LEARN HOW TO EFFECTIVELY MEASURE SUCCESS

The most common response to “How did the audition go?” I hear after an actor auditions falls into one of two answers:

“It went awful. I totally missed a line” or
“Nailed it. I didn’t miss a single line.”

While memorizing the lines is respectful and a part of the job as a professional actor, this should never be your measuring stick for success. Don’t get me wrong, learning your lines is important, but it’s not the thing that determines the success of an audition. They aren’t looking for amazing line rememberers. They want to see what the character looks like and sounds like from you and how the story is served with you in the role.

Try not to measure success by whether or not you book the role. This is something that we can’t control and has too many subjective variables.

Use a different measuring stick for determining the success or failure of your auditions.

Measure the results of your auditions by the following:

(1) Did I do what I meant to do? (Did I do what I prepared?)

(2) Was I able to take direction? (If applicable.)

(3) Did I do enough preparation to understand how this character serves the story?

If you do the three things above, consider your audition a 100% success.

If you do this 100% of the time, you will find you will book work. Not 100% of the time, but if you prepare like you will book 100% of the time, you will book consistently.

THE BEST PART OF YOUR AUDITION

Never let your wardrobe or your props be the best part of your audition.

Is it okay to bring in props?
If I am auditioning for a doctor should I wear hospital scrubs? Can I bring in a toy gun that looks real?

Every casting director will have different rules and preferences. Some will be okay with one thing and not another and another casting director may have a completely different opinion. My golden rule for props and wardrobe is simple—

Don’t let your wardrobe or props be the best or most memorable part of your audition.

You are not shooting the actual movie or TV show, so they don’t need you to do the work of the professional props or wardrobe departments. I have often used the rule of “What would this person wear on their day off?” as a guideline for wardrobe, and when it comes to props, I try to keep it to the following items, if any at all—

• Cell Phone
• Pen
• Water Bottle
• Clip Board
• Tote Bag

They don’t want to see if you can provide props or wardrobe. They want to see you walk in, let’s say for a firefighter role, and think “Yup. That looks like a firefighter!” If the only way we see you as a firefighter is when you’re in the full gear, carrying a big axe and lugging around a giant hose? You’re probably not right for this role.