Auditioning: An Actor-Friendly Guide

Chapter I

stop self-sabotage: change the odds!

Most people go to work in the same office, store, or factory every day; they can anticipate who will be there, what the workplace will look like, how it will feel, how their colleagues will relate to them, and how much they will be paid. With any luck, they know what is expected of them and feel confident they can fulfill their assigned tasks.

An actor's life is quite different. A large part of an actor's work is auditioning. Unlike a "regular job", there is no paycheck at the end of the week. (Wouldn't that be nice?) More important, each auditioning event is unpredictable. The script may or may not be available to you in advance. You may be given a scene to read "cold," with only a few minutes to prepare. You may have to wait five minutes or many hours. There may be hundreds of other actors waiting to audition or you may be the only one. You may be auditioning in a small office or on the stage of a large theater. You may encounter one auditor or twenty. The audition atmosphere may feel welcoming or hostile. You may read the scene with someone who is a trained actor, but more likely you will read the scene with someone who is not. You may never get any feedback or know why you didn't get the job.

In a worst-case scenario, what negative effect might these circumstances, and the pressure of getting a job, have on you, the actor?

You don't prepare in a serious way because you are convinced that, since you only have a few minutes with the director, the decision will rest only on how you look, or your personal quality. (If the director thinks you're well-suited for the role, she'll direct you at the first audition, and then you'll dig in and work hard to prepare for your callback.)

You become distracted or paralyzed when confronted with your competition, and persuade yourself that everyone else is better for the role than you are.

You feel as though the entire audition is controlled by others, upon whom you are totally dependent.

You suffer a loss of confidence. You feel isolated, anxious, insecure, and negative about your talent. You know you are a better actor than you appear to be at the audition.

You are convinced that the director has already cast the role and is obliged to see you or is doing you a favor.

If the atmosphere is not overly friendly, you assume that the director has taken an instant dislike to you.

You're certain the director knows what he wants and you don't have a clue. If you make the wrong choice, you won't get the job.