3-14-08
Auditions: Keep It Short
During general auditions, actors often complain that they only get 2-3 minutes of audition time to wow the directors, and there is no possible way that an actor can express the full range of their ability in that short time. Seriously? No really, I want to know what the mental block is because frankly if you’re taking three full minutes in your audition, you have gone about 2:45 past the useful stage.
To help all our actor friends gain some perspective, I spoke with some of the city’s top casting people for verification. Adam Belcuore, casting director at the Goodman says without hesitation, “Ten seconds. No, seven seconds. Mind you, that first impression might change if they are able to hold my attention. But if you don’t grab someone right away, you might lose them forever.”
Steppenwolf’s casting director Erica Daniels gives a bit more leeway—at 15 seconds. “Anyone that tells you otherwise is lying or hasn’t been doing it long,” she laughs. “So yeah, after 20 years in the business I’m gonna say 15 seconds.”
Cree Rankin, casting director for Court Theatre, has just come out of several days of general auditions, so the topic is fresh on his mind. He is one of the more generous with his estimates of time. “I like to have the auditions go on a little longer because if an actor does something to pique my interest, especially if I’m familiar with the material, I want to see how it plays out. But more importantly the first 20 or 30 seconds is crucial because you sort of turn off after that if you don’t see anything.”
In that first 20 or 30 seconds, Rankin and other casting directors noted that they are looking for an understanding of the text, how interesting an actor’s choices are, and how well an actor does with the physicality of the piece.
Rankin was quick to point out, though, that physicality “doesn’t mean tumbling or going over the top with gestures.” It is how well you comfortably inhabit the world of the character. “One thing I see constantly is clenched fists, and that is the first hint they are not physically connected.”
Bob Mason, casting director at Chicago Shakespeare says he can tell in the first 10-15 seconds if an actor will be right for their theatre. “Sometimes there are people who have to rev up their auditions and start connecting halfway through.” However, if you take all that time, you might have lost their attention.
Mason finds that use of language is what will engage him quickly in the audition. He looks to see that “they are connected to the material, and if they use language to get what they want. I can tell immediately if they are just reciting it or if they are connecting to it.”
Richard Shavzin noted that a director may take more time to decide who is right for a role, but they know immediately who is not right. Of course, he’s something of a slowpoke allowing himself the luxury of 45 seconds to a full minute of audition time to decide.
It’s not so much that your entire audition should wrap up in 30 seconds or less. The important thing is that as an actor, you not save the best for last. Put it all out there from the very beginning and you’ll make the directors of this city very happy.