Tag: audition

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Auditions pile up ’23

Image: Jeffrey Mundell in DGT Retiro

My first audition of 2023 raced in as the year sped off and I thought: Here we go – let’s get this show on the road! Then three jobbing months limped by.

It’s been a stuttering start, crawling off the back-fire of the last three years. I won’t lie – my engine has taken a knock and I struggled to get up to speed ahead of the second of this year’s starting grids. Yep, that’s a grand total of two auditions in the last four months! From what I’m hearing, many of us are seeing ignition failure in the casting department this year. It’s depressingly quiet. The turbos are far from boosting.

Auto analogies aside, both of my auditions have surprisingly been of the face-to-face variety – unusual with the current trend towards self-tapes where you film and edit your own audition remotely. Both systems have pros and cons. I find being in the room, able to ask questions and take direction useful – especially when the actual director is present.

This latest audition was a commercial casting where actors are grouped in a variety of combinations, then held a while longer to play the scene again in a different group and so on – unlike the common two-minute, hit-and-run type.

I’m pretty certain I was kept for over an hour by mistake – honestly didn’t feel I was firing on all cylinders. Regardless, staying longer does give one the feeling of being in the running, a little boost to the confidence: you’re still a contender. It also doesn’t take long for a room of actors to spark up conversation. Simply sitting amongst the actory chit-chat, a sense of connectedness and belonging starts to seep into those parts that are feeling the grind – some good, clean oil to smooth the ride…

Onwards and upwards.

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Spotlight giveth, and Spotlight taketh away…a lot!

If you’re an actor in the UK, you are a member of Spotlight – “the home of casting”. Sorry Hamlet, ‘not to be’ is not really an option at the moment.

Read Jason Broderick’s article (link below) about this god of UK casting; how it rules the Kingdom and why it’s just not very fair.

He has an interesting solution. Could you come up with something better?

https://actingbusinessbreakthrough.com/spotlight/
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7 Audition Tips from Amy Hubbard

Amy Hubbard has carved out a seriously impressive career in casting – you’ve more than likely watched a film or series she’s worked on.  I’ve been writing to her since 2008, so I was excited to attend her recent casting workshop through ActorsCollab.  It was great to perform a scene from one of her current projects and get direct feedback from the renowned casting director as well as some of her top audition tips.  Here’s my takeaway:

  1. Embrace the self-tape.  It’s here to stay and Amy loves them.
  2. Be 1000% off book.  Amy wants to see the character in the moment, not an actor looking at the page or struggling to remember lines.   You’ll also be freed up to listen better – Amy reiterates the age old adage: “90% of acting is listening”.
  3. Underplay.  Amy often has to reassure actors that doing less is more – be brave, think ‘documentary’.  There’s a temptation to ‘show’ what we can do.  Don’t.  There doesn’t have to be a gear change or emotional climax.  Even if the entire scene plays at one pitch it can be enough.
  4. Ask questions if needed.  A good one is, “Where should this performance be pitched?” (in terms of energy and mood).  Or if you get multiple takes, “Was that last one too big?”
  5. Ignore the writer’s stage directions.  Always.  They are not performance notes.  Writers use them to clarify their ideas to readers – particularly those who can green-light their script.  You the actor must listen to the urge that motivates your own unique actions.
  6. Keep it snappy.  The people watching your tape have tonnes to do and a limited amount of time.  Give the scene it’s due, but avoid gratuitous pauses or time-taking.  Amy quotes Peter Jackson in this regard: “No scene can’t be improved with a bit of pace”
  7. Confidence is key.  You will land the role based primarily on confidence, then your talent and only then whether you’re actually right for the part.   Amy wants her clients to know, “You can hit the ground running with this one!”  Be confident in yourself and your ideas.  The room is yours.  Don’t apologize.  If you fluff something,  just let ’em know you’re starting again and blow them away.
Good luck!