Preparing for a Great Audition - by John Essay

Auditioning is unavoidable for all actors. Some are great at it, others are mystified, and others are just plain awful at it. Here are some helpful tools and insight so that you can have a great audition.

I recommend that you create an “Audition Diary,” listing as much information as is available, such as:

• The time, date and place of your audition. 
• The show you are auditioning for. 
• The role you are auditioning for. 
• What you prepared. 
• Who was present at the audition. 
• Who are the creatives: producers, director, etc. 
• What you wore. 
• What headshot you used.
• Notes on how you felt the audition went.

Saving this info in a searchable format will be most helpful. Eventually you will be meeting some of the same casting directors and creatives, and if you save this information in a searchable format then it will be much easier to see when you last met these people and for what.

Do research before each audition. Who is the director? Maybe you saw some of their work. Maybe you've met the casting director—when, where and for what reason? What else do they cast? You should be aware of the producer, and the playwright or screenwriter of the project. The more you know the better. Look at the internet: IMDb has a wealth of information on actors, directors, casting directors, and movies; the IBDB has Broadway information for actors, directors, stage managers, casting directors, etc.; the Lortel Archives have Off-Broadway Play information; Doollee has playwright information. Make sure to write important information down in your audition diary.

Now prepare for the audition. 

Generally when auditioning, you want to do your third audition first. We all know that if we could audition three times in a row, the third audition would be the best. You need to find a way to achieve that third audition the first time you do it. Rehearse your material with two different character choices. Choose the best one to use at the audition while keeping the other in your back pocket. If doing a monologue, it should be memorized and you should not be holding the text. If doing a scene, practice using your sides, turning pages quietly (important if you are going to be on tape), and making sure you don’t cover your face. When possible, perform your monologue or scene in front of a friend or coach before you enter the audition room; it is always good to try your material out in front of a live person to simulate an audition setting. Hiring a private coach is worth the extra bucks for those big auditions that might move your career forward. A coach may offer some insight or confirmation to your piece. Make sure to write down any notes for your audition in your audition diary. Remember most everyone auditioning for your role will most likely be a good actor with a good audition, so you need to be exceptional – cream rises to the top and that is what we are looking for. Make bold concrete choices.

The day of your audition, do some vocal warm-ups before you arrive. It is important that your voice is strong and clear. This is especially important if you are just recovering from a cold or the flu. You don’t want any surprises when you begin your audition.

Always arrive a few minutes early for an audition. As you sit in the waiting room for your name to be called, it may be helpful to carry an index card with some key phrases to remind you of your preparation and to keep you focused, i.e. “Stay focused,” “Keep energy up,” “Do my third audition first,” “Make a strong beginning,” “No one is better than me” – write whatever sayings that inspire you to do your best. Take another look at your notes in your audition diary and get ready for when your name is called, then it’s your time to make that preparation pay off!

Stay tuned for my next article, which will explore what happens during and after the audition!

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4 Steps to Taking Criticism as an Actor - by John Essay

As a manager, I advise clients on career choices, groom them for the industry with guidance on new headshots, resumes, classes, and type choices. I also make professional introductions, and personally advise them on every step of their business, which includes some aspects of life coaching. 

Presumably, actors know this—and want this—when they are seeking a personal manager, or other forms of representation. Yet some actors come into my office thinking I am going to be amazed at how talented, professional, and on top of things they are, and they seem to think I will simply agree to represent them with no advice to offer. When they hear my suggestions, they look stunned and uncomfortable. I can't tell you how many times I have met with an actor for the first time—for our "interview"—and started to tell them something they didn't want to hear—that I was unable to represent them, or that they needed to get new pictures—and watched them "tune out." I can watch it happen before my eyes. Their eyes glaze over. They nod like they are listening, but I can tell they just want to get out of my office as soon as they can.

I wonder how well these actors take direction on stage or on screen. I wonder what is going to happen if we decide to work together and we encounter a crisis. How can I help someone who can't listen to my advice, or accept anything they feel is critical of them?

A happy life and a fulfilling career require personal growth, and understanding criticism is essential to personal growth. Criticism is everywhere so try to use it to your advantage.

Here are some simple steps to constructively deal with criticism: Hear it, evaluate it, learn from it, and take action.

1. Hear the criticism. Just listen. Resist the urge to justify, excuse, or defend yourself. If you're not ready to analyze the critique, analyze it later.

2. Evaluate the criticism. Does this criticism apply to you? Is the critic speaking truth or are they off the mark? If you are unsure if the critique is true, ask someone close to you that you trust.

3. Learn from it. If the criticism is justified, you have been made aware of something you need to adjust, change, or do. Accept this knowledge.

4. Take action. Once you have figured out what action you should take, do it. This is a typical time for procrastination, but I urge you to make the changes instead.

This process of handling with criticism will be a tremendous advantage to you as an actor. I wish you much success!
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What Do You Do When You Have a Bad Reader at an Audition?

Well, here you are, you've just arrived at your audition – and early, to boot! Now you have time to relax, go over your lines again, and freshen up! You look great, you feel great…bring it on!

The monitor calls your name, and you confidently enter the audition room. You exchange pleasantries as well as brief introductions. You notice there are two chairs facing the "casting table," and a reader is already seated. You are asked to begin your scene.

You begin your scene with your reader, and as you progress into the scene you realize, this reader is awful! You can barely hear him/her, you get no eye contact, and worse of all, there is no emotional connection between the two of you.

Stay calm! You have worked on this scene, and you know where the emotional connections are.

Whatever you do, don’t shrink to the level of this bad reader. If you try too hard to connect to this reader, you risk being sucked into his/her low-energy, lack-of-connection vortex, and then you would be doing yourself a great disservice. The "casting people" will see your acting with those limitations, and they will assume that that is the best you can do.

You must trudge on – imagining that you are getting everything you need from this reader. In fact, you can use his/her lack of engagement to increase your determination to convince/connect with him/her.

Remember, this kind of communication happens all the time in real life. You are upset about something your significant other did, and when you passionately try to explain it to him/her, he/she shuts down. But you still go on, trying to make them understand!

It is the same in an audition with a bad reader. You just have to go on and be passionately engaged in what you are doing – becoming even more determined to get them to hear you, react to you, while still being authentic and "in the moment."

You should prepare in advance for the possibility of an inadequate reader. Rehearse your material as if your partner is awful, or if you are rehearsing with a partner, ask him/her to read a few times with little or no emotion so you are able to “adjust” your performance accordingly. Use it as an opportunity to exercise your acting skills!

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Like What You Do - by Robert Curtiss

"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."

Someone sent me that saying in an email; I liked it so much I put it up on the bulletin board by my desk. People who find ways to view their circumstances positively tend to be happier than those who complain about the way things are. We are human, of course, and it is natural to dislike when we have to do things that are unpleasant. We all must work to earn an income, however, and we all have the power to choose how we view whatever we have to do in our lives.

How you live your life is a choice. When you look for a job, make sure the work is something you enjoy. You don't have to love every aspect of a job, but certainly you can find some things to like about practically anything. After all, this is your life, and if you are totally miserable, well, what is the point of that?

Let's look at the job of a waiter as an example. Some of the obvious drawbacks of this kind of job are that you get covered with food, customers can sometimes be rude or otherwise unpleasant, and sometimes those rude customers don't leave a tip. All those things may be true, but there are also things to enjoy from this same job: the flexibility of a waiter's job means you are free to pursue your acting, you can make good money in tips if you are good at the job, and you can meet so many people, which may appeal to those of you who excel at hospitality skills. Waiters who like what they do end up making more tips than those who whine and complain and just do the bare minimum.

Beware of the "I don't care about this job because I'm really an actor" syndrome. I was guilty of this when I was just starting out. I thought my waiter job was so unimportant, and I barely could contain my contempt for it. As I continued to complain about every little thing I had to do, I started to notice that the waiters who came to work smiling at everyone and enthusiastically going about their duties were the people whom everyone - fellow workers and customers alike - enjoyed being around, and they seemed happier in general, and made better tips than I was making while I was waiting for my "real life" to begin. I figured out quickly that this WAS my real life, and I made a point to become one of those happier people I admired.

As Stephen Sondheim so aptly wrote in a lyric from "Sunday in the Park with George", "It's not 'Do as You Like' as it is that you ‘Like What You Do’". Try to like what you do. It really is your choice!

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How Acting Affects Self Esteem - by Robert Curtiss

The theater teaches us to collaborate, to feel comfortable speaking in front of others, and to be able to take direction. It gives us a forum in which to express ourselves, and it makes us think and feel, as performers and as an audience.

We tend to be drawn to it at an early age. Many remember their first introduction to the theater, whether it be a play seen or performed in elementary school or watching a parent or older sibling perform. It is a socially accepted way to fulfill the need for attention and approval, and I think most would agree that the sound of applause is thrilling, empowering, and sometimes addicting.

That said, the theater also tends to attract people with great needs, who try to use it to validate themselves, and are tremendously insecure as a result. They audition and take every job they don't get as a personal rejection and a comment on who they are. They sabotage themselves in their search for a career and find excuses not to attend another audition because they cannot face another rejection. Needy people frequently do not get cast because their "need" for the job is so obvious, and no one wants to have someone that needy to worry about. After all, needy people aren't truly behaving like professionals, because they have an ulterior motive. They need to hear approval constantly and crave attention. Hiring a needy person is akin to getting a job as a babysitter for a demanding child.

Acting, or any performing, also can confuse those with a fragile self-esteem. All too often performers confuse their performances and talent with their identity. They are what they do. They hear that they are talented, and when they are performing they are told they are wonderful. It is understandable that they are confused!

When people who need validation and attention pursue this career in show business, frequently become bitter and resentful that they have to convince people to like them, to hire them, etc. Thus, they sabotage themselves precisely for the same reason they chose this career in the first place!

If I seem a bit harsh, it is only to paint a stark picture of the psychological makeup of many performers. Most performers have some feelings of insecurity about their place in the business. It is a business without much security.

It may be useful to ask yourself how this might apply to your life. Why are you in this business, and are you "too needy"? If the answer is yes, don't be discouraged. This is where some good psychotherapy can help, to build your self-esteem, to learn skills to turn down that needy "voice" in your mind that constantly craves attention, and to help you differentiate between your own identity and your "performing self."

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What should you do if you have a bad reader at an audition?

Well, here you are: you've just arrived at your audition - and early, to boot! Now you have time to relax, to go over your lines again, and to freshen up in the potty room. You have read all the juicy tidbits of information on on our website and now you are implementing some of those new tools today. You look great, you feel great ... bring it on!

The monitor calls your name and you confidently enter the audition room. You exchange pleasantries as well as brief introductions. You notice there are two chairs facing the "casting table" and a reader is already seated. You are asked to begin your scene.

You begin your scene with your reader, and as you progress into the scene you realize ... THIS READER IS AWFUL! You can barely hear him/her, there is no eye contact, and worse of all, there is no emotional connection between the two of you.

DON'T PANIC! You have worked on this scene, and you know where the emotional connections are.

DON'T shrink to the level of this bad reader! You must trudge on, imagining that you are getting everything you need from this reader.

DON'T waiver. If you try too hard to connect to this reader, you risk being sucked into his/her low-energy-lack-of-connection vortex, and then you would be doing yourself a great disservice. The "casting people" will see your acting with thoselimitations, and they will assume that THAT is the BEST you can do.

Be prepared in advance for the possibility of an inadequate reader by always rehearsing your material as if your partner is awful. Besides, this kind of communication happens all the time in real life. You are upset about something your significant other did, and when you passionately try to explain it to him/her, he/she SHUTS DOWN. NO NOTHING. But you still go on trying to make them understand ... ! It is the same in an audition with a bad reader. You just have to go on and be passionately engaged in what you are doing, indeed become even more determined to get them to HEAR you, REACT to you, while still being authentic and "in the moment".