Auditioning Guidelines for Improvisers

An improvisational audition can be one of the scariest experiences on this little planet.

I remember my auditions and how out-of-my-mind frightened I was. Everything, for about a week before the audition, was amplified in a surreal way. The mornings of these auditions were even more terrifying. Everything was magnified: Details that normally had little or no importance suddenly took on grand proportions.

Getting dressed was huge. "Should I wear a suit to give myself a professional actor look?" Or "Maybe I'll wear a t-shirt for that 'Hey I just walked off the street and aren't I funny' effect." Or "Maybe I'll dress up in a thin tie and a sharkskin suit. No, no, a too-long striped tie and red Converse shoes." Or "Maybe I should dress exactly like John Belushi."

Eating was another thing. "Should I eat at all? Maybe something light. No, something heavier and get a nap in."

Arriving at an important audition is exactly what it feels like to walk to your own execution. Scary, buzzing, nervous, doomed, fighting for confidence. Friends you drank with the night before suddenly become polite adversaries. The way that everyone around you acts and the way they are dressed become hugely intimidating.

Fear. Fear. There are so many people around; very scary. Walking into the theater is a nightmare. The auditors look bored and intense and uninterested from the moment you walk in. You already feel screwed by the time you walk on stage. You see one of them take a sip of coffee and that is very important all of a sudden, very aggressive and intimidating. It wouldn't normally be, of course, but at an audition everything seems amplified and constructed to kill your audition.

Here are some ways to ease the pain, not just for an improvisa-tional audition, but for any audition.

First of all, the most important thing that you can remember is this:

Although it looks like the auditors are indifferent to you or maybe even don't appear to want you to do well, the opposite is, in fact, true. They not only want you to do well, they are dying for you to do well.

There is nothing they want more. That's why they are there, to find people who do well, and it might as well be you. It gets so boring, watching group after group improvise poorly, because the improvisers are so freaked out. Anything that appears to be a strong choice or a risk is highly refreshing. Truly, auditors want nothing more than to see you show up well.

And how do you do that? Well, here are some tips.

■ Don't acquiesce to the energy in the room.

The vibe in the audition room is usually quite somber and intimi­dating, not the best place to cut loose and play. You must resist the temptation to yield to that energy. Great improvisation is not pos­sible if you decide to give in to the tense, judgmental feeling in the room. Great improvisation is only possible if you play, and unfortu­nately in an improvisation audition you have to manufacture that feeling in spite of the atmosphere. It is difficult, and most people give in and become measured and stilted. If you want to have a suc­cessful audition experience, snap into play regardless of what it feels like you should do.

And remember, the auditors truly want you to be successful. They do not purposefully set up a tense audition environment; it justcomes with the territory. It will always be that way and you must play. Easier said than done, that's for sure.

■ Snap into a strong choice when someone says, "Go."

(Have you heard this before?) Allow yourself to think all the horrible and haunting thoughts you want a week, a day, minutes, seconds, and the nano-second before you improvise in that audition, but when an auditor gives the signal, leap into a strong choice. It won't feel like that's what you should do, but do it. Pierce through the molasses feeling of the audition and surprise everyone with a strong, engaging choice.

■ If you are asked to state your name, do so slowly without affectation and without trying to get a laugh.

I've seen people say, "Hi, I'm John Belushi — just kidding." Just say your name. If you are asked to say a little something about your­self, do so truthfully. Don't make up stuff about yourself to get a laugh. If the truthful thing is funny, so be it, but don't invent any­thing for a laugh—it will surely be transparent and look contrived.

■ Speaking of John Belushi, don't dress like him.

(Many have.) Dress nicely. The jacket-long-tie-red-tennis-shoes-jeans thing is so very tired, at least in my opinion. Dress for a Sunday afternoon spring wedding.

■ If you know one of your auditors, don't acknowledge them unless they first acknowledge you.

Walking in and saying, "Hi Bob, how have you been?" puts Bob in an uncomfortable position and works against you because now Bob has to appear unbiased. Above all, after you audition, don't hang around and strike up conversations with the auditors. Get out and go have a beer.

■ Show variety.

Sometimes an improv audition is an audition for a group that will perform both improv and sketch comedy. Sketch improv requires a range of character and emotion, so show that in the audition. You don't necessarily have to plan it out, just be aware of it during the audition. If you find yourself playing only one energy in one scene, switch up the character/energy for the next. So many times I've heard, "She's good, but is that all she's got?" Show that it isn't all you've got. Show a range for a sketch comedy audition.

■ Take an acting class—or four.

A lot of improvisers come from the "My friends told me I am funny" school of performing and deem acting as unnecessary or pretentious. In a sketch audition, acting skills are an asset. Many can improvise on the same level, so acting gives you a rare edge over the other improvisers, especially if you're asked to do a cold reading. If you want a real edge in a sketch comedy audition, know how to act.

■ Prepare for an audition by auditioning.

Auditioning itself is a learned skill, and many improvisers just don't have enough experience in it. An auditioning actor has many fear thresholds, which can only be overcome by experience in audi­tioning, not by auditioning for that one big thing once a year.

Often, people who have gotten to the point of not giving a damn whether they work somewhere or not, ironically, get hired. The reason for this? They have eliminated the importance they place on the audition. You see, if you posit your audition as crucial for your career and you must get the job or you will die, you will walk into the audition with a huge burden. It's difficult to find a sense of play with that baggage. Improvisers who arrive at a place in their lives where it just doesn't matter don't carry that burden. They leave themselves open to play, which has them show up as smart and funny. I'm not attempting to diminish the importance of the audition, but only trying to shed light on one of the many self-sabotaging psychologies at work before and during the improv audition.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-08