Audition Tips
Focus.

That is the most important aspect to acting. I have to admit that sometimes I have it and sometimes I don't and when I don't-- that's bad. There are a lot of things that can easily throw off focus. And you can get it back mid-scene. That may recover the situation or it may not. And the problem is that often you only get one chance. I had an audition that I warmed into half way through. I wanted to do it again but they felt they "had enough." Nice. I hate the feeling that I could have done better.

Part of the reason for this lack of focus was the fact that we did it absolutely cold with no time to go over it. We read through it twice silently and then went for it. Directors-- insist that actors try it at least once out in the hall. When actors get in that room they are willing to do anything the director says. After all, the director is there to give direction.

My slate was even off. I forgot to give my phone number-- not a huge deal-- but I jumped out of frame to let the other actor slate. He had gone practically across the room to get out of the way. Then they made it seem natural that I should have done profiles. Profiles are not a given. In fact, 90% of the auditions I have been at did not need profiles. Usually a director will say "slate & profile." Then again, it was a high-energy day for me so I may have jumped away too quickly.

Another reason that I may have not had focus was because (and this is rare) I didn't warm up first! Usually in my car on the way to an audition I will say the alphabet clearly, annunciating clearly. I will chant to warm up my voice and I may try to say a couple lines in different accents.

They asked me about doing an accent but none of the ones I knew well were right for the part. Of course, I could have said more about the fact that I am very good with accents and it wouldn't take me long to learn one. But I didn't...again-- lack of focus. Bad.

There was also a scene in which I was supposed to beat up my counterpart. Beating up people or kissing scenes I think require first an ok from the other person and second a moment or two of connection between the actors. That is some serious interaction and just doing it cold is next to impossible if it is going to come off real.

If people are making out or beating each other up, it usually involves some sort of relationship. There is more than just personal intention going on. You need to sit for a moment and look into the other person's eyes and create relationship. Without that, it is going to look bad no matter what.

My choice in the moment was to totally ignore stage direction. After all, we didn't have the props needed anyway. Was that a good choice? Maybe not. My emotion came across but I felt like my acting partner and I were stepping on each other's lines rather than letting it flow naturally.

I jumped too soon into the scene and my energy was so high that I had a tendency to jump to the next line quicker. Meanwhile, he tended to over pause between his lines. The result-- no connection. And that makes for a bad scene.

Having said all that, I don't know if I got the part or not. It really comes down to if I have the look or not. That is something that is often more important than talent-- especially in a cold read situation. If they like your look, then they feel they can work with you.