Audition Prep

Here's how I prepare for a (non-singing) audition. I read the play. A lot. When I was prepping for auditions for The Pavilion, I said something to David that contained a quote he mostly recognized.

"How many times have you read that play?" he asked
"Once --" I said slowly
"Well, that's not too bad."
"---a week."

I had read the play often enough to be off book for certain bits of it. Audrey, the director, has what I like to call "Let's Admire My OCD" when it comes to auditions, which I greatly respect and appreciate. The better prepared a director is going in and the more prep she expects from her cast, the stronger the chance that very little of anyone's time will be wasted.

Audrey was especially smart as she included in her auditions a scene that appears to be just more pages, but is actually pretty pivotal. Nail that scene if you want to get cast. And in order to nail that scene, you have to know the play.

By the time a play is up, you know a character well enough to know what music they listen to on the car radio. You don't need that much for auditions, but you'd better know why they're in the car and where they're going.

I didn't get the role in The Pavilion because someone else was better than me. No amount of prep will change that. But when I loose a part to someone who was better, I can hold my head up. Loose the part becuase I didn't know what I was doing in there and I'll feel like an idiot.