If you suffer from pre-audition frigh,t you might get help from commercially available courses or instruction. But beware – what you feel about auditioning may be what you feel before you go onstage. You can’t just buy your way out of that difficulty at auditions.
Usually the dread is to do with the unknown. An actor is constantly alive to the possibility that the unexpected will turn up, whether they are at theatre auditions or they simply want to be on TV, and that the control he or she has over the scene or the audience will be lost. There is also a fear of just failing. As Orson Welles said, ‘Every actor in his heart believes everything bad that’s printed about him’, and many performers become obsessed with the need for praise, appreciation, or even adulation.
None of that makes the actual acting auditions any easier. What does help, on the other hand, is a methodical approach to your craft. Know your pieces for auditions to perfection, and know how to modulate them so that different emotions can be expressed through them. Keep trying them out on friends and family. Keep looking for new material.
It also helps to know about the project you are auditioning for. Google the people or company involved and see what else they have done. Gear your presentation to what you think they are looking for. Keep a record of past auditions. Above all, keep trying.
Here at Audition Now, we keep you posted about all the latest opportunities for auditions, so you can maximise your career prospects…and keep your nerves under control.
Tags: acting auditions, be on TV, casting calls, Theatre Auditions