TheActorsProcess: Audition Monologues: Keep It Simple

When approaching an audition most actors are ambiguous about everything that leads up to the first word of their monologue. If you're ambiguous, confusion sets in. You become disoriented and that causes you to shut down. You drift into the audition room in a kind of fog which makes it difficult to connect with the people that you're auditioning for. To avoid this, here's what you need to get straight, and please, keep it simple.

The first question you need to answer is what am I doing in the waiting room? If you want to socialize with fellow actors because you feel that opens you up to relaxed interaction in the audition, then do that. If you prefer to keep to your self and mentally run through your monologues, then do that. If you prefer to catch up on your texting, then do that. Any of these will work if you've consciously decided that this is the best approach for you.

What is the best approach for you? It's the one that puts you in the best frame of mind for entering the audition room. Relaxed, open, ready to perform…

When your name is called, mentally contact the people that you are about to meet in the room. I know this may sound a bit peculiar. Try it anyway. It's a way of making it clear to yourself that you want to engage the people in the room. That you want to interact with them. They in turn will feel that they have access to you as soon as you enter the room. As I've said before, access equals impact. This means that even before you perform your monologues, you've capitalized on an opportunity to catch their attention.

Once in the room, mentally invite them to look at you. Nothing is said out loud. It's just something you run through your head. Do they know that you're inviting them to look? No. Then why do it? Because you want them to look at you. Most of the actors I've audition literally seem like they don't want to be looked at. The reason they look this way is because they're ambiguous about being observed. Get it straight. If you want to be an actor, then you want people to look at you! The simple mental invitation to “look at me” will help you to, you guessed it, open access between you and the people you're auditioning for.