You Got an Audition – Now What?
Congratulations! Your child has been called in for an audition!
But now what?
You may receive an audition that has no requirements, or maybe one that does. So how do you prepare?
No Requirement
Most ‘no requirement’ auditions are quick auditions, about 10-15 minutes, and it’s a chance for the casting director to get to know your child, what their personality is like and how well they take direction.
Some good ways to prepare for a ‘no requirement’ audition can be asking your child to act like they’ve just seen something really exciting. Once they start acting excited, tell them to take it to a level 8 excitement, then a level 2, a level 10, etc. Then ask them to act excited using only words, then only their body.
This is a good exercise to get them used to taking directions and get them more comfortable with these types of requests, so if a casting director asks them similar questions, they won’t be so nervous.
Another good way to prepare is to ask your child a few questions about themselves: What’s your favourite hobby? Your favourite food? Favourite toy? Sport? Etc.
Casting directors want to know more about your child and what interests them, however sometimes nerves can mean being speechless to even a simple question such as this. Going through a few questions like this beforehand can help them familiarise themselves with responses, so if they are asked these questions or something similar, they’ll already have an idea what to answer with.
Specific Requirement
For other auditions, they may have specific requirements such as reading lines or wearing a particular outfit.
If you’ve been given an audition with a requirement, it’s important to make sure you’re going to that audition prepared. If they’ve given your child lines to learn, it’s best to try and get your child off script by the time of the audition. The casting director may specify that the lines don’t need to be learned off by heart, but it will be more impressive if they can!
Just like when preparing for a ‘no requirement’ audition, get your child to recite the lines as if he was sad, then as if he was happy, maybe one that’s a level 10 energy, and another time as a level 5, a level 1, etc.
And last but not least, practice, practice, practice! Auditions can be quite a nerve wracking experience, but the more your child goes, the more they’ll get used to it. If your child has been to a few auditions and has yet to get a role, don’t lose hope! Keep working with your child on direction, confidence, Q and A’s and quite soon you’ll be getting that email saying they were successful.
Simon