How To Audition - In Pursuit of Talent

If you don t know what the director is looking for you can t possibly fill the shoes!

It s true isn t it?

Now, when I say “know what the director is looking for” I can hear you saying - “You don t even know what show/part/audition I m going for - how can you possibly know what my director is looking for?” Well let s stop right there….

Directors are only looking for one thing: TALENT. Now, if that frightens you stop reading right now, grab your teddy bear and go to bed - well, maybe not bed but stop going to auditions at least because you are wasting your time.

However, “Talent” is such a vague term.

There are two definitions from dictionary.com that I think are interesting:

Talent (noun) 1. a special natural ability or aptitude: Well if you enjoy taking part in performance art then you clearly have an aptitude and if you are reading this article I assume you must have some natural ability (I discuss the measurement of ability in more detail in my ebook - The Ultimate Audition Guide.

2. a capacity for achievement or success ability. Interesting! So, if talent is measured by your “capacity to achieve success” then by helping you achieve audition success I am offering to ultimately make you more talented. I should charge more for this course!

From a director s perspective this is the key definition though. The talent you display at an audition is what the director will use to judge whether you could make his production as successful as possible. When I am casting I want to hire the people who I think will make me look good so will cast the people who exhibit the most clear examples of certain key skills.

Some of those skills will be matched to my production such as singing, acting, dancing or to the role being cast but there is a long list of skills that I look for as a director that are not related to the actual production but are native to Showbusiness and essential for the production process.

These qualities, such as Confidence, Poise, Vocal Projection, Style, Individuality, Attitude etc., are the first thing that hopeful actors need to brush up on so that they even get noticed in the audition room. They are what I like to call a performer s “Sparkle Rating”

In TV, Theater and Movie auditions many hopeful actors forget the value of their “Sparkle Rating” because they are so absorbed in trying to deliver a character performance to wow the casting director.

For reality TV shows, game-shows and the like a performer s “Sparkle Rating” is probably THE most fundamental attribute being assessed.

You can find out about each of the seven “Sparkle” elements in the Ultimate Audition Guide as I break them down in detail. These are elements of your audition that you can easily improve on to give you maximum points at any audition.

In fact, these are the skills that often separate the people who get the parts from the people who don t.

Until next time - Break a Leg!

——————————————————————————-

Related post

The Audition - Proving You Have Talent
The Audition - Proving You Have TalentBy Tim Waddell Now, Talent isn t something that can be easily demonstrated in 5 minutes. If you were an expert in fruit and vegetable carving and I gave yo...

Auditioning Tips for Musical Theatre
Auditioning Tips for Musical TheatreBy: James Kronefield One of the most difficult parts of being in musical theater, especially for kids, is the auditioning process. What follows are 3 of the most i...

Auditioning Tips for Musical Theatre
Auditioning Tips for Musical TheatreBy: James Kronefield One of the most difficult parts of being in musical theater, especially for kids, is the auditioning process. What follows are 3 of the most i...

Auditioning Tips for Musical Theatre
Auditioning Tips for Musical TheatreBy: James Kronefield One of the most difficult parts of being in musical theater, especially for kids, is the auditioning process. What follows are 3 of the most i...

Auditioning Tips for Musical Theatre
Auditioning Tips for Musical TheatreBy: James Kronefield One of the most difficult parts of being in musical theater, especially for kids, is the auditioning process. What follows are 3 of the most i...

Great Tips For Getting On American Idol
Great Tips For Getting On American IdolBy J. Edwards American Idol features America s best young vocal talent and consistently delivers top-quality performances to viewers around the world. How...

How To Get Through A Band Audition
How To Get Through A Band AuditionBy Clinton Paul You may have come across the ads in the paper, magazine, internet or even in a shop window band seeks guitarist/vocalist , bass player , dan...

Movie Review: Audition
Movie Review: AuditionBy Cinthia Razakalalao Last night I saw Audition, a Japanese horror/drama film about a widower who decides he is ready to remarry several years after the death of his wife...

In Pursuit of Happyness
In Pursuit of HappynessBy Janelle Thomas In 2001, superstar Will Smith fell short of an Oscar performance in "Ali", as the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. Fast forward 5 years, and Big Willie may...

Seven Steps to a Successful Audition
Seven Steps to a Successful AuditionBy Marco Kasel I have been a musician since the tender age of 7 and in my career I ve passed a larger number of auditions all of which have taught me somethi...