Audition Fundamentals
by Joy Mason
Auditioning is such a common term that there is no need to define it. Auditioning could easily be understood as a test or a trail that is conducted by a casting director,
casting associate, producer and/or director. Obviously, movie auditioning is conducted to gauge the potential and acting skill of wannabe actors and actresses.
It is therefore necessary for each and every aspiring actor to be well versed in the process of film and theater auditioning. As the saying goes, if you fail to prepare, you
are preparing to fail.
It's All About Attitude
The basic purpose of auditioning is to showcase your skills and prowess as an actor. It is therefore necessary that you prepare yourself as a professional who knows what he or
she is doing. When you appear at your casting audition you should have a standard and professional 8 x 10 inch headshot or a composite and your resume with you. Bringing your
appointment book with you is also a good idea. If you get a part, you would be able to tell whether you would be available at that time.
A professional is someone who knows the importance of time and who understand the necessity of being punctual. You would find that casting calls and auditions are also set by
appointment and that is why it is essential that you arrive at least fifteen or twenty minutes earlier. It is also advisable to cancel all other appointments for that day as
auditioning generally takes time. And you should be patient till your turn comes.
Another formality that needs to be fulfilled is the signing up process. At most major casting auditions, you would be asked to fill some kind of "sign up" sheet. This sign up
sheet would vary in content depending on the type of casting call. So, if the casting call is for union actors, the sheet will generally include social security information,
union information, information about your age and other similar information that the acting union needs to keep acting auditions fair for their members. Other such information
might be your time of call and the time you finished the audition.
If you belong to the non-union category, there won't be much information that needs to be furnished. You would simply be asked to sign you name on a piece of paper. That is
done to allow the organizers of the audition to arrange the participants in some order as per their arrivals.
What happens during auditions is a different thing all together. There might be times when you would be asked to prepare one or two monologues in advance. There would be
time limit for that, generally of two or three minutes. Now, this type of audition could be improvised as per the people conducting the audition. Some would want to see
contrasting monologues to gauge your versatility. You might be told to prepare one comedy monologue and one serious or dramatic monologue. Or, you might be told to prepare
a combination of a classical and a contemporary monologue.
How you should deliver your lines is something that comes at a later time. The very first thing that you should keep in mind is that you should in no case exceed your time limit.
If you have a spark in you, two minutes is more than enough for others to judge it. So, no need to tax the patience of people who matter.
This was just the beginning of what is called auditioning.
Copyright 2006 by Joy Mason. All rights reserved. Used with permission of the author. Not to be reproduced or distributed.
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