What not to do in an Audition
I have been to a few auditions, and I have held quite a few auditions. One thing that I know is what not to do.
When I was eighteen, I saw an ad in the paper (yes, the paper, that’s all we had and stop judging) soliciting for actors to be in a film. It was in the basement of a church in Fayetteville. I was suspicious about it and unsure about what I was walking into. I thought about all the news stories I had heard over my youth about abductions and the like. It made sense to me to feel that way; after all, it was Arkansas in the ’90s. No one around here made movies, at least not ones you could show to the public. But, I am pretty much not afraid of anything, so I went anyway.
I have been to a few auditions, and I have held quite a few auditions. One thing that I know is what not to do.
When I was eighteen, I saw an ad in the paper (yes, the paper, that’s all we had and stop judging) soliciting for actors to be in a film. It was in the basement of a church in Fayetteville. I was suspicious about it and unsure about what I was walking into. I thought about all the news stories I had heard over my youth about abductions and the like. It made sense to me to feel that way; after all, it was Arkansas in the ’90s. No one around here made movies, at least not ones you could show to the public. But, I am pretty much not afraid of anything, so I went anyway.
They gave me the sides (script), and I looked through them, tried to memorize them, failing as usual. I can’t remember anything verbatim, an affliction that has haunted me all my life and cost me a passing grade in high school chemistry. I was nervous, and since I had never done anything like that before, I was absolutely out of my element.
I don’t know which one was the overriding reason for being an idiot, either the adrenaline or the absence of a healthy ego. After I delivered my lines, they asked me to do it again, and what came out of my mouth was absolute insanity. Definitely a learning experience, too bad it took a few years to figure that part out. I looked the guys straight in the eye and said, this is embarrassing, “If I can’t get it right the first time, I can’t ever get it right”!
Wow…. What an idiot!
Most of you don’t know this about me, but I can remember everything important that happened to me over my life. I can put myself right back in the situation, smell the air, feel the temperature, and hear the trees. I can’t memorize anything, but I can do that.
Because of this “gift,” I remember the expression on the man’s face when he asked me to “do it again.” It wasn’t what I thought it was at the time. I thought he was looking at me like I was nuts (this was right before I proved I was nuts), but he wasn’t. In actuality, he was impressed with my performance. He was trying to figure out how to get this young kid in his movie. I am even more sure of it now because I have had the same thoughts when auditioning someone that doesn’t quite fit the part but is pretty damned good. If I had stayed, repeated the performance, I might have started a movie career in 1993 instead of beguiling myself as an insurance agent for twenty-five years.
Since then, I have held many auditions and been in many more. I rarely get a part, but that is to be expected. I am a pretty unique looking individual, and my personality takes over any room. Not always a good fit for a gentle father. If there is ever was a call out for an old Orson Welles look-alike, but I might not be a shoo-in for the buff father figure. I probably won’t get the call, just sayin.
After all these years, I have figured out how to survive the auditioning process, just be me. You never know exactly what the person is thinking and whatever thoughts you believe they have in their heads, well… You are wrong.
The best advice I can give any actor that isn’t classically trained or has thousands of parts under their belt is do the best you can. Be kind, listen to directions and keep putting your name in the hat.
Making short films always seems to turn into something bigger.
I love making films. If you didn’t know that already, well, now you do. Sometimes we have a fleshed-out script, and sometimes we don’t. The real fun of making films sometimes comes from not knowing what I am going to film and figuring it out as we go. I know that sounds dumb, but it always seems to work out.
This last weekend, we did exactly that. We had outlined a few scenes and practiced some stunts with the actors. It worked out alright; it was one of those times when working on a wing and a prayer just felt right.
I love making films. If you didn’t know that already, well, now you do. Sometimes we have a fleshed-out script, and sometimes we don’t. The real fun of making films sometimes comes from not knowing what I am going to film and figuring it out as we go. I know that sounds dumb, but it always seems to work out.
This last weekend, we did exactly that. We had outlined a few scenes and practiced some stunts with the actors. It worked out alright; it was one of those times when working on a wing and a prayer just felt right.
What did she do?!
I made a few mistakes along the way, though. I accidentally recorded in SLog3 instead of 2 and damned near lost all of the takes. But I am a guru with Premier Pro and got most of it back. It took a little doing and a lot of noise reduction, but I think the footage is salvageable.
We did lose an actor along the way (a common occurrence), so I got to kill my screenwriter. Ok, no he’s not dead but its the only part that he can really nail. Yes, that’s a joke but not far from the truth. I am sure he will be complaining about me bashing him tomorrow. Screenwriters have thin skin sometimes.
Is he really Dead?
He’s just acting.
The short film I am working on is supposed to be a scary, art/horror piece that is meant to drive tension in the viewer. Through the use of heavy sound effects and long, arduous takes, the stillness of the film is intended to bring dread and dark suspense to the viewer. Maybe I am accomplishing that, and perhaps I am not. Only the final product will tell.
I’m trying to schedule a re-shoot for a couple of shots. All I can do is hope the weather holds out and they show back up. No one is getting paid for this and, if anything, it just costs me money. So I understand why people would not want to spend bucks to work for free. The thing is; to be a working actor, you must work for free and build that reel. Because, if you don’t have a reel, you aren’t getting any work.
And Honestly, that’s part of the reason I am shooting this on my own dime. That and I really love making films.
My Audition and the real threat from the River Valley flooding.
So, I just spent almost four hours and fifty bucks in a car to attend a meeting that made me want to give up acting forever, and now I have to drive back home.
Now, we have had a lot of rain recently, as we all know. The River Valley (Fort Smith Arkansas) has flooded, levees have broken, and roads are closed. The water from the Arkansas River hit record levels, and here I was driving through it. Another reason for a rental car.
I love making movies, films, television, and anything else that is in the genre. I work tirelessly to know what I am doing at all times and how to execute them beautifully and, my specialty, affordability. I examine tons of footage and writing to soak in all that I can only to come back and learn some more. It is genuinely in my whole being and precisely what I was made for. Not too many folks can say that they know what their true calling is. I am one of the lucky few.
This also means that I am not only a Photographer, Videographer, Motion Graphics Artists, and Editor; I am an Actor too. Sure I can direct actors, but what good would I be if I couldn’t practice what I preach?
Because of my inner “actor,” sometimes I get called in to audition for roles. Sometimes they are for movies, but mostly it’s commercials and PSA type things. And just like most other working actors, I get called back or land the role rarely. Not too infrequently, but enough to call it rare, I suppose. As an actor, this is just how the business works, good or bad.
Most roles that an actor can audition for in Northwest Arkansas and be reasonably assured they have a chance to land, pay either one hundred or three hundred per day or you have to drive to Oklahoma City just to audition, if not both. I am with you on this part, There is no way I am going to drive three and a half hours for a role that pays a hundred bucks a day, no matter what kind of exposure I “might” get. It just doesn’t make economic sense. But this time, the pay for this part was above scale. Scale is the minimum amount of money an actor gets paid if they belong to the union. When I saw that, I submitted. Much to my surprise, I was selected to audition. But it in Oklahoma City, figures. But that pay... Yeah, it suckered me in.
I rented a car and drove to OKC. I figured my 2006 Mustang could handle the drive, but I wanted to go as economically as possible. My Mustang gets 13 mpg in town and 27mpg on the highway, but this little KIA gets almost twice the city gas mileage and a solid 37mpg on the hwy. In real terms, I would have needed to fill the tank on my Mustang four times while I didn’t even have to fill that KIA up twice. That alone saved me the money I spent on the rental; not to mention the wear and tear on my Mustang.
I would say the audition went well, not really great, but that’s how these things always feel. For my actor friends out there, high-end auditions are really the pits. They are impersonal and cold events that make you feel like you have just stepped into a world where everyone hates their job and anyone they come into contact with. No one leaves an audition feeling like they “got the part.” Everyone leaves thinking that they must have done something wrong. And I mean everyone. For those that have never had the pleasure of experiencing the pain and torture of a Hollywood audition; if you had a job interview that went like these always go, you would second guess your career path and leave whimpering. They are worse than brutal, they are soul-crushing events. They also take about five minutes at most.
So, I just spent almost four hours and fifty bucks in a car to attend a meeting that made me want to give up acting forever, and now I have to drive back home.
Now, we have had a lot of rain recently, as we all know. The River Valley (Fort Smith Arkansas) has flooded, levees have broken, and roads are closed. The water from the Arkansas River hit record levels, and here I was driving through it. Another reason for a rental car.
Before I left for OKC I called the Arkansas State Transportation office to make sure I40 was open, and they told me everything was just fabulous with the interstate, but I don’t know if that was entirely true. It seemed to me that the water was only a few feet away from covering the highway, wow.
While I didn’t stop to take photos with my pro camera, these shots show just how close the water came. Good thing my trip was ruled by the sun.
Three things a new actor can do to win the audition.
We have all heard it and just shrugged it off at least once in our lives. When we went for our first job interview or trying to get up the nerve to ask someone out on a first date, that was probably the advice. It’s no different in an audition.
As a director, filmmaker, and screenwriter I get to see a lot of raw and very new talent. Every now and again I hold a mass audition that lets me preview some of the local actors that are relatively new. Sometimes there are some that make me want to go make a film immediately and then there are those that make me just want to quit and go back to selling insurance. Most, however, are only in need of practice and some excellent instruction. I would venture to say that just about everyone can be an adequate actor with time and patients.
Get out of your head.
We have all heard it and just shrugged it off at least once in our lives. When we went for our first job interview or trying to get up the nerve to ask someone out on a first date, that was probably the advice. It’s no different in an audition.
When you get to the venue (usually an office or hallway) you always have to wait with the other actors. You think to yourself, “she’s so pretty” or “he’s got to be the manliest man I have ever seen.” Leaving you standing there in self-doubt, wondering why you are even there. I want you to let you in on a little secret, they are thinking the same thing you are. One of the traits of being an actor is self-doubt. Now, it’s not because we secretly loathe ourselves and believe we aren’t worth anything more than the crappy server job. It’s because we put ourselves in a position to be judged every time we walk into the small room with three or four people that do nothing but stare at us and usually say nothing other than “next.” I mean, come on, what person on this planet wouldn’t think poorly of themselves after that clumsy cattle call?
What you really need to get into your subconscious is the fact that you could be the best actor in the world and get beat out by the worst if the part called for it. It has no reflection on you. It isn't a reflection on your acting ability, and it has no reflection on how you look. Take it from me, a director, not everyone can pull off every part. Directors and casting agents really are looking to fill the role with the person they believe will make that role shine. It isn't anything personal and it sure as hell has more to do with their perception of the character than the clothes you are wearing.
Think of it this way. A director is filming a movie that is based around the worlds best physical fitness trainer. This trainer is also the worlds leading expert on Krav Maga and has written best selling motivational books read by millions. Do you really think that a four hundred pound person would be the best choice for that role? Of course not. If it were a comedy, maybe, an action flick, no.
Be your best and do your best. Show confidence and professionalism. Get out of your head and do it.
Pay attention to stage direction and parentheticals.
I have a little scene that I like to have the actors read when doing general auditions. It is a piece I wrote intending to contrast two characters. It allows me to see the way an actor would interpret the characters, how they choose the voice of the character and tone of the scene itself. It is a little two-pager that has a King and the peasant leader contrasting each other. I wrote it with some stage direction using parentheticals or inside the parenthesis.
KING
You have quite a constitution about you Leo, It's refreshing to see someone who does not cower and run when faced with death. (he leans in to get closer to his ear so not to be overheard) I wish I had an army of you. (he stands back up and begins to circle Leonidas)
I have had this passage acted out by men, women, children, and adults and only one time were the parentheticals read and acted upon. That actor was a trained Shakespearean actor who actually makes his entire living performing. Everyone else has skipped right over them. They read the lines and the direction but either it did not connect, or a decision was made just to ignore it. I suppose it’s okay for you to ignore the action in the script, but it isn’t going to get you the part.
On one occasion I was asked to act out the part. I can do the King with ease (mostly because I watched it done right once) and everyone in the room was floored. Not because I am some great actor but because I followed the script and made sense of the actions of the King and rolled them into the character I chose to portray.
I can also say this definitively, from the view of a director, and an actor who might be tasked from working opposite you one day, if you can’t follow directions on the page, how are you going to follow instructions from anyone else.
Read those pages and work them out in your mind before it is your turn. You may be the only one who actually tried and get the part just because of that.
Hold Your Mark
When you are in the audition, listen to what the folks behind the table are telling you. Take a deep breath and really listen. This is when you get to show you are a professional. If they tell you to stand on a mark, do it and don’t leave it. There is usually a real reason for it.
If they are recording the session (most do these days) your mark is your friend. When you step off the mark you could go out of focus, not be heard by the microphone or worse, break something. Sometimes these rooms are tiny, and there are four to five people on top of each other in the corner waiting for the next star to walk in. It’s hot in there, they are all uncomfortable, and that’s before the first actor comes through the door. Imagine what they are thinking if you are the last to be called.
When they give you directions, do it. Smile and do it. Show them you have that range and make that tear flows and those laughs sound real. Just be professional about it.
Bonus
I always want to put stuff in perspective. Directors and casting agents aren’t out to ruin your career. I would bet that no one is out to sabotage your abilities to get a role. It happens from time to time, I guess, but I do not believe that the next Tonya Harding is just waiting around the corner looking for her chance to knee-cap you. Directors, casting agents and anyone else in the “biz” really do want you to do great. They may not show it and may do and say things that make you think they are Voldemort in disguise, but I would say the majority aren’t. In fact, the director is crossing their fingers that you give the best performance in two lifetimes. Because if you do that, not only do you win but they win!
And really, who doesn’t want to win?