Audition Tips :
Free Acting Tips
to Nail your next Audition

If you’re not getting as many acting callbacks as you’d like, check out these audition tips as you prepare your next cold reading or audition monologue. These free acting tips take you through the audition process, from making a good impression as you walk into the audition room to leaving the room with the auditioner wanting more.

Before we start, check out these tips on how to best prepare for your acting audition. If you’re looking for acting tips on how to find acting auditions, click here. Also consider taking a good audition technique class.

1) Audition Tips for Arriving at the Casting Call

Audition Tip: If you want more time to prepare, come in earlier but don’t sign in until you’re ready to go in the room. This way, you can study the audition script as long as you want without any pressure to go in until you’re ready.

Make sure you have your acting picture and resume in hand before you walk in the audition room. Auditions are typically around 5 minutes long, you don’t want to use up that precious time fishing around your bag for your headshot.

Feeling nervous? The more important the acting audition, the more that’s likely to happen. Here’s a few audition tips on how to turn performance anxiety into self-confidence:

• Stay away from other actors. Stage fright is contagious, plus you don’t want to compare yourself to an actor auditioning for the same part as you. Create your own space and try to shut out the world around you so you can prepare and focus.
• Do a relaxation exercise. If you went to acting school, you probably have worked hours on relaxation and breathing exercises. Now’s the time to use them. Concentrate on breathing deeply and slowly from your midsection, letting go of tension in a different part of your body with each breath, from head to toe.
• Work on concentration. Relaxation and breathing exercises should help get you centered. Now use your audition piece to completely focus. Imagine you’re the character in your audition piece. Try to remember as the character what you had for breakfast or what you did yesterday. Think as the character about the people you love, those you hate, those you’re having a conflict with. Play in your mind what just happened before the audition scene or monologue you’re about to perform. This audition tip will help you channel your previous nervousness into the character’s emotional life.
• Give yourself the acting role. As an actor, our imagination is our greatest ally. Imagine you’ve got the role and you’re coming in to rehearse. This audition tip doesn’t apply to everyone, but if a lack of self-confidence is making you nervous, this tool can be a great help.

Talking about confidence… You’re next. Let’s enter the audition room.

2) Audition Tips for Making a good First Impression

Here are a few audition tips to help you make a great first impression:

• Smile. A smile is worth a thousand words and will help relax you and your audience. Imagine a friend in place of the auditioner(s) and greet them with a warm confident smile.
• Make eye contact. Sometimes, when we’re nervous, we tend to look away, so make sure to look people in the eye when you speak.
• Check your body language. Don’t let the awkwardness of standing in front of seated “judges” make you fidget or cross your arms or do any of the other telltale signs of an uncomfortable actor. There is tremendous power in stillness, so use an approach like the Alexander Technique to center yourself. If you’ve already practiced this in audition technique class, even better.
• Take the lead. Don’t wait for something to happen. When you enter the room, greet everyone and introduce yourself. Make contact with a simple question like “How’s your day going so far?” and hand over your headshot and resume.

Audition tip: You can use the research you did to prepare for your audition to break the ice if you feel it’s appropriate. For example, if the director is in the room and you just saw their last film, you could briefly mention it.

• Don’t rush… Talk to the auditioner, not at them. When you ask a question, wait for an answer.

• …but don’t linger. The goal is to make a good impression in a few short exchanges. A casting director will not appreciate you putting them behind schedule, plus your audition monologue could be cut short as a result.
• Don’t make excuses. Don’t preamble your audition piece with something like, “ I only had an hour to prepare this audition piece, so bear with me” or “I’m a little under the weather today”. Actors make these statements all the time and they never help them make a good impression. Just do the best you can.
• Don’t make up questions. Often, a casting director will ask you if you have any questions. That’s just a courtesy question and doesn’t mean you need to have a question. If you don’t, a simple “Not for the time being, thank you” works great.

To Shake or Not to Shake? Some casting directors don’t like to shake actors’ hands, especially during flu and cold season, so take your cue from them. If they extend out their hands, great. If not, a friendly smile from you will make contact just as well as a handshake.

No one finds it easy to stand performing in front of others and be judged. Here’s a few audition tips of things to keep in mind to keep your sanity:

• You got called in to audition, so the casting director wants to meet you or thinks you could be right for the part. They want you to do well. They are on your side.
• Try to come across as wanting a role (being excited about it), not needing it. People are naturally drawn to those who seem not to need them too much. As a talented actor, you have a lot to bring to an acting role, so don’t sell yourself short by trying too hard to please or acting like your life depends on getting the role. Try to treat every audition as an exercise.
• Remember that auditioning is part of your job as an actor, so try to stay professional and don’t take notes or comments personally.

3) Audition Tips on Performing your Audition Piece

Weather you’ll be performing audition monologues, a prepared scene or a cold reading, here are some other general audition tips to keep in mind:

• Be prepared… The more you will have worked on your audition monologue or scene, the better chance you have of getting the acting job you want.
• …but be flexible. Don’t rehearse an audition piece so much that you can’t take directions from the casting director. You should make strong choices about your audition monologue or scene, but be ready to change those choices at the drop of a hat if the director takes you in another direction. Sometimes, a director will do that just to see if you would work well together. Rehearsing the scene different ways before the audition can help you take directions better.
• Know the lingo. If a casting director or director likes your work, they may give you notes and ask you to repeat your audition monologue or scene. They may ask you to change your objective and characterization or point to a particular movie or TV show to give you a sense of the style of the piece. Understanding acting terms and staying up to date with what is playing at the theater and on TV will help you deliver a good audition.
• Act for the camera. If the audition is being taped, make sure to look up so that the camera picks up the expression in your eyes. Practice by filming yourself at home, and read these acting tips for movie auditions for more on taped auditions.
• Make believe. Don’t pick up chairs and hurl them across the room just because your audition piece is a fight scene. Don’t invade the space of the casting director or reader by touching them or getting into their faces (this is a big one, you may never be called in again to audition!) If the audition scene requires a physical action of this sort, suggest the action or ask the auditioners beforehand how they would like you to handle it.

Costumes and props
An acting audition is not a performance. Wearing a costume or bringing props will make you look amateurish. Rather then dress the part, suggest the part. If you’re an actress auditioning for a period piece or classical theatre, wear a long skirt to the audition. If you’re an actor auditioning for a tough guy role, consider an unshaven look. If the audition script absolutely requires a prop, the casting director will provide it. The only prop you could get away with using is your cellphone, but make sure it’s turned off. You don’t want it to ring in the middle of your audition!

Doing an audition monologue?
If you’re performing audition monologues, it’s best to announce the play each audition monologue is from before you start, along with the author. For more audition tips on how to choose and perform audition monologues, click here.

If you’re not doing an audition monologue, you’ll either be reading from prepared audition scenes or give a cold reading. You may be reading with the casting director, a reader hired for that purpose, or in some cases, another actor.

Here are a few audition tips to help you nail your audition scenes:

• Be off-book… As much as possible, your audition sides should be memorized. This is what is expected of a professional actor, plus you want to concentrate on your acting during your audition, not on finding your place in the audition script.
• …but hold on to your sides. Even if you never look down at your audition script once, holding it reminds the auditioners that this is just what you can do with a first read. Acting without your audition scenes in hand will make them feel they’re watching a fully rehearsed performance and they’ll be less impressed as a result.
• Don’t make too much of a small role. If you’re a beginning actor, you’ll often be called in to audition for a TV co-star or a small role in a film or play where the audition sides will consist of one word to a few lines. Most of these roles are there to further the plot and making too much of them is a common mistake of beginning actors. Those actors who can say those lines simply and naturally without acting up a storm can easily get these small acting parts and quickly build their actor resumes.
• Make sure you’re seen. You want the people in charge of hiring to be able to see your face and the expression in your eyes as much as possible as you perform your audition scene. If the audition is taped, being seen by the camera should be your priority because it will most likely be viewed before the cut is made for acting callbacks. Most professional auditions will already be set up with the reader standing next to or a little behind the camera, but sometimes you will find that your reading partner is upstaging you or forcing the camera to only pick up your profile when you speak. If you’re being fully upstaged (i.e. you have to turn your back to your audience to talk to the other actor), consider stopping the scene and asking your audition partner if he or she can remain on the same plane as you. If you have to deliver a lot of your lines profile to connect with the other actor, use pauses to turn to the camera allowing for a good close-up.

This doesn’t mean breaking the 4th wall. Use your acting and auditioning technique skills. For example, if you’re doing a scene where you’re having a fight, look away (and therefore to the audience/camera) as you search for your next argument. Let the camera pick up a silent beat where the character’s wheels are turning. These moments can be gold and get you an acting callback!

Working with a reader
One of the hardest aspects of audition scenes is adapting to the person you’re reading with. Weather you have to do your audition scene reading opposite another actor, a reader or the casting director himself, you could have a fantastic partner who listens, responds and plays off you, or a terrible one who reads in a monotonous tone and never looks up once.

Here’s a few audition tips to not make your acting audition dependent on your partner:

• Practice and prepare. Ask your rehearsal partner when you prepare for the audition to do the scene many different ways. Also be ready in your mind to have a bad audition scene partner so that you won’t be thrown off if it happens. The worst thing that can happen is to let frustration ruin your acting.
• Forget what you learned… If you went to acting school, you probably want to be in the moment as much as possible. Sometimes, moment-to-moment acting will still work with a non-responsive actor (for example, if your character is frustrated in the scene or failing to get through to someone in a conflict). A lot of the time, though, feeding off the other actor will not work for the audition scene you have. In that case, concentrate on the words. Listen carefully and respond to what is being said, not the way it is being said. This acting tip will prevent a bad reader from taking your audition in the wrong direction.
• …but keep what you can. Even if you decide to concentrate on the lines and not respond to a bad acting partner, you should still create a relationship by really talking to them (rather then at them) and waiting for a response each time.

Cold reading free acting tips
A cold reading is when you don’t receive the audition scenes ahead of time. You will be handed the script when you sign in at your acting audition and typically have around 10-15 minutes to prepare.

Here are a few audition tips to make the most of cold readings:

• Practice, practice, practice… A good cold reading class is one of the best investments you can make for your acting career. If you’ve worked hard on your acting training, don’t skip this important step. Cold reading is a skill that can be learned from a good acting teacher and plenty of repetition. Once you got it, it’ll be like riding a bicycle. Take 30 minutes out of each day to do a cold reading and before you know it, you’ll be able to commit an entire audition scene to memory in 5 minutes (that really impresses auditioners) and break it down into acting beats in another 5 minutes.
• Keep your finger on the pulse. Here’s a quick audition tip - keep your thumb going down the audition script as you do your cold reading. This way, you won’t have to pause to find your place on the page if you don’t know what your next line is.
• Do detective work. Unless you’re auditioning for a very small part, casting directors usually pick audition scenes for a specific reason. When you’re preparing outside the audition room, read the scene a few times and look for clues. Ask yourself why the casting director picked this scene of all the scenes in the script. This can give you a clue to what they expect from you and also help you find the conflict in the scene. Also ask yourself what your character wants or needs. Once you know your objective, break down the scene into a few clear acting beats.

4) Audition Tips to Wrap Up Your Audition

• Don’t linger waiting for a reaction or approval from your audience.
• Don’t try to strike up a conversation or ask when the callbacks will be.
• Don’t make excuses for yourself if you feel your audition didn’t go well.
• Don’t explain why you played the audition scene the way you did.
• Don’t rush out of the room. The idea is to leave promptly, not to run away. After all, the auditioners may want to talk to you or see the scene again.

Here’s an important audition tip...
Once you leave the audition room, find a reason to linger outside for a few minutes (you could check your cellphone messages or your daily planner). This is especially important if you’re auditioning for more then one person. A lot of the time, auditioners will talk among themselves after you leave the room and realize they want to see you do the scene again. Not leaving too quickly could get you an acting callback!

Talking about callbacks…

5) Audition Tips on Making the most out of your Callback

…or two…or three… or ten! (It happens.)

Here are a few free acting tips and audition tips on how to approach callback auditions:

• Your audition material and who you read with may be different from the original acting auditions so make sure you ask these questions.
• Also find out how long you should expect the callback audition to last. Acting callbacks tend to last much longer then auditions. You may be asked to do an audition scene over and over again with different actors as the director looks for the right chemistry. Depending on the acting audition, a director may also ask you to improvise or you may be screen tested.
• Try to come as close as possible to what you did in your initial acting audition. Wear the same clothes and do your hair and make-up the same way. You don’t know what got you the callback and you don’t want to mess with a good thing. Sometimes actors give a completely different read at the callback to show they have range. Casting directors hate that and will probably not call you back for the next audition. Their reputation depends on an actor’s predictability. A director also needs to know you can replicate a scene he liked.

Here’s one last audition tip and maybe the most important of all – have fun! There are few professions like acting where you are constantly looking for a job as part of your career. The constant judging and rejections can get trying if you make your auditions just about getting the job, so remember to enjoy the process and the excitement of going after a part!