How To Nail Your Audition in 3 Simple Steps!

by Meme Simmons

Ok. This is it. The moment you've been waiting for. Your next audition! You look in the mirror and chant your mantra, "You are prepared. You are amazing. You got this!"  But then doubt comes creeping in like a chill from a cracked basement door. You start to think "Am I ready?" And then...the dreaded "what ifs."  What if they don't like me? What if I chose the wrong song? What if they hate my monologue? WHAT IF??

Well, what if I told you that I'm going to help you get rid of doubt with these 3 simple steps to prepping for your next audition?  Yep. I am. Hopefully they will help you! 

1-Organize and update your audition book.

Nothing is worse than seeing an actor fumble through their audition book looking for music and trying to mark their starting and stopping points at the last minute. One word. Unprofessional. You need to make sure that your audition book is organized, neat and in order. You haven't sang "No Good Deed" in 2 years so why is it in the front of your book?  Chances are you won't be singing it anytime soon other than a karaoke bar. Take it out.

Make sure your sheet music is already marked and ready to go. That goes for instrumental tracks as well. We don't want to hear a YouTube commercial play before your song starts and we also don't want to spend an extra 4 minutes watching you figure out your music markings with the pianist. Lol. Mark a stop and start on your music and have your instrumentals cued and ready to go!

2-The audition starts when you enter the BUILDING.

This is one thing that a lot of actors don't realize.  They often think that their audition isn't until they enter the actual audition room. Well that's not true. The minute you step into that building, you are auditioning. Often times we will have people out in the lobby or waiting area just watching you to see how you interact with other actors and our audition monitors. It's true!  They will let us know if you were out there practicing or warming up OR being a distraction. The audition continues in the audition room all the way through the callbacks. This is especially true for actors who are working with the same company again. Don't get too comfortable! You should always be at the top of your game and never assume you are going to be cast. If anything, your audition should be top notch!

3-Know your material inside and out!

I can't stress this enough!  You have to know your audition materials inside out! This shows us that you are serious about being cast and that you are ready to take on a show.  Memorize it front and back. Start from the middle and go through it. Then start from the end and go through it. Same with monologues, music and sides. Have family and friends run through lines with you. Make them your test audience and judges. Wear you audition clothes in front of them so you can get used to what you will be auditioning in. We don't want you fidgeting with your clothes while we try to listen to your beautiful voice and monologue! 

Well there it is! Hopefully this helped you out a little bit. We just want you to do your best and have the best audition you possibly can! 

Maybe next time we'll talk about what to wear at an audition. Did someone say costumes?  Lol. Actually, no. Don't wear one to an audition. We'll talk about that later.  See you at the theatre!