A Tale of Two Auditions

Auditions are to actors what job interviews are to the rest of the working world. Of course there are differences, as auditions usually only last five to ten minutes, and there are many more each year (hopefully) than there are job interviews for workers in other fields. In essence, actors are always looking for their next job, even if they are currently working in film, television, or commercials. It is the nature of what we do.

Some actors literally loath auditions as they make them feel uncomfortable, while others neither hate or love auditions, and just figure they are a vital part of the business they are in. A third, and admittedly smaller, groups of actors actually like and enjoy auditions. I fall into that last group and freely admit there are other actors who look at me like I am a Martian when I say that, and I might as well have just told them I enjoy root canals. Still, love them or hate them, auditions are a part of being an actor.

There are many things an actor can control during an audition, but also there are a number of things totally out of an actors control. Knowledgeable people in the business say you should worry about what you can control, and not the rest. Fairly good advice for life, too, I suppose.

Recently I had two auditions with quite different results, even though both auditions went well. When an actor leaves an audition, they know if they did well.

First, I auditioned for a corporate/industrial film in Portland. The audition went longer than most (some 15 minutes) and I handled everything they threw at me well. Since then I also auditioned for another corporate/industrial film in Seattle, and again, the audition went well. I was equally pleased with both auditions.

I was cast in the film in Portland, but not the one in Seattle. I have been around in acting long enough to know that I will probably never actually now why I was not cast in one, and cast in the other. I have learned to accept the fact that I will probably never learn this and subscribe to the wise saying about worrying only about what you can control.

In both cases, I could have been cast or not cast because I did or did not have just the right look for which they were looking. Other than good grooming, we have no control over how we look. Perhaps I wasn't cast in the Seattle film because, as well as I did in the audition, another actor had an even better audition. If you can run the hundred yard dash in 9.8 seconds, you will win a lot of races until you go up against a runner who can run it in 9.7. That's life. Perhaps I reminded the audition person of someone they didn't like. That very thing once happened to an old acting coach of mine who reminded the film's director so much of his ex mother in law, he didn't want to be in the same room with her.

My point is this. If you can walk away from an audition feeling good about how you did, that is the very best result you can hope for. When that happens you have controlled all you could about the audition. What should an actor do after an audition regardless of how they think it went. If you learned something in the audition that will help you in future auditions, that's great. Otherwise forget it and move on. If they are interested in you they know where to find you or your agent. That audition is over and it is time for the actor to look forward, not backward.

I'm off this afternoon for LA for a series of casting director workshops and private lesson. I'll talk with you when I return.............