The casting call day is progressing and now you’re ready to meet you actors in your fist acting auditions!
The audition itself:
When you’re assistant brings in the auditioning actor for the first time, introduce yourself. Don’t hide behind a table all aloof, get up and shake hands, bow, curtsey, whatever is your thing, but interact. You are the charismatic director after all and you want to create the right impression.
Introduce your own assistant actor, if you have one. Run through the process or you’re assistant might have already done it.
What is the process? It’s this:
The actor, having read the script pages, will have begun the process of interpretation of the material. They can now begin to audition for you. You can explain that you want to see what their initial impression is and what they bring to it. Explain also that you will run through the material at least three times so you are not going to kick them out after the first attempt. This will help Bob or Meryl to relax and steady themselves. Bob will need to hold the pages in his hand too as no-one can memorise that quick.
Watch the first attempt.
It will probably be disjointed, rushed, out of rhythm. It’s hard to remember that no-one else is as familiar with these words as you and how the characters sound and act in your mind’s eye. You will have to let go somewhat, of any pre-conceived ideas about how someone should sound or look like as this just limits you and could cut you off from finding someone who is really good but doesn’t “look right”. Of course there are certain parameters for how a character should look but try not to be too stubborn about it. Be open to whatever comes up.
Give some feedback
You’re going to be a director, you’ll have to get used to giving feedback all the time. Be as positive as you can without bull-shitting.Now you will have to come up with a suggestion about how to play the scene. Depending upon your script analysis that you have already spent time doing (right?), you will have an idea on how the scene should go. This idea should now inform your directorial choice. Is the scene tense, violent, romantic? There will be layers of subtlety within the writing, subtext and mood changes that you won’t be able to do justice to in this short period of time but you will need to find a way to bring the essence of the scene to light and communicate this to the actor.
Give ‘playable‘ directions
Depending on your material, give them a playable direction. For instance, the scene is tense with two men who don’t trust each other. The direction is “You’re impatient to leave. You have to get out of this room.”
Obviously you don’t want them to physically leave the room and if the actor walks out the door, assume you haven’t explained yourself properly. So staying in the room, how does the actor communicate that feeling of frustration and of being trapped through his spoken words and his body language?
Don’t use directions such as “be afraid, be nervous.” This is ok if you’re making a cartoon but not if you’re dealing with real people, (check out Judith Weston’s book, “Directing actors”).
Watching the next attempt
Continue to work with the actor, giving feedback and more playable directions. If you are close to what you want, then carry on along that way. If not, try the complete opposite.
In the case of the above example you could say, “Intimidate this other guy, make him leave the room!” Again, don’t use something like “be angry, be aggressive”. These types of directions have no goal, they are just states. They can mean many different things and lead to questions such as “how angry, how aggressive?” Try to combine direction with goals, objectives, purpose. This gives an actor something to grasp.
Remember to have fun with it; this type of collaboration is a creative process and an exciting one.
At the end of each audition thank the person involved for their time and effort.
Summary of the process:
- First read through: actors interpretation
- Second read through: with basic playable direction from you.
- Third read through: observations from the previous two attempts, try opposite direction.
- Fourth read through: go crazy.