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Anatomy of an Audition

Walking into an audition can be a nerve-racking thing. To prevent yourself from destroying your chances of landing a role, we need to go over a few things first.

As you enter the audition room, you'll see the casting director and maybe a camera operator and producer. If you're doing a commercial, you might also see a rep from the advertiser or if you're doing a musical, you might find the choreographer in the room too.

No matter who you encounter, be respectful and courteous. You never know who knows who. For all you know, the guy sitting in the back who looks like an intern could be the producer's nephew.

When it comes time for you to go up, you're meeting these people who have probably seen 50-100 people before you and are now tired and ready to go home. Because they're so bored and irritable at this point, make their job easy and give them a good feeling about you when you leave.

You do this by giving them a brief introduction about yourself and waiting for them to ask for your headshots and resume. After that, they might want to take a picture of you so they can review everyone they've seen that day. Smile like you mean it so it matches up with your headshot.

At this point, they'll tell you where to stand so they can view you clearly. Then the casting director will yell "slate", which just means to give your full name and the agency who reps you.

Now you're ready to audition.You're in the room. They've taken a picture of you, asked for your headshots and resume, and the director yells slate so you can state your name. What now?

After you give your name and the agency you're with, the next words out of the director's mouth will be "start" or "go" or whatever other quick direction they want to give you to begin. Since these people are tired (remember?), one word is usually all that comes out. They want you out of there just as much as you want the whole thing to be over with.

If you're auditioning for a TV commercial, there will be someone standing there by the camera holding cue cards for you to read.just in case. Obviously you don't want to rely on these but if you need them, you can subtly look over to get you back on track.

Auditioning for a TV show, movie, or play is different as you'll be reading from a script. If they hand you a copy of the script when you walk in, tell them you need a few moments to study it before you audition. A cold read is expected but you don't want to go up there that cold.

If you don't have time to memorize your part, you can always keep the script in hand. The CD is more interested in seeing what you do with the part, not if you've managed to memorize your lines in the little time you're given.

Also, if you mess up your lines, you can ask to start over again. Usually, they won't hold it against you. After all, you're human.

The person you read with probably won't be a professional and won't even attempt to "perform." Having to do this umpteen times each day, usually they just read off the lines to you, which doesn't give you a lot to go off of. If you're given a "call back" for another day, you might be asked to read with another actor who's already been cast for another part. They do this to see the chemistry between you two; how you look and sound together and see if maybe you're right for the part.

When you're done with your audition, thank everyone, hand back the script they gave you to read, and leave. Be sure and sign out with the assistant in the other room so they know when you checked in and checked out.

Hopefully this article has given you a good idea of what to expect during your first audition. It won't be easy, but at least now you'll know what's coming to give yourself the best possible chance at winning that role.

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