Posts Tagged ‘theatre casting calls’

How to Have a Successful Theatre Audition

Thursday, November 25th, 2010

Do you have a talent for acting or maybe singing? Maybe you’ve always known you wanted to star in a West End musical or a Broadway play, but you’ve never had a successful audition. Maybe you’ve never even had a call back. Here are some tips to help you have successful theatre auditions.

1.    Practice makes perfect. Even if you’ve got your lines down pat, and you feel confident, if you’ve only been over them a few times, you have not practiced enough. You need to practice hundreds of times. You should do it for some friends as well so you can get some feedback.
2.    Take a speech class. Speech therapy, voice lessons, or a speech class will help boost your confidence and public speaking skills.
3.    Be healthy. If you feel healthy physically you’ll feel better mentally and emotionally. Get plenty of rest, exercise, and eat properly.
4.    Dress modestly. Don’t try to impress with your clothes, hair, or makeup. If you need those trappings to look good, trust me – they’ll know.
5.    Relax. Take a deep breath. Make sure you’re ready before you start. If you’re relaxed and confident it will show.

Theatre casting calls are often open which means anyone can try out. Try to remember that while you may not be the best, you are probably better than some.

To find opportunities for musical auditions, theatre, TV, and modelling, try Audition Now. They provide inside information via text message to those at least 18 years old (£1.50 per text, up to three texts a week).

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The A to Z of Audition Technique

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Even experienced actors can find auditions nerve-wracking; there are plenty of less experienced performers who come out of acting auditions or casting calls feeling that their real ability has been eclipsed by the tension they felt when they went into the room.

What you can do to help prevent this is widen the range of expression at your disposal. This means you should try to practise work for auditions of completely different styles, and to use every opportunity to try them out in front of (patient) friends and family. The more emotional content in your prepared work, the better it usually is. You should also be ready with pieces of different lengths, though generally you will be expected to perform for no more than three minutes. These generally for both TV auditions and theatre casting calls.

The famous American wit and writer Dorothy Parker said of one actress, ‘She runs the gamut of emotions from A to B.’ If you feel that nerves are getting in the way of your talent to express the whole range of human feeling, then you should give more time to practise – especially in front of others.

It helps to be available to audition as much as possible: then you will get used to the process and your nerves will, over time, interfere less with your performing. At Audition Now we run the gamut of available work opportunities, and, with a messaging service direct to your mobile phone, we bring you up-to-date with acting auditions and casting calls from all over the country.

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The Actor’s Imagination

Friday, March 19th, 2010

Physical fitness and control are vital weapons in the armoury of a successful actor. In casting calls and acting auditions, the panel is looking out for particular physical attributes, and the skill with which actors uses these in their audition piece.

The ‘cold reading’ at auditions, however, is a different test of the actor’s talent. Here, the actor is presented with an unseen piece of text or dialogue, and given a couple of minutes to prepare to perform it. What the casting director learns from this part of the audition is how responsive the actor is to an unforeseen situation; and this is when you can demonstrate your imaginative powers. As this is an aspect of auditioning that cannot be avoided, whether you’re doing TV auditions or theatre casting calls; it is essential to be prepared.

After a quick read-through of the piece, you will have an idea of what it is about. You may be requested to perform the part in a particular way, but in addition you need to ask yourself about the character, the situation, the relationship between your character and the others, and the emotional intensity of the scene. You need to imagine when it is taking place and how that affects the characters in the scene. In short, you need to consider all the elements within the scene that may have a bearing on how you will read it.

Here at Audition Now, we help maximize performance opportunities for you by keeping you up-to-date with news of the latest acting auditions. This support means you can devote your time and energy to developing your performing talents to the full.

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Nerves at Acting Auditions

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

Most actors suffer from nerves when they go to auditions: for many, auditions are actually more nerve-wracking than performances. There are plenty of tips for how to cope with nerves before and during your audition, but the thing that helps most of all is to get used to the process of auditioning. This means that it is important for you to take every opportunity you can to audition. The more you audition, the more you become comfortable with the process. It is even worth auditioning when you do not particularly want the role or you don’t want to have to travel to do the work.

Some people think it helps to control your breathing; others suggest imagining the audition panel as the audience, or even playing your piece to the wall behind them. It might help to imagine that you are the only person in the room, or to write down all the things that you feel fearful of on your way to the audition, in order to help you master them.

One tip is to prepare your audition piece in three completely different voices, preferably as ridiculous as possible, so that when you come to perform, you are concentrating very hard on reciting in the most convincing way possible.

Faced with all these worries, it is good to have one comforting bit of news: here at Audition Now, you can be sure that you are always being kept informed of all the latest auditions as and when they come up. Whether modelling, TV auditions or theatre casting calls are your speciality, we can provide you with all of the latest information about opportunities in these areas.

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Your CV at Acting Auditions

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Your most important asset as an actor is your talent. It was the British acting legend Sir Laurence Olivier who said that an actor needs ‘the voice of an orchestra and the body of a god.’ It is your talent that you display at your acting auditions and casting calls, and your talent that you need to show off to maximum effect before casting directors and producers.

In addition, however, you want to demonstrate the range of your professional experience and working styles at any acting auditions, and this will not be obvious from the performance of your audition piece alone, or from a ‘cold reading.’

Your ‘curriculum vitae’ provides an instant reference for your abilities and experience in the past, whether your main interest lies in TV auditions or theatre casting calls. However, what makes it good, is how well it reflects your unique qualities as an actor. It supplements whatever you have to offer in performance at the audition. That is why it is important to accompany your CV with a full-size headshot: it’s a simple but effective way of fixing yourself in the minds of the audition panel. Even if you are not right in the part that you are auditioning for at the time, a well-presented CV makes a good impression that can lead to work opportunities in the future.

The expertise that we have at Audition Now is one of the many benefits available to you when you sign up for our SMS alert service, to give you the latest information on acting auditions and casting calls.

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