And, like Sir Anthony Hopkins says if you can come from a place of RELAXATION rather than fear and worry, your auditions and your performances will get better and better, and you'll enjoy the process more.

SO BE PREPARED. KNOW YOUR LINES.
TURN UP ON TIME, FOCUSED AND READY TO WORK.

For the purposes of acting, a monologue is a performance in which one actor speaks alone. For auditions, a monologue is usually one to three minutes in length. Usually at auditions you'll be requested to perform two or three "contrasting" monologues. For example, one comedy; one tragedy; one modern; one Shakespeare; and maybe even a song.

You might also be requested to present a "contemporary" monologue (i.e. one from the mid to late 20th century, right up to today) and a "classical" monologue (from Ancient Greek up to the early 20th century.)

Usually monologues written by yourself or a friend are not acceptable. Most casting directors expect you to perform from published works, such as film and theatre scripts.

Monologue books contain selected speeches. Most monologue books will provide a brief character description and synopsis of the scene in which the monologue occurs. When preparing to rehearse a monologue, it is best to read the play from which the monologue comes. So read it. This is your best research and will help you better understand your character, the circumstances that lead up to the point in the play when the monologue occurs and the relationship(s) between your character and the other characters in the play you may be speaking about.

Remember, if the person auditioning asks about the character or play you've chosen and all you can say is: "I dunno. I got it out a monologue book" - you won't impress anyone with your dedication to research and love of acting!

Where can you find monologue books? Bookshops on line and in towns and at most well stocked libraries. If you live in a small town and do not have any useful monologue books in your library, ask the librarian what might be available through an inter-library loan program. You can also find monologue books for sale in many book stores, although the selection is generally limited.

You will not find any good, contemporary monologues on-line. Why? Because good monologues usually come from well written scripts. Writers who write good scripts publish their work and want to get paid for it. They simply will not post their good material on-line for anyone to download for free! You can find some sites with poorly written monologues posted, but if you are looking for quality material (which is what you want); you will need to go to do your research!

You can, however, find the text to some public domain plays and some classical plays, like Shakespeare's complete works, on the internet to download for free.

AUDITION TIPS:

Attend community play performances. Talk to cast members after the show. Tell them you are interested in their group and would like to join and audition for plays (be sure to mention how much you enjoyed their play and performance.) Find out whatever information you can. Most community groups publish a newsletter or have a website for members. These will also contain audition notices.

Try contacting your local colleges and universities. They frequently produce shows which are open for the public to audition. Look in the phone book.

Go to as many auditions as you can.

If you don't get a part in a play, then volunteer to help on the stage, costume, set design or lighting crews. Becoming involved in theatre productions, even behind the scenes, will give you important experience in how the performing business works and can be included on a theatrical CV as well.

Besides local plays, you should also market yourself directly. Watch TV commercials for local businesses. Listen to adverts on local radio. Call the various businesses and ask who do their adverts. Then call the advertising agencies and ask if they keep actor files (for those times when they cast direct) and/or who handles casting for their productions. Often times the production houses do their own casting instead of going through agencies. Contact your local production houses.

Contact big companies directly. Some really big companies do some of their own productions in-house and keep actor files. Also ask who they use for their outside production work and which agencies they use for casting. Contact your local film schools or universities with film making departments. Find out who is making student films and make sure each of those aspiring directors know you are an eager actor willing to work (expect to get NO pay. But you might get a copy of the films you are in - from which you can put together an audition showreel to send to agents).

Check your local papers, film commissions or trade publications for audition notices for independent films that might be filmed in your area. Call whatever contact number is given. Although you must be a member of the Actor's Union, EQUITY to perform in most professional shows, there are ways in. Check out our LINKS page for the EQUITY webpage address and have a look at their site for more information.

Remember, even the best actors started with behind the scenes work and small parts. Take whatever parts you can get. As you improve your skills and experience, you will get better and better roles. Don't be in such a rush to start at the top. Learn your craft slowly; improve your knowledge and skills step by step. You'll find building that CV a lot more fun and much less discouraging if you take a smart and methodical approach to your training.

Above all - don't forget -
Turn up to your audition ON TIME, RELAXED and PREPARED!
Compiled by Adam Fresco (2006)