Posts Tagged ‘advice for acting auditions’

Going the Extra Mile for Acting Auditions

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

As you reflect on your talents as a performer, you should ask yourself what particular gifts you have which make you stand out from the crowd. This may well be the area where, if you are sufficiently able, you can score over others at acting auditions.

In addition to your personal talents, you should nurture your general powers of observation. All social situations offer resource material for the actor, so you should never let pass the chance to watch and note how people behave in different situations. It doesn’t have to be in moments of ‘high drama’; in fact, you might learn more from just watching people in the street. There is plenty to observe in the most mundane of human activities, such as hand gestures and facial movements.

Keeping yourself generally informed about what is going on in the world is another important aspect of the actor’s life. There are many examples of actors who take up political and social causes; as a performer you can’t just live and work in a bubble cut off from what is happening in the world. You should make a point of keeping up to date with not just entertainment news, but with news in general. All theatre writing can be better understood through the lens of human experience as lived in the here and now.

Here at Audition Now, we do our bit to keep you well-informed: texting you all the latest auditions direct to your mobile phone.

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Staying Fresh at Acting Auditions

Monday, October 18th, 2010

There are two areas that you need to manage successfully if your career as an actor is to flourish. One is to know what and where the best work opportunities are, and the other is to know what is current in the world of acting, from who’s who to what the latest trends are.

Acting style and actors’ looks are constantly changing, and unless you keep abreast of these changes you may find yourself seriously out of touch, and more importantly, out of work. Check out styles and looks on TV and in film; the tremendous popularity of reality TV and talent shows is another indicator for the successful performer.

A measure of self-criticism is needed if you are to keep your image fresh, and your performance skills up to the mark. Whatever you are auditioning for, whether a profit-share two-hander or a West End musical, it is vital that you offer a lively and modern performance style.

There is no surprise to this: panels at acting auditions are not looking for ‘dinosaurs’, but for flexibility and adaptability, and these should come as your stock-in-trade if you are at all serious about acting. However,  remember that you also need to keep your audition material fresh. Speeches that are too familiar to you may betray you as a dull performer without spark or inspiration.

Here at Audition Now, we keep you informed of all the latest acting auditions because we know what and where the best work opportunities are.

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Criticism at Acting Auditions

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

Acting is a very personal process for many, and that makes it difficult to take criticism, even though it may be helpful for your technique and your career prospects. Because acting auditions are the route to your next job, you cannot let your nerves undermine your talents by turning the audition process into a form of torture. You need to find ways to make criticism work to your advantage.

TV shows like Britain’s Got Talent give a false impression of what it like is to audition: many are hopeful amateurs wanting to hear something personal about themselves, good or bad. As an actor you are not looking for the next rude one-liner, but observations that build up your technique. Reactions to what you do will always differ, so you need to develop the ability to interpret what you hear about your performance, which can then guide you in improving what you do. You may get insights into this from the panel during acting casting. For example, do you often hear the same observation? If so, what might that tell you about how you are coming across?

Friends and family are useful in this respect: perform in front of them, learn to ignore any personal remarks, and interpret their inexpert observations in a practical way.

Here at Audition Now, we specialize in getting you to all the latest auditions, so you can get the part that’s right for you. Soon you will master the art of auditions, and may even grow to enjoy them.

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Presentation at Acting Auditions

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

When you are next preparing for acting auditions, give time to consider not only the substance of what you will be doing in the audition or casting call, but also all elements of your presentation. After all, auditions are the actor’s business card: in the audition process you are giving information about yourself to the audition panel. As with a business card, it is that information that may lead to work or collaboration in the future. Your audition may get you the part, or get you a recall, or may at least get you onto a casting director’s file.

However, as with business cards, the presentation at auditions is crucial. When someone gives you a business card that looks cheap and hastily thrown together, and on poor quality card and with a lack of finish, then it gives you a bad impression of them and you may hesitate to follow up the contact.

A carefully put together CV – clear and easy to read, with all the important information about you and your previous experience assembled in an orderly fashion, a 10×8 professionally-taken photo portrait, and a choice of clothing appropriate to the role or the show or film for which you are auditioning are all aspects of your presentation which can enhance your chance of success.

Here at Audition Now we keep you up-to-date about all the latest television, extras and theatre auditions. We text you direct to your mobile phone so you never miss a chance to make a good impression.

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Your Technique at Acting Auditions

Friday, October 1st, 2010

Doing well at acting auditions can often depend on good luck as much as on your skill at going through your paces in the audition room. You will, however, seriously impair your chances of doing well in your career as an actor if you don’t spend some time analyzing how your audition has gone, and why you did or didn’t get the part.

You should consider whether you chose wisely in your prepared audition speeches; was this the material that was most apt for the show or part in question, and did it show you off to your best advantage?

You should consider how successful you were in the ‘cold reading’, if you had one. Did you understand the text, and did you interpret it in a sufficiently imaginative way? Did you demonstrate a good understanding of the direction you were being given, and did you respond constructively?

If you succeed in getting the part, you might want to understand how. Perhaps this will become clearer in the rehearsal process, so you should certainly try to retain a clear remembrance of how the original auditions went.

Acting auditions are not something to be dreaded. You should learn to think of them as a valuable way for you to develop your performing technique – the more you do, the better you get. Here at Audition Now, we help you make the most of the audition process, by keeping you right up to the minute with all the latest acting casting opportunities.

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Method Acting: What’s the Point?

Monday, September 13th, 2010

“Method acting is a label I don’t really understand, because there’s method to everyone’s acting.” Dougray Scott.

Daniel Day Lewis swears by it, Liam Neeson abhors it, and without it Heath Ledger’s Joker could have been very different. It’s all very well for Hollywood stars to take little jaunts out of reality for weeks at a time, but how can method acting be practically adapted for regular performers who perhaps need to keep their handle on reality a little tighter to cope with the slew of auditions and casting calls?

Animal Instinct

Perhaps the easiest method acting ploy to whip out of the bag on command during any auditions or casting calls is that of the animal exercise. Choose a wild animal that evokes similarities with your character and personify it in your performance. For example, John Cleese’s character, Archie Leach (A Fish Called Wanda) has some very meerkat-like mannerisms, whereas Jamie Lee-Curtis’ Wanda moves with the sinews of a cat.

Sensational Performance

In life, we don’t visualise an experience and draw from our imagination exactly how it felt or how we responded to it. This is basically the bones of method acting – drawing inspiration and stimulation from real thoughts, feelings, memories and experiences. The simplest sense-based method acting technique is to have a friend accompany you on a shopping trip on which you should be blindfolded the entire time. Recall those feelings of isolation, fear, and so on for many emotional performance situations, e.g. the bleakness after a lover’s death.

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Use Your Headshot

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

Bottom line – without a headshot, you won’t be remembered at an acting audition. The issue of headshots is paramount,  whether you are on casting calls or auditions.

The financial burdens of acting auditions can be great, especially when making your first foray into the business.

So why on earth is the standard 8×10 headshot in black and white? Surely colour would be more advantageous? The history of the headshot is an entirely different beast, and has all sorts of interesting links back to the various heydays of acting (it tends to depend on who you ask).

Essentially, the black and white headshot is a must because of its simplicity and standard format. There’s only so much re-jigging that can be done to a standard headshot, thus its appeal to casting professionals, as it shows a true reflection of what you actually look like.

Some quick tips:

- When posing, be natural and true to your look – a major frustration for casting personnel is when a headshot is only vaguely reminiscent of you.

- Smile! It’s the standard practice, and with the amount of people passing through auditions and casting calls, non-standard headshots tend to be tossed aside.

- Also, make sure that you consult several different photographers to get an idea of what their packages include, and to try and get the best deal.

Remember, you need to be 18 years and over to use our service (£1.50 per text with a maximum of 3 texts per week).

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