What to Do and What NOT to Do in an Audition

I trust that most of you who read this blog know what to do when preparing for an audition, and if not, then you’ve come to the right place! Auditions are one of the scariest parts of the show process since it’s the first impression! You want to be in this show so freakin’ badly, so this is your time to show it! So let’s go through some helpful steps of what to do! 

1.  PLAN AHEAD

When you schedule your audition, which should be weeks ahead by the way, everything revolves around that then. Nothing can come into conflict. Make sure you enough time to get there, warm up, sign in, or do whatever. Also, this gives you enough time to reschedule if you do have a conflict. Know what you are doing beforehand, whether it be your monologue or your songs. And always, ALWAYS, have back-ups. Sometimes directors will be so impressed that they may want more! So impress them more by having other songs in your book (subnote: try to diversify your song book as much as possible. Ballads, up-tempos, modern, classic, rock, disco, whatever. We can talk about how you can research all this later). 

2.       2. PICKING A SONG

The last thing a director wants to hear is Popular for the 568^th freakin’ time. Mix it up. By singing something different draws a director in, gets him interested. But make sure you follow the sing requirements. If they call for 16 bars, get as close to that as you can. If they only call for a rock song, then you have to stick to that. An audition is not the time to experiment. You have to pick something that you’re comfortable with and you know you can rock. This is why you have to plan out all this stuff ahead of time. Give yourself time to find an appropriate song so that you can get the feel of it and so that you can be confident with it. Which brings me to my next point…

3.       3. CONFIDENCE

Guys, I cannot stress this enough. You can do all of these things above, and still suck at the audition if you do not have confidence. The director wants someone who’s brave to jump in and do whatever it takes. I mean, that’s what we do! This is our passion! So for the love of everything musical related, show it! Own that audition space! Be polite, be professional, and show them what you can do. Always walk in with a smile. Don’t overdo it though.

This is wrong.

   

This is right. Perfection. In fact, if you look anything like this man, props to you. Standing ovation. Anyways, moving on! 

The moment you walk in is when the audition starts. One of my friends is working with casting directors in New York and she already knows who they want based on how they walk into an audition. Say hello! Be friendly, but also get ready for anything. Sometimes they’ll be nice and ask how you’re doing and other times it’ll just be a cattle call and they’ll want you in and out under 3 minutes. Stand out! Make sure you have bright clothing, like a royal blue shirt. Never wear black, and try to blend in. SHINE. Make them remember you. Also, never apologize for anything. If you make a mistake, forget it. Move on. Never start over a song, barrel through and act like nothing happened. Actors have to be able to deal with problems easily, so show them that little ones don’t bother you, like forgetting a lyric in your song! Don’t let it bother you! 

Lastly, don’t let messing up an audition or not getting a part get you down. There will always be other shows, other chances. So don’t worry about it! Now go rock that audition! 

For any questions or input about this article, feel free to comment below or message me on twitter!