Today's post comes from MP Talent Management Group's, Malinda Petersen
"NO MORE EXCUSES"
Originally Posted August 21, 2012
Did you clarify your goal for your performance career? Did you accompany it with five or six
action steps? You still can. From the wise words of a Facebook
friend’s post: Success occurs when your dreams get bigger than your excuses.
If your goal is to audition more, let’s examine what to
consider when auditioning. There
is the standard take your head shot and resume. You should also take your sides (the part of the script
you’ll be reading) but you’ll need them memorized when possible. But just being prepared with the
obvious tangible tools is only part of your required preparation. Like anything in the professional
world, there is an established etiquette you are expected to follow. Of course, if you are new to something,
you most likely don’t know what this behavior is, so you often have to learn
the hard way, by making mistakes.
But, life is short. We
really don’t have time to make all the mistakes in the world, so we need to pay
attention to the mistakes of others and learn from those. It’s really rather efficient this way.
Last week I had the opportunity to work with a group of 9-16
year olds who were recording an audition.
For many of them this was the first time they were auditioning for
something on camera — or even performing in front of a camera in a formal
setting. Think about the first
time you have done anything. (No.
Seriously. Take a moment to think
back to learning to ride a bike or read a new language or do an algebraic
equation or cook a new recipe … )
You probably had some anxiety about the new task because you’d never
done it and you didn’t know what the outcome would be. That’s completely understandable. Generally our fear is that we will fail
on some level – that something bad will happen.
I sensed this from the students. Keep in mind that as children we are always in a position of
learning, but as we grow we get used to having quite a few answers. This can inhibit us from the risk of
trying something new because we are not as open to learning. But with young students, they are just
used to learning something new on a daily basis. However, every student had some level of nervousness when it
was his/her turn to record. So I
asked the students, “Why are you nervous?” The answer was always, “Because I’ve never done this before.” Fair answer.
Next question: “What bad thing do you think will happen?” “Um.
… I’ll mess up?” “Sure. You could mess up, but we can delete
that take and do it again.” “Oh.”
Wheels would turn, we’d record a few takes, they’d sit down
for the next actor to read, and then at the very end almost every student
wanted to do it again. Why?
Because they learned that they could! Each actor auditioned, nothing bad
happened, in fact only good resulted because I showered them with compliments
and let them watch a bit of their tape, and voila! They felt a level of success. And, this is the important part, they wanted to do it again,
but they wanted to do it BETTER!
They understood the basics: where to stand, where to look, how loud to
speak, what a slate is, to say thank you at the end. They then wanted to apply all that to their newly gained
confidence that comes from the success of doing something for the first
time. (Not doing it well, necessarily,
but just doing it.)
Think about your auditions in the past year. Did you walk into the room with
confidence? Did you greet the
casting director with a simple hello?
Did you hand the assistant a neat copy of your head shot and resume
(8x10, stapled, color photo on photo paper)? Did you listen to her instructions
on where to stand, where to look and when to start? If the instructions weren’t given, did you ask those simple
questions? Did you deliver your
performance to the best of your ability?
Did you say thank you and politely leave when you were finished? Fantastic! That’s all you can do.
Audition and forget.
Now, if you’re not doing those things, what are you
doing? Are you walking into the
audition room digging in your bag, fixing your hair, turning off your cell
phone? Are you walking right up to
the CD and offering your hand and engaging in small talk? Are you dropping your sides, asking to
start over, apologizing for messing up, appealing for sympathy for that
scraggly cough that you just can’t get over? (Blogger’s note: I’m wincing with embarrassment for you if
you are doing any of those things.)
I’ve just provided you with some dos and don’ts. Learn the don’ts without doing
them. Apply the dos to your next
audition. Really what you want to
be working on when preparing for an audition is the choices you’re making for
your character. The etiquette will
be second nature, but what you really want to show the casting director is that
you can create another person and commit to those choices in your performance. That’s when you will get direction in
an audition and be asked to do it again making a few adjustments. That’s when you will be professional. Eliminate the excuses and dream big!
