With so many unknown variables that are completely out of your control in the audition process, here are three things you can control at every audition.
Your preparation.
You have complete control over what you do to prepare. Sure sometimes you may get the sides at the last minute, but even if they ask you to read for a different role on the spot, you can always ask, “May I step outside and take a look at this for a moment?”
Often actors get an audition a day or two in advance, but don’t wait until the evening before to look at the material. Guess what? While you’re scrolling through Facebook, your competition is taking opportunities to prepare.
Empower yourself by really taking the time to review the material. Understand the meaning behind each line. Get the text “in your bones” so it feels like second nature when you speak the words. Know the genre. Look up and watch the show (if it’s TV). And, if you want to dig even deeper into the story, but don’t have access to a full script, look up the other characters’ sides so you can piece some clues together.
You are a detective, and the more time you take doing this, the more confident you’ll be in the audition room. Commit to the work.
The time you sign in.
I’ve seen it happen so many times: An actor arrives, signs in, and before they can even find a seat, their name is called, they panic, fumble getting their sides, and leave blaming the casting director for their lame audition.
READ: “6 Ways to Impress a Casting Director”
Guess what? You have complete control over when you sign in. As long as you arrive 10–15 minutes before your appointment time, you can then decide whether to sign in, or go to the bathroom, or review your material. If you’re not ready for your name to be called, don’t sign in. Period.
This also goes for commercial auditions. If there’s wall-to-wall copy, grab the sides, walk away, and work on it—then sign in.
If you’re late to your appointment, this tactic can backfire, so be mindful of the time it takes to park, walk, and arrive in the waiting room.
And of course, if there are 30 people waiting and you know you’ll be there awhile, by all means, sign in.
Common sense will help dictate when it would be wise to sign in and when you might want to wait, but as long as you arrive early, the choice is always 100 percent in your control.
Just know that when you do sign in, they can call your name out of order at any moment. Be fully prepared and then sign in.
Your thoughts.
It’s easy to let your inner-critic or monkey-mind take over in the waiting room with thoughts like, “That guy books everything”; “I’m too _____(young, old, fat, thin, etc.) to book this”; “They’ll never cast me. That girl looks so perfect for the part.”
When you allow your mind to focus on the competition and how you don’t measure up, you bring the energy of “I’m not enough” into the audition room. And even though you may have been perfect for the role, the people in the room decide that there was just something about you that was “not quite a match.”
Learn to train your mind, focus your energy on the given circumstances of the scene, and even do a mental rehearsal, like Olympic athletes do.
READ: “How to Get Cast on ‘Empire’ ”
Visualizing a positive outcome will have way more impact on your audition than sizing up the competition and feeding yourself negative thoughts.
A great tool to help you have more “Success In The Audition Room,” is this free guided visualization for actors. This powerful audio will help you turn all those inner-critic thoughts into confidence in under five minutes. Download it for free here.
Remember, although auditioning has a lot of unknown variables that are completely out of your control, when you empower yourself from the moment you get the appointment, you’re setting yourself up for success. Now, go break a leg!
Ready to bring ultimate control to the audition room? Check out our ABC casting calls!
The views expressed in this article are solely that of the individual(s) providing them,
and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Backstage or its staff.
