TheActorsProcess: Audition Monologues: What the Casting Director Sees...

If their audition is being efficiently run, they’re seeing 15-20 actors per hour. That’s 15-20 new faces per hour. That’s more new people than you’ve met in the last six months. If each of those faces is doing mediocre monologues (likely), they quickly become indistinguishable one from the other. The feeling is, “I know there’s a person there, I just can’t see them (or remember them, or see them in any of the roles I’m trying to cast).

Let me take a moment to define mediocre. The actor remembers their lines. They speak those lines in a way that makes sense. Their performance seems plausible but does not ring true. The casting professional is painfully aware that they’re watching an actor doing a monologue in an audition. They are not engaged by what the actor is doing. They end up looking at the actor’s headshot (which unfortunately does not look like them) and they quickly become board and count the seconds until the actor goes away. I know this sounds harsh but it is true.

I think before any actor is allowed to audition they should be required to assist at a monologue audition. They should see how grim the process can be for casting directors.

Out of those 15-20 per hour there will be 7 to 8 actors that you just want to go away even before they say the first word of their monologue. You can sense this is not going to go well. They’re fighting a major league adrenalin rush due to good old-fashioned stage fright. They’re not totally off book. They have no grasp of character. They are totally wasting your time. Once again, I know this is harsh, but that’s exactly how it feels to a person who has to sit in a room all day watching mediocre monologues.

Every once in a while, someone comes in and does a killer monologue and suddenly life is good. You remember why you called the audition in the first place. You really want to find the good talent. This is lost on most actors. They see the casting director as an adversary, who calls their talent into question. Nothing could be further from the truth. The casting director has to cast roles and they’re hoping that the next person who walks in will be a perfect fit. Really, they are pulling for you. But, you need to show up with a performance that really lets them see you and your talent.