September 4, 2020
To successfully audition for an acting school requires meticulous preparation and research. At the start of your journey, think about any teachers you would like to study with and why? What educational environment do you thrive in. What is the alumni networking system like? What do you have to offer to this industry? Why do you have to Act? Remember, all Art possesses a personal, passionate, precise, political, provocative, purposeful, point of view. We want to help you prepare by providing 4 crucial elements that you should consider as you prepare for your audition.
4 KEYS to prepare for your audition
1. Find a monologue(s) that you LOVE. Raise your personal joy tolerance to the heavens. You may have to spend hours combing through literature to find that ideal monologue that fits your personality and style. It's worth it. And you will learn invaluable lessons about what subjects/language/issues resonate most with you now. A smart actor is a desirable actor.
2. Be authentic
If you have chosen a monologue that you truly love and are excited about sharing with as many people who will listen, then authenticity in delivery will be less daunting to fight for. Control what you can and let go of what you can't. In other words, you are responsible for your preparation. A well-prepared actor does not get nervous, they get excited! All acting is private moments made public and if you want to be an actor, you must get *comfortable being uncomfortable. (*But always in the well-mined safety-net of killer preparation because only then can you truly have the confidence to be fully present.) Remember to forget. Surprise yourself. Discover, discover, discover. Be a person first. Every monologue is about you in a LOVE relationship. NAME who that LOVE relationship is with: eg. the audience, your lover, your child, your best friend, your dog. Then ask yourself: What do I want? What am I fighting FOR in this love relationship? And what gets in my way? What interferes with me getting what I need? This is FINDING THE CONFLICT.
3. Do your research
Always stay curious. Leave your ego at the door - your ego is not your amigo. Approach every piece like a baby discovering voice, language, and physicality for the first time. Time spent finding your monologue should not be the only time to dive into literature. Spend time researching. Remember, an Actor is Psychologist, Sociologist, Anthropologist, and Archaeologist. Investigate your relationship to everything and everyone. The question is always the same: "How do I feel about ____?". Circle all your operative words. Look up their meaning if you don't know it. *Hint: if you don't know a word or a name, always look it up. It will usually be an operatie word. Look up and make sure you know how to correctly pronounce all your words/names.
4. Destinations = Relaxation
To be successful, you need to find touchstones in the text that will give your audition piece the finishing touch: ARCHITECTURE. These touchstones will keep you on track no matter what happens during your audition. They will bring you back to your relationship and re-activate your fight. In other words, you will have clear destinations and the result will be that you can relax and enjoy the ride. The destinations are usually related to viewpoints - meaning where your body is in space and time. This is true both in person and on camera. No matter your medium, know your "frame" and make smart, economical, and always *justified* physical choices.
You have done brave work leading up to this moment as an actor.
Let your research and preparation not stop here. Take your audition seriously by applying these 4 principles, and you will see the fruit of your labor. This is not a one-and-done deal. As you practice and train, you will refine your acting skill by choosing material that you LOVE, being authentic, doing research, and finding architecture so that your performance will make you stand out among the rest.