in the classroom...
The Day Of The Audition

You should receive a confirmation of your audition time and place some time before the audition. If you do not, please call and inquire about your audition time and date. When you arrive for the audition you might be asked to fill out a questionnaire, or an audition form. If you have a resume or headshot attach them to this form. If you do not have a resume or headshot, don't worry about it. Please arrive early to your audition. This will give you time to relax, fill out the forms, and relax some more. Find out the little details about what the room is like in which you will be auditioning. Will the auditors want to speak to you before, or should you just introduce yourself and go right into your prepared pieces? Find out all you can. Be prepared for anything!

In the room
There will be any number of auditors present at the audition. They will have smiles on their faces, or maybe not. Remember, these auditors are people who hold the key to your admission into the school's theatre program. Treat them as such. Be friendly and personable. Introduce yourself to them. Make eye contact with them. Do not offer to shake hands unless they offer their hands to you. If names are given, remember them. It is really bad if you exchange names and then bump into one of them later in the day and you cannot remember who they are. Shame on you. What I am getting at is this: Be a great and cheerful person. Yes, you are nervous and possibly tired. So are they. But they have also been at this all day. So if you make yourself a presentable and friendly face the moment you walk in the door, a person they would like to see for the next four years, so much the better.

Walk into the room with confidence. Introduce yourself. If they ask questions before you begin smile, relax and answer them. Take your time. Present yourself well. This is your time and your audition. They want you to do well!

After introducing yourself, and maybe some questions, announce what monologues you have chosen to perform. After you announce the second one, take the briefest of seconds and begin. Do not turn around with your back to them, or bow your head to "compose" yourself. You are a prepared actor. Actors on stage, while performing, do not turn their backs to "compose" themselves, and neither should you. That is high school drama club fluff and nonsense. It does not belong in a professional audition. You should have yourself "composed" and ready to go the moment you come in the door. Prepare yourself outside in the hallway before you enter. Nor does that constitute as a "transition" between pieces or characters. It is just not done. When you finish your first monologue, take a second and get your mind straight. Compose yourself inside your mind. Assume the character and perform your second monologue. When you come to the end of your second monologue make a definite finish. Do not bow your head, or turn around. Say "Thank You" and smile. This is the polite way of auditioning.

They may wish to ask you some questions at this point. So do not be so eager to run outside screaming. Most likely they will ask you to choose one monologue, or they might choose one of yours for you, and work with you. This is the coaching part of the audition. Listen carefully to how you are being directed. If anything is unclear, or you have questions ask them! Do not be afraid to ask questions. This shows that you are thinking and listening. You will work on this one monologue for several minutes with an auditor and then be asked to perform it again. Have fun with this moment. Relax. They are watching to see if you can take direction on not. This is good. Enjoy it. It is also a good sign.

What if I "F" up?
Back when I was in college (flashback!!!) I heard a story while sitting over coffee from one of my fellow students... let me relate it to you. The names have been omitted because I cannot remember them anyway... and who would want to. Read on...

On the day of my classmate's audition into the University of Illinois' Theatre Department he was in the room with another hotshot, young actor, who was also hoping to make the cut and get in with his audition. The kid was smug and really "self-assured" that he would make it. So on his call, he approaches his mark, sets his chair that he planned on using, sat down, bowed his head to "prepare" himself and started... Not even one sentence into the monologue, it was some really dramatic, intensive piece, he screams "F*CK! G*D D*MMIT!!! SH*T!!!" and kicks his chair across the room!!! Then he turns to the auditors and pulls his longish hair from his face and asks, "Can I start again?!"

You tell me. Do you think he made it into the program? Heck no! And he makes one heck of an example of what NOT to do in an audition. I also remember hearing about John Malkovich doing something similar up in Chicago where he smashed a wooden chair against the back wall (as part of his audition, not because he was uber-angry), but then again, he helped start The Steppenwolf... so who am I to argue with him on semantics? But there is a solution when you mess up or forget your place, or whatever. You stop. Do not cuss or throw a fit. Collect yourself and your thoughts and you proceed. Pick up where you left off, cover yourself as a professional on stage might. You do not apologize. If you are completely lost you may start again. Read that whole line again starting with "You stop."

You are a professional. You do not throw a fit on stage when you make a mistake in your performance, do you? You do not turn to the audience and pardon yourself and ask if you can start again, do you? The same goes for an audition. By this point you should be prepared in your audition fully to be able to handle any mistake you may make. Whether it is forgetting a line or mixing up your words, you continue on in CHARACTER. It was completely wrong and unprofessional of that wanna-be, smug, little piece of snot (pardon my French) to throw such a fit, kick furniture around, curse and then have the GALL to ask if he may start again. I am surprised they didn't ask him to leave that very moment.

Again, if you mess up, collect yourself in the briefest of moments, carry on and finish with grace and professionalism. If you have to stop and start over again, only do so once. Once is permissable because you are rightly nervous. But more than once and it obviously shows that you have not prepared for this audition. But by all means, never apologize. This is your time. Not theirs. Your apologizing diminishes you as a person and as a professional actor. Now, do yourself a favor and go back and read this whole section again.

Scene work
Next will come the scene work. The auditors will pair you up with another auditionee and give you a selected scene from a play to work on. It will already be cut to length. Most likely this will happen over lunch, or a break. Go somewhere and work on it. Read through the scene with your partner as much as possible. Figure out the details. What are your characters doing? Who are they? What is their relationship to each other. Now start making some decisions about your character. Make some "choices" and make them strong. Plan out some basic movement around a set. You will be allowed to create a set with chairs and blocks, so plan this as well. Work on the scene several times together.

When your time has arrived to perform your scene, do it as planned. Do not try to spring something exciting on your partner, thinking it would be cool and improvised. It isn't. You will most likely upset your partner's train of thought or method and jeopardize his or her chance as well as yours. Be dynamic, not impulsive. Give it your all in the performance, but work with one another. Also, make eye contact as much as possible with your partner. It shows that you are listening. Try not to keep your face buried in your script, but act out to your partner and to your audience. Look down for your lines only when you have to. If you partner is talking to you, look at your partner and react. Do not put your face back into your script the moment your lines are out of your mouth and have nothing to say. That is the key to scenework auditions. Be interactive and dynamic. Make strong character choices and stick to them. Enjoy yourself!

The rest of the audition
There might be a few other events or exercises that you will encounter. You will probably be put through some speech and stage movement work. They want to see if you can move and speak clearly. They are looking for the potential in you, not the star. There might be some improvisational work as well. Again, the whole point of this audition is to find the potential in you, not the star. You do not have to accomplished at any of these things. So relax and have fun. Keep your eyes and ears open. Keep your mind open, as well. Try everything. And give it your best. Show them that you are willing to spend four years or more of your young life dedicated to learning the craft of acting. They are looking for students who will stick with the program and give it their all.