Complete Guide to Acting Auditions - Part 5
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The Four "I"s
The Practice: The four I's. Imagination, Intelligence, Industry, and
the Internet. Research the play, the theatre, the director, the reviews,
the casting office, the playwright, his/her other works, arcane subjects
related to the play (like the costumes, society, history of the period).
The Internet is a great friend--from the site "The Social Significance
of Modern Drama" to another site on Shakespeare. Moral:
PREPARE.
The Self: I have had the opportunity to be a fly on the wall
at a few auditions. And I swear you can tell if someone can act, if
someone has presence, if someone can take over the room from the second
they walk in the door. There is just "something" -- no it is NOT smart
ass, wise guy. No is it not cool. It is PRESENCE. You just gotta get
it if you weren't born with it. Go to the theatre, watch films. Define
what makes someone so immensely good and successful while someone else
equally as good is not successful. Of course luck is a factor, but presence
plays a bigger role!
Presence really has little to do with talent. You can be enormously
talented and not have a whit of presence. And vice versa: Lots of presence
and little talent is infinitely more desirable than lots of talent and
little presence. (Of course, both are ever more preferable!) Have all
antennae working so you can read the committee instantly to know whether
they want you to joke, chat, get down to business. Presence is an inner
quality. Define it and then acquire it. Of course you need talent but
with marvelous presence you don't have to be great. You do have to be
good, but good + presence is a winning combo. Great + presence = star.
Interview: Be prepared for anything. If the director (or whoever)
doesn't take the lead, you must. But be careful. Tell the truth but
be diplomatic. Watch out about commenting on something in the office/room.
It may not be their office. Chat is often well covered in the audition
books I mentioned above. But again be prepared for anything. At a recent
interview for a film, after stating her name, the casting director instantly
said, "Well, Janus, what was it like to work with X?" (X was a well-known
director / actor.) Oy! Deep breath. An easy answer would have been,
"Oh he was wonderful, great." Dead end. BOOORING. Instead I chose to
say truthfully, "It was a perfect experience." Then snippets of examples
why it was perfect. Stories, but truthful. The casting person spent
the entire 12 minute interview asking about person X. Thank goodness
I really liked director X, thank goodness he treated me beautifully,
thank goodness I knew his history (Internet info, again). Moral: Be
prepared for anything. Spontaneity is good as long as it is controlled.
(That only seems to be an oxymoron. Think about it.) Be interesting.
The expected, store-bought, easy, clichˇd phrases make for a boring
interview. Keep enthusiasm there, but well under control.
Dress: Nice casual is the best choice. If you are up for a bag
lady/man, don't wear tight mini skirt or tux. Also do not go in tatters
and ratty hair. Nice casual. Remember your headshot didn't look like
a street person. If you are up for The Sound of Music, common sense
says no Debbie Does Dallas cleavage. Use your common sense.
Misc. list: When you are finished with the sides/monologue, take
a beat, bow your head and say thank you. Give them a couple of seconds.
They take the lead here. Either they will thank you or they may ask
you to do it again and give you directions. TAKE THEIR DIRECTIONS although
they may seem absurd. They may be testing your attitude. Exit with pride,
even though you may not feel it. Fall apart later, if you insist.
Rarely, extremely rarely, you may ask if you can repeat something. Someone
told a regional open call committee she didn't think she had sung her
best and asked if she could do it again. They told her to come back
at the end of the day. She did. Sang better. Landed the role. But please
do not abuse this. Remember they may think you did a fine job.
[Back to Part 4] [Continue to Part 6]
Article re-published with the permission of Inverse Theater Company
Inverse Theater, a New York Company dedicated to producing new American verse plays, was voted Best Downtown Theater by the New York Press.
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