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The Passion of AuditioninG
By Craig Wallace
 
Every actor wants more auditions. Fact. But as hard as many of these actors work to get into the room, by the time they show up in it they look like it's the last place they want to be.
The reason is in the preparation, which often ranges from a nightmarish guessing game of what the CD is looking for, to an unfocused process of reading the piece over and over looking for magic that isn't there. Then there's the popular tactic of making bizarre, disconnected choices in an effort to be different from everyone else. This "preparation" is actually shutting you down and divorcing you from your strength and creativity. The result is an edgy, uncertain and disconnected actor.

And don't kid yourself – all of that walks into the audition with you. The rooms are too small and the people in those small rooms are paid to stare into your soul. The frenzied quality of joyless, heady, neurotic preparation sticks to you like glue.

Enough! Take a look at these three joyful experiences that auditioning has to offer and use them to help you find your passion in the process.
 
Auditioning allows you to explore
What a great time to be auditioning! Far from the days when cold reads were king, you have time to prepare. A day, a night – amazing! You get to be an actor, you get to explore. Actors tend to skate a bit too much on the surface in their auditions – saving the more intense "acting" work for the role. Why? If you don't dig deep for the audition, you'll never get the role. You're an actor who is auditioning – ask questions! "What are the most interesting and compelling qualities I have to offer this role?" "Which parts of me will bring the words to life in the most unique way?" "Which intent is the most honest, the most fun and will give the piece my strongest, truest heartbeat?" "What are all of the levels of the relationships in the scene and what emotions do those people, on every level elicit from me?" And on and on.

Self-exploration is exhilarating and necessary work for the actor and the basis of the art of auditioning. Greatness can be achieved by the knowledge gained through these journeys inward. As you continue to patiently, persistently peel back the layers of the onion that is you, you'll discover the dynamic intersection of yourself and the words on the page.
 
You get to be yourself
If you're an actor, you probably have a strong belief that you have a singular voice, a point of view that's informed by the experiences of your life that is different than anyone else's and needs to be shared.

Okay, here's an audition – put up or shut up! Because, believe it or not, a film/TV audition is your absolute best chance to satisfy that need. Casting has ideas of what they want for the role, but the very fact that there's a session taking place means that they still have questions – questions that you can answer by showing them who you are and what you have to add to the role. And what do you have to add that no one else does? Yourself.

You are the game changing difference that you've been searching for all this time.

If you get the role, you'll be told what they want, how to feel, where to look, how to react etc. In an audition, that's all up to you. The artist in you should rejoice at the prospect! By exploring, as noted above, you will uncover the beautiful subtleties of the qualities that are entirely unique to you. And by incorporating those fully dimensionalized qualities into the piece you'll be creating a human being with your heart beating in its chest and your blood running through its veins.

And then you get to be in the room. As yourself. Instead of feeling that you have to put on an act or be someone else, you'll stand tall, hiding nothing. You'll be neither a people pleaser, nor an imposter. You'll simply be you. All of you – undefended, strong and connected. An entire person like no other.
 
You get to be generous
Preparing an audition is by its nature a self-centered process – you're alone with your thoughts and feelings, working diligently on something that will ultimately need to be vibrantly alive in the audition.

The problem is that many actors are still in an emotional solitary confinement when they walk into the room. They have forgotten that the work now has to be released and given away in a true spirit of artistic generosity – after all, you're not in there to do the work for yourself.

Actors who are still in their heads, or are unsure of their work appear stingy. They hold back and remain separate from the people in the room. The actor who has prepared in a way that allows him to let go extends himself out into the room and connects in a generous and open hearted way that gives us the feeling that we're in the scene with him. And what could be more powerful in an audition than an actor sharing his voice, his talent and his passion with the energetic joy of a true artist.

We're all at our best when we're about something bigger than ourselves. The job-getting actors know that this is true, and when they're in the room, it's all about connection, not protection.

In the end, this is all about process – auditioning, acting and life. Results are never guaranteed. So, it's time to fall in love with your process and be as excited about the work as you are about the opportunity and ultimately to be as joyful in the audition as in the job.