C.6.a Your personal conduct.
Your goal is to get a job, and
everything you do should be
calculated to contribute to that end.
That means you have to appear to be intelligent, capable,
skillful,
social, adaptable, friendly,
sensitive
to social settings, in control of self, healthy, a good communicator, a
good
listener, good under pressure, easy with authority, and better
than anyone
else for the job.
You either are all these things in
the context, or not. Or
you’re probably better at creating good
impressions in some of these areas more quickly than in others. But you should make
conscious preparation for
all of them, with one caveat: do
not seem calculated or contrived
in any of them. Draw
on truth while
controlling effects.
When you hear about auditions by
keeping your ears open, the
first thing you need to do is acquire
all the information you can.
This
list can get lengthy, but some of what you need to know includes the
following:
-
Where
are the auditions being held?
-
When
are they?
-
How
do I sign up?
-
Is
there an audition registration form to fill
out (very neatly and accurately, since this is your first communication
of
yourself)?
-
Are
my résumé and head shot due with the
registration or at the audition itself?
-
How
much attention time do I get?
-
What
are the requirements for audition
materials? Length? Type?
Sing?
-
What ‘s the nature of the space in which I will
be auditioning?
-
Will
I be “held” in a green room until my
performance, or will I be witnessing other people’s auditions?
Be on time. Be friendly but not
obsequious. Appear
nervous if you want (it might even
help in flattering your listeners) but in
good control. Remember
that your audition begins when you walk in
the
door of the audition hall, even if you’re only
dealing with functionaries
initially. Make
your best impression,
but be honest.
Everyone can smell phony a mile away in these
settings.
The matter of personal
appearance is of great importance.
One flawed line of thought says “hey, this is
what I am, take me or
leave me.” A
more successful approach
says “I understand this is a professional setting, and I want
to show you I can
adapt appropriately to a variety of needs.”
This is what acting is all about.
A comment about tattoos.
Actors shouldn’t have them where they show in
the first place. But
you can remove your nose ring at least,
and if you’ve shaved half of your head—well, at
least neatly comb the other
half. Hold off on
the make-up. Try to
appear pleasant but neutral, capable
of taking on a number of looks.
Your clothing
choice
should facilitate the following, but should not appear studied or
calculated:
1) You should be
able to
move in your outfit. This
means
cutting back on your mini-skirts and high heels when in comes to
auditioning. It
means having enough room in the seat of
your pants to bend over without creating tension.
Wear sensible shoes, and keep
them on. Nothing
is
more irritating than needing to watch an auditioner prepare
for “just the
right mood” or needing to adjust attire to achieve it.
2) Your outfit should complement
your body. Some
men should not wear
shirts open to the navel. Nor
should
ladies. Some
auditioners should wear
fuller and looser clothing than others.
Choose your colors carefully, and make sure the show a
sense of
coordination and generally accepted taste.
Black clothing can make you blend into the walls of
black-box spaces or
into the unlighted upstage for proscenium platforms.
Don’t fall for the idea of creating a really
distinguishing memory of yourself by wearing something outrageous or
overly
sensual. That’s
all that will be remembered.
3) Your clothing should be
comfortable since you may need to hang around for a while. It should not appear to be
brand new, so wear
it a few times before you audition in it.
However, comfortable does not mean ripped-knee jeans or
your lucky
T-shirt from sixth grade. Use
common
sense clothing and you’ll be assumed to possess that quality. Don’t wear some
T-shirt with a slogan on the
front such as, “Welcome
to the Roadkill
Cafe”. This
could be your fate.
4) Be cautious in this, but you need to
wear clothing which suggests
the
major character in your audition piece.
This does not mean
that you
come costumed, since this controls and limits the imagination of the
casting
director and designers who might be sitting in.
You are presenting yourself,
not
a fully rounded production. However,
men, a full-sleeved shirt for Shakespeare, a casual suit for a
businessman, and
overalls for a farmer, would be appropriate.
Women need to address the question of long skirt or
shorter, tight
fitting top or loose.
Next
Section: C6b:
Audition Techniques
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