...that is, your success or failure in the audition typically isn’t supposed to be entertainment for other people. A good director is simply interested in finding the right person for the right part. It’s actually to the director’s ADVANTAGE to try to put auditioning actors at ease, because then they will be more likely to show their true talent.
Every director runs auditions a little differently, but here are some things that you may be asked to do:
1. Prepare a monologue. A monologue is nothing more than a short speech given by a single character from a play or musical. Typically, monologues are 1-3 minutes long, and most people do them from memory when they’re required in an audition. Check your local library or bookstore for books of monologues, and start with one for teens. Some books are way better than others, but looking for a monologue is kind of like clothes shopping—you’re trying on lots of different characters to find one that’s a good fit for you.
2. Do a “cold reading”. A cold reading is simply a portion of a script that you are given to perform in the audition with a short amount of preparation time. Sometimes a cold reading will be a monologue, other times it will be within the context of a scene with other characters. The purpose of a cold reading is to see how you do with creating characters on the spot—how are your acting instincts?
3. Theater games. Sometimes a director will have you play theater games in the audition to learn more about how you interact with fellow actors. If you’ve ever watched the television show “Who’s Line Is It Anyway” (which is now broadcast on the ABC Family Channel), you’ve seen some theater games. Many theater games rely on improvisation and spontaneity. Check out www.humanpingpongball.com and www.learnimprov.com to read about theater games. I use these all of the time in my high school theater class—in fact, we just finished a unit on improv!
4. If you audition for a musical, you will likely have to sing something. Sometimes you can select a song of your choice and bring in the sheet music, and other times you may have to sing a pre-selected excerpt. Either way, you want to put your best foot forward. If you choose your own song, make sure that it fits your voice type and range well, and that you can create an appropriate character through the way you sing the song. ACT YOUR WAY THROUGH THE SONG….this doesn’t necessarily mean acting out the words, but rather finding a way to express the thoughts and feelings that the character is having.
5. If you audition for a musical, you may also have to dance. For our high school auditions, I prefer to call it a movement exercise. While I can always use someone who can do a triple pirouette, I’m also interested in who can tell a story just by the way they move! I also look for people who may not have the footwork perfect, but really strive to perform!
Ask the director of your school production (or another student) what you need to do for auditions. Ask for some help getting started—you may be surprised to find that other people have the same questions that you do!
The best prep for any audition—always perform your material in front of people before the actual audition. It helps you to get rid of nerves.
I had one student who was SOOOO terrified of singing in public…but she desperately wanted to be a part of this year’s musical. I agreed to work with her after school. As it turned out, she has a lovely alto voice, but her fear was getting in the way of her vocal technique and her performance. I explained to her that her voice was in great shape, but we REALLY had to work on her fear. The solution: we always started by singing through her song together. Then we’d do it again, and I warned her that I would drop out every now and again and let her fly solo. Eventually, we moved to having her sing by herself with just one friend in the room, facing away from her. After she could do that without panic, we moved to having her turn and face her friend, but look to a spot over her head. Then we added additional people in the room, and so on. By breaking her fear down into little pieces and letting her conquer it a bit at a time, she felt safe and comfortable….
...and she made the chorus of the musical.
Stick with this. Each audition is practice for the next one. Your first one probably won’t go perfectly, but you can learn from it. If you don’t make it the first time, try again….and again…and again.
A professional actress’s life is one audition after another…and most of the time, the answer will be “No, you’re not right for the part.” However, with lots of persistence, hard work, and some luck, one day the answer will be, “We’d like to use you.”
If this is a career you REALLY want to pursue with all of your heart and soul, you will have to conquer your fear of auditioning. The good news is that you don’t have to settle on acting as a career right now. When I met John Lithgow & Joanna Gleason this summer, one of the most striking things they said was, “You don’t necessarily need to major in theater in order to become an actor. Become a student of life. Learn as much as you can about as many things as you can. Your learning never stops.”
Well, that’s all of my thoughts on the subject for today. Keep asking questions if you have them, Rochelle! I’m more than happy to help answer them.
