If I gave you an audition, could you handle it?

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If I gave you an audition, could you handle it? 

Last week I had a massive audition.

It had been a while since I had auditioned for a major TV show, and right in the middle of a really busy week comes four big scenes and only two days to prepare. And, of course, it's in an accent, full of movement, gunfights and everything else that just feels difficult in the self-tape format. I was also out-of-town when the audition came in and so I was scrambling to find a reader to help me with the self-tape. In the end, I got the tape into my agent 1 minute before the deadline. Phew.

My agent wrote back: "really solid tape Andrew"

Not bad, right? Especially after all the panic.

So why am I telling you this?

Well, I think we can sometimes see our acting careers like we see exams in high school or university - we just want to pass. But the problem is passing in acting, means nothing. It was nice my agent liked the scene, but did I get a callback? NO. Did I offer a piece of work that competes with some of the best actors in the country? NO. Did I make an incredible impression on the casting director which will lead to a bunch more auditions? PROBABLY NOT.

Acting is not about passing or surviving. It's not about rushing to fit an audition around work or university. We are trying to achieve a near-impossible goal of becoming actors, and yet most of us are approaching it in the same way we would a casual hobby.

So here are some lessons from this recent experience that hopefully help you make the most of your next audition: 

#1 Acting needs to be No. 1

I'm sure if someone were to ask you what you do, you would say "I'm an actor".

But how much are you actually working on your acting? We ran a poll the other day and most of our StageMilk actors do between 1-3 hours a week on their acting. Open up your Screen Time settings in your smartphone right now and tell me how many hours you are spending on Instagram in a week. The end.

Don't fit acting around your life, make your life fit around being an actor.

#2 Have a community of self-tape companions

Even before Covid, self-tapes were becoming a dominant part of the industry. But now, it's self-taping mania. Even with Covid restrictions easing in certain areas, we still seem to be taping for everything!

Aim to have at least 5-10 actors that you can call upon to help with tapes. Maybe you can start a Facebook group, reach out to some new actor friends, or look at renting a space with a few pals and building a little community. But whatever you do, make sure you have a community to call on.

Note: if you want to cultivate a great community of actors, make sure to give back. Help your mates out whenever you can with auditions.

#3 Have a permanent self-tape setup

If you are auditioning, regularly you really should have your own setup. It no longer costs a fortune and having a simple, professional setup ready to go will be a game-changer. It also puts it out to the industry that you are ready to audition and makes it less of an event when auditions do come in.

#4 Constantly be working on accents

For me, the most important is a General American accent, which I audition in more than my natural accent. Yet, in between auditions, how much am I practising my US accent? Not nearly enough.

So if you are regularly auditioning in accents, or you want to be, make sure your accent work is rock solid. It's not about scraping by - an accent has to be 100% or nothing.

#5 Get comfortable in front of the camera

Being back in front of the camera the other day, especially recording a last-minute tape with a new reader, I was a little frantic. The nerves were pumping and I wasn't feeling grounded, and you can see all of that on camera.

Make that camera your best mate. Get in front of a camera as much as possible: regularly self-tape, make short films, record yourself doing monologues on your iPhone. Whatever you need to do to get comfortable in that medium.

#6 Up your screen craft

There is a craft to screen acting. It's much more subtle than stage acting, but there are techniques that help your work on camera become more compelling. For me, the main one is having really specific eye lines. Make sure everyone in the scene has a specific eye line (in that recent audition there were up to 5 characters and it was so important to have a clear eye line for each one).

When you are nervous or unprepared, technique goes out the window and your work becomes generalised. So, again, practise regularly so you can be incredibly detailed and specific in your next audition.

#7 Use your downtime to prepare for your busy time

Much like the feast and famine nature of our finances as actors, our workflow will oscillate between a) having so much time that you stare out the window wondering when the next opportunity will come along, and b) the mad flurry of getting together a self-tape overnight.

Look for ways to use that downtime to prepare for when an audition comes. Research equipment upgrades for your set-up, test out your lighting at different times of day, experiment with different looks in front of the camera to see what reads, practice speaking to a tennis ball in case you can't get a reader etc.

Do this now, so you're not doing it when the audition comes through.

There you go! As always, let me make the mistakes so you don't have to.

If you are making acting your number one priority, opportunities will come. But are you actually ready for the day that they do? If a casting director takes a chance on you, will you be confident, comfortable and ready to put forward an audition tape you are truly proud to submit? 

Because remember, the message you really want from your agent is this...

Agent: you booked it!!!!!!

Cheers, 

Andy

P.S. if you are starting to self-tape at a high level, take a look at joining StageMilk Drama Club this month (only 5 places left).