Audition Hell: Shake, Rattle and Roll

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2WZIVbcCDQ[/youtube]

There are other pitfalls that await you as an auditionee. You can be too loud (“You don’t have to shout, we’re three feet away from you.”) You can be too soft (“Sing out, Louise!”). You can shuffle and stammer and sweat your way through the material. You can lose your place in your sides, you can lose your balance, you can lose your cool. All of those problems can be minimized, if not avoided entirely. If you can take classes and workshops that offer on-camera sessions, these symptoms of panic may be diagnosed and treated. You can also practice your audition at home in front of a videocamera, as many times as you want. Self-awareness is the key to overcoming any of these bad habits.

Remember to sense the space. If the casting director can hear you fine when you’re chatting before the audition, he or she will be able to hear your fine when you do audition. Shifting or shaking while auditioning is a sign that you need to relax. And if the actor is wondering if they should play to casting person, a chair, an imaginary person, or the audience, they should stop wondering and just ask.

In our next Career Cues, we’ll explore Level Six of Audition Hell … Parting Shots. I’m Dan Woren of the Actors Reporter … Break a leg!