They say that your audition begins the moment you walk into the room. The director, agent, etc., immediately begins to analyze your “essence” before you even introduce yourself. But what many actors fail to realize is that their behavior in the waiting room can, and usually is, taken as an indicator of how professional they are.
This goes into the director’s thinking when it comes time to put that callback list together, when the agent is considering you for representation and when a casting director is evaluating your potential for other projects. And it all begins when you walk into their office.
Step One – Be Organized
To help you help yourself, here are some things you should do in preparation for your audition:
- Make sure you have allotted enough time to get to the office, audition and then get back to your home or job.
- Get the exact street address of the audition site in order to MapQuest it.
- Have the name and phone number of a contact person in case you’re running late.
- Find out if parking is an issue at their building.
- If you can only get the audition sides once you’re there, then be sure to budget enough time to look over the scene thoroughly. This also applies if you need to decompress from the drive and/or change your clothes.
The main point of all this is to make sure you’re not any more nervous than you already are on the day of the audition. If you’re bouncing off the walls because of difficulty getting to the audition, you’ll have to work doubly hard to get calm and be focused.
The Monitor is Not A Punching Bag
Upon entering, you should find the monitor and sign in. You should ask them how things are proceeding, but be careful…this is when things can start to go wrong. If the monitor tells you that they’re running twenty minutes, or even an hour and twenty minutes behind, please remember that someone else is responsible for that. Too many actors take out their frustrations on the monitor or demand that they be moved up in line so as to keep their other appointments. It is a well know practice in the Biz that the “powers that be” will ask the monitor if they had any problems with the actors that day and if so, who were they. Think about that for a minute.
Silence is Golden
Now find a seat, or if they’re all taken, tell the monitor where you’ll be so they can easily find you. If you stay in the office, get settled and stay quiet and if you need to speak, then talk in a whisper. Want to catch up with a friend you haven’t seen in a while? Fine, just step out into the hallway. Nothing will get a casting director’s nose out of joint faster than having to come out of the audition room to quiet a bunch a noisy actors! God help you if they or the monitor recall that you were a repeat offender. You also owe it to your colleagues to respect their need to focus and prepare.
No Acting Please
Finally, don’t rehearse your scene full-out, do a physical/vocal warm-up or redo your makeup and hair while in the waiting room. Not only is this distracting and disruptive to the other actors, but it’s extremely amateurish. Step out of the room if you need to do any of this. And remember that it is the relaxed and professional actor who stands the best chance of making, and leaving, a good first impression.
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To peruse another article concerning this general topic read: The Actor's Audition Journal - Why Keeping Track of Your Audition Experience is So Important
Sean Pratt - A 25 year veteran, I teach actors about the business of the Biz; holding workshops, writing articles, posting videos & career coaching. ...
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