Acting Audition

So you’ve chosen the perfect monologue, and now you just have to prepare it for your big audition. Wondering where to start? Use the five rules below as your guide to the rehearsal and presentation process – techniques to embrace and pitfalls to avoid. If you can relieve even a little bit of the stress of that nerve-racking audition atmosphere, you’re on the right track!

1) Know your lines cold.
Before you even start working on acting your monologue, you need to be sure you know the lines backwards and forwards. Record your monologue and play it back for yourself until you know it cold – recite it over and over at top speed without stopping to think about things like pacing and intonation. The lines need to be second nature – they need to come to you effortlessly. They need to be embedded in your bones so that you can focus on finding your motivation within yourself, without also having to worry about what you’re supposed to say next. If possible, choose a piece from a role you have played in the past – having already worked through the nuances of your monologue, lived the part in full, and played it in front of an audience will make it that much easier for you when it’s time for your big moment. If you can’t find appropriate material among your past roles, then try to get some direction or coaching before your audition. Never underestimate the value of an outside opinion – using someone else’s eyes and ears to get a fresh point of view can often make the crucial difference.

2) Never use accents in an audition.
One of the worst mistakes an actor can make is using an accent other than his own in an audition. An accent will take your focus – and that of your audience – away from the emotional resonance of your piece, redirecting everyone’s attention towards something that is merely mechanical. The rational, systematic part of your brain that you use to put on a phony accent is exactly the part that you want to keep out of your acting – you want to find a deeply-felt, uninhibited connection with your character, and that is very hard to pull off while also maintaining a foreign accent. You may say, “well, if Gwyneth Paltrow can do it…” but the truth is that actors like Gwyneth have professional dialect coaches helping them to alter their speech patterns. If your accent is less than perfect, it will hurt your performance more than a convincing accent could ever help it. Your audience will be looking for emotional truth – not fancy gymnastics. Stick to the meat of your monologue, and try not to worry about the dressing.

3) Dress in plain, comfortable clothes.
An audition is one situation where you don’t need to dress to impress – it is a situation where less is definitely more. Go for plainly-colored, loose-fitting clothes. You want the focus to be on your acting, and not on your appearance. Avoid bright colors and clothing that accentuates any one part of your body unnecessarily. Choose something neutral – something that won’t distract your audience: this is an audition, not a fashion show. It’s also not a costume parade – remember that you’ll be doing contrasting monologues, so your best bet is to choose clothing that doesn’t overtly suggest any one particular place and time. Above all, choose something that you’re comfortable in: if you feel constricted physically or emotionally by your clothing, your acting will suffer.

4) Greet your audience with a smile.
The focus of the audition will be on your acting, but that doesn’t excuse you from the rules of common courtesy. When you’re not actually in character, treat this like a job interview. Smile when you meet your audience, shake their hands and greet them politely. Remember, these aren’t judges or policemen; they’re just people. And while it may be part of their job to remain stony and impartial, a cordial introduction will help put both you and them at ease before launching into the audition itself. Even if they don’t respond warmly – they probably won’t give you anything to work with; they want to see how well you can maintain your focus under pressure – try to keep your cool. When the audition is over, thank them warmly and shake their hands again. Let your smile be the first and last impression you leave on them – there’s a lot to be said for a positive attitude.

5) Keep your introductions brief and to-the-point.
Once you’ve greeted your audience and taken your place on the stage / audition floor, you need to introduce your monologues. As simple a task as this may seem, it is actually a critical point in your audition. In the time it takes to get a few words of introduction out, it is all too easy to lose your focus, opening the floodgates for a whole host of second-guesses and insecurities. It’s also easy to say too much, letting your natural nervousness out in an overflow of empty words – you don’t want to lose your audience’s attention before even beginning your monologue! Try writing out a few opening words and rehearsing tem with your monologues themselves – although you want to sound natural while making your introduction, having at least some idea of what you’re going to say will help you keep your focus. If you’re doing two or more monologues, it’s best to introduce them all at once, at the beginning of the audition – losing your focus between pieces is just as dangerous as losing your focus at the outset. Cover your bases, leave yourself no space to slip out of the zone, and you’ll be fine.