Student Blog: Tackling Auditions Like a Pro

Everyone knows how fun and truly life-changing being in a theatre production can be, but the vast majority of people don’t know that getting there is one of the most nerve-wracking things a human can go through. I am, of course, talking about the audition process. The sinking feeling in your gut when you hear your name called to be on deck, the momentary panic that you will forget all the words to your audition piece, the uneasiness of seeing the casting team’s blank stares while you slate. None of these are good feelings, per se, but they come with the territory. The good news is that there are many ways to help overcome and ease the nerves of being in the audition room. 

Make sure your piece is fully memorized: I know this sounds like a given, but you would be shocked at the number of people who don’t have their monologue/song completely ready. For example, in my sophomore year of high school, I forgot to rehearse my audition song with a backing track and walked into the audition room not knowing when to start. Needless to say, I was not cast in that show. Songs are easier to memorize than monologues, but don’t let that fool you. I recommend giving yourself at least a week to learn and absorb the song, especially if it’s a particularly wordy song. Don’t be like me, remember to learn it with a backing track so you can go into your audition with confidence. Monologues are a bit trickier to learn but manageable with the right techniques. What I have found to have the best effect is to break the text chunk into colors. Go through the monologue and break it up into smaller bits. Give each small bit a color, I recommend going in rainbow order. Repeat this until every bit of text has a color. This will make it easier to recall what comes next in the monologue when trying to get off-book. 

Don’t be afraid to look stupid: The biggest thing holding people back from giving it their all is fear of looking stupid. The main reason I’ve found for people not trying theatre at all is that they don’t want to look silly in front of an audience. I have fallen victim to this thinking but I never let it fully hold me back from doing what I love. You wouldn’t think that there would still be a stigma of looking crazy once you’re actually in theatre, but I find that it somehow gets worse. Everyone is comparing themselves during audition workshops, dance calls, and in practice rooms. I had to learn it the hard way but there is no reason anyone should be excessively comparing themselves. Have fun! Make big choices! Directors always prefer you to do too much rather than too little. A good way to get over the idea of looking stupid is exposure therapy. I once had to prepare a dance combo for an audition and thought I looked so crazy doing it since I hadn’t taken a dance class in a solid decade. I decided to take videos of myself doing the number and sending it to friends to get feedback. I ended up being cast in the featured dance ensemble, which I attribute to forcing myself to video the dance even when I thought I looked stupid.

Pick something you love: Although sometimes you don’t get a choice in what to prepare for an audition, when you do it is important to pick something you want to perform and are confident in. There is nothing more boring to directors than seeing someone perform something they obviously don’t want to do. Pick a song you love and know well as long as it fits into the parameters of the show. I usually have a harder time picking monologues but for that, I find a TV show or movie I gravitate towards that has the same themes as the production I’m auditioning for and find a good monologue from that. Don’t go crazy and pick something that has nothing to do with what you’re auditioning for, but make sure it’s something you can have fun doing. You might be surprised at how big of a difference it can have on your confidence and enjoyment of the audition process. 

Know how to recover from a mistake: The key word for how to recover is confidence. That’s what it boils down to. Even if you think you know everything and you have everything prepared and ready to go for your audition, something can still go wrong. All you have to remember is that if, for any reason, you make a mistake you should recover with confidence. Try not to stumble and reboot on stage if you mess up. Don’t let the casting team see you sweat and make your next few choices confidently and in character. It reflects much better on you if you stumble and recover with confidence than if you lose it completely. It’s important to remember that directors don’t think you’re a terrible actor if you mess up, it’s normal. How you recover is more important to the directors. That being said, don’t go in thinking you’re going to make a mistake. Be confident in what you’ve prepared and make sure to have fun!

Auditioning can be a daunting and tall order for all actors, but it doesn’t have to be. Once you find your groove it can be an exciting process. There are no words to describe the adrenaline rush of being in an audition room or seeing your name on a cast list. The biggest things to remember are to be prepared, be confident, and have fun. Theatre is supposed to be a fun and creative experience and the pressure of an audition shouldn’t dampen it. Go into that audition room with your head held high and you’ll do great.