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Audition Tips

You've got the audition - that's half the battle!  The other half is slaying it. 

Here are some tips and tricks I've found useful for a confident and fun experience in the room!

• BEFORE •

01

Get off-book

Or as close as humanly possible, even if it's 15 pages and they've given you 12 hours.  Don't worry about getting every word right.  Just know what story you're telling well enough to tell it without looking at the page. 

02

Master the story

Go through your scene or monologue and mark out the events of the story.  First Ted comes into the room and sees Eddie kicking his cat.  Then Ted throttles Eddie for kicking his cat.  Then he immediately regrets his violent actions and apologizes.  Whatever the story is, know it well enough to be master of the events at hand.

03

wear something comfy!

Definitely grab a blazer if you're playing a lawyer, or a sweater if you gotta look sweet.  But pick something you've worn before, that you feel comfortable in - especially when it comes to what's on your feet.  Clothes that feel like You will let you do your best work! 

04

plan to be 5 minutes early

Or more, especially if you live in New York and have to ride the MTA.  I totally know the feeling of not wanting to soak up the pre-audition jitters of a waiting room - but being in the area is waaaay better than racing in last minute all sweaty and anxious and feeling like you now have to make up for being That Person.

• DURING •

01

breate

After they call your name, stand up.

Before you go in, take a breath.

This is your time.

02

Say hello!

Introduce yourself, be friendly, but you don't need to strike up a conversation about the weather or what you ate that's making you burp!  You're here to do work, and good work at that.  Get started together, and then get ready to rock.

03

tell the story

Do the scene!  You've prepped it, you've gotten the story down.  Your only job now is to tell that story like a BOSS. 

04

have fun

It's not open-heart surgery!  If you can't have fun doing what you love for five  minutes, when can you?  Take chances, make mistakes.  You've done the work to tell the story.  Now make it yours, ya friggin superhero!

• AFTER •

01

say thank you

First to the casting team as you leave the room.

Then to the monitor as you leave the office.

Then to yourself.

I mean it. Please. Pretty please. Thank yourself.

Vulnerable artistry isn't easy, and you just did it like it's your job.  Because it is. And you're good at it.

02

it's ok to feel bad

If I want any part of a job - the role, the play, the production, the team - I can feel like my less-than-perfect audition just destroyed any hope of happiness anywhere ever. The city looks greyer, everyone's so lonely, we're all doomed.

It's okay to feel this way...

03

be productive

...so long as you remember that there is a next time. Did you flub a line? Forget to look at your reader? Trip on the way out? Most of these things are just skills that you're working on building! It takes 10,000 tries to master anything. You're just one step closer to perfection.

04

do something

Get on with your day!  You've got a whole life to live outside of those 5 minutes.  On to the next, and all of that. 

Live life.

Go be brilliant.

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