Auditions don’t have to be stressful. When you really think about it, casting directors WANT you to succeed; it makes their job easier! Directors and actors are on the same team, so there’s absolutely no need to feel intimidated. On the contrary, the best piece of advice I’ve ever received on auditioning is the following: enter the room as if you are presenting a gift.
Upon walking into your audition, give directors the gift that they are looking for: yourself. When you possess that secret – that gift – you will enter the room with confidence and ease, knowing that you are satisfying their every need. This graceful presence will calm the room, creating a comfortable atmosphere in which everyone feels safe. If you’re acting professionally, you already know that you’ve got talent, so remain honest and relaxed. Your gift to the room is yourself. Enjoy giving it. Stay positive, Andrew
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Early in my theatrical career, I often relied upon exaggeration to tell a story. This overcompensation certainly stemmed from my improvisational and children’s theatre background, and it was over the top and exhausting. I quickly learned that an actor simply doesn’t need to overwork during a performance. Instead, one should utilize two words to shape and define their technique: economy and ease.
By employing economy, actor can focus on succinct, specific choices to define their character. The goal is simplicity. One need not be boisterous in order to sell a performance. Working from the core, an actor can truthfully play their character’s objective, wearing the character as a thin veil. The actor should make specific choices and maintain a razor-sharp focus on them. In working with ease, the goal is to achieve an essence of grace. An effective, constructive kinesthetic awareness grants a relaxed and graceful state of being. Thus, the actor is free to create a truthful character and honestly react to their acting partner in moment-to-moment responses. Economy and ease will free the actor, granting them the ability to effectively communicate a play’s message without getting in the way of it. An actor will simply declare their objective within a scene and speak their lines with pure intention, relaxing and allowing the play do all of the work. Remember, keep it simple and easy. Stay positive, Andrew |
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April 2017
FootnotesSome thoughts on art, life, and theatre. Stay positive. Categories |