Auditions are very competitive. The best opportunity to stand out is by ensuring you have everything you need to succeed. Here’s what to bring to an audition.
What to Brind to an Audition
Hi actors, Wendy Alane Wright, the Hollywood Talent Manager. And I want to discuss with you today, What do I bring to auditions?
Things To Bring
The most important thing to bring to auditions is a hard copy of your resume. I recommend you bring two, just in case there are two people in the room and you want to give one to each of them. Keep a box in the trunk of your car with a stack of headshots and resume, stapled, and ready to go.
Even if you, your agent, or your manager submitted it online, they might have a digital copy of it, but they’re going to want your headshot and resume in their hand when you get there. Occasionally, when you get there, they might say, “Oh, no, we already have it,” but don’t count on that. Most always, they want a physical copy in their hand when you’re auditioning.
Put quarters in your car for the parking meter, snacks for when you might need a quick piece of energy to pick you up, and a couple of changes of clothes, very plain standard clothes that you just keep in your car; a pair of jeans, a skirt, a pair of slacks, a polo shirt, a T-shirt, a tank top, things like that; a pair of flat shoes, a pair of sneakers, things that you could just change into, and go into your audition. So that sometimes you get an audition and you’re on the road, and you need to just get in there.
Be On-Time
Kids, your parents should always have with them your work permit, your Coogan account information, your headshot, and your resume. So keep those things with you in a box in your trunk, then you’ll always be prepared. Make sure that you’re on time. And on time in LA means early 10 minutes. So that means to get to the place 20 minutes early. Find a place to park, walk in and sit down 10 minutes early, and be prepared to take some time to relax, unwind, practice a little bit, and then go in and do what you got to do.
Never show up right on time, because that means you’re going to be late. If you walk in downstairs on time, you’ll get upstairs and you’re late. They’re watching for this, and I want to tell you a secret about what’s going on in the casting office. Everybody’s watching you from the moment you walk in. They’re watching to see if you’re nice to the other actors.
The casting directors will talk with their assistants and the cameraman or woman after the audition, and see if you were nice to the cameraperson if you’re nice to the associates, the assistants in the office. Be nice to everybody, because you are auditioning for that role from the minute you walk in.
Make A Solid Impression
You’re auditioning to book the room. That means when you go on an audition, you’re not going on an audition to get the job. You’re going on an audition to make a friend, a fan in the casting office for life. You want this casting director to fall in love with your work, how professional you are, and your great personality. You want them to say, “This would be an easy person to work with.” You want the associates to feel that way and the assistants, and the cameraman to feel that way about you too.
You’re going in there to make a great solid impression, and it starts from the moment you get out of your car. It should start in your mind, on your way to the audition, you should be putting yourself in a positive happy frame of mind.
Also, I want to say a couple of things about auditions. When you are auditioning and doing a self-tape at home to submit to auditions and your slate before your audition, don’t slate in the character. Just slate as yourself, your happy, friendly self. Cut it and then tape your audition. The reason is they want to see who you are on the slate.
And when you do the piece, then they want to see the character. And you also don’t want to go right from slate to character. You want a moment to let yourself get into the space to do that character. So tape them separately, then put them together, and then send them off.
When you’re taping your tape, your audition tape, look to the left, to the right of the camera. Pick a very specific focal point and make that the place that you’re talking to. Don’t talk directly to the camera. Never talk directly to a casting director when you are in the room with a casting director, don’t make them your scene partner. That’s uncomfortable, they’ll look away, they don’t want to be your scene partner, they just want to watch you. So pick a focal point next to the camera to be your scene partner and play it to the side of the camera.
