Acting Naturally

Richard's Writings > Acting Naturally > Auditioning for Death and the Maiden

Synopsis of Auditioning for Death and the Maiden

Acting is not all the glamour some people think it is. It is usually long hours for little compensation. But harder still is getting the opportunity to work long hours for little compensation. The audition process is tough, and in this chapter I share what that experience - known to every actor - is like.

Excerpt from Auditioning for Death and the Maiden

The director had us read from certain scenes as certain characters - she decided which scenes and which characters - and after an hour she named a group of names and said, thank you, you can go, we'll call you, the rest can stay. I maintained a pleasant exterior but I couldn't help feeling a little humiliated. We gathered our things and filed out in front of the other actors who would continue with the audition, and eventually get the parts.

I flashed on a memory of those after-school days as a kid when we would choose sides for a ballgame and the selection would narrow down to a few kids that neither side really wanted. We were those sorry kids. My rational mind said, you can't always get the part you want, the odds were long for getting one of only two male roles, get that ego in check, relax and let it go - but my irrational heart smoldered with frustration, nonetheless.

Unlike a job interview, it's you they ultimately reject, not your resume. Are you a match? Do you have the look, the mannerisms, the style they seek (in their minds) for the role? Did you show your skill sufficiently in the audition? Don't show me what you did last year - who are you now? Are you a match?

 

Click here to go direct to the next chapter.

Click here to email the author.