Audition Etiquette
Auditions are a necessary evil of a career in performance. They require a very specific set of skills that don;t always align with rehearsal/singing/acting skills. There are about a million tips I would like to share about auditioning, but I’ll try to narrow it down to the bare essentials. Auditions can be scary and challenging and sometimes pretty rough, but they can also be joyful and fun and exciting - these tips should help you feel the latter about them.
I plan on writing a full blog about what to wear in the near future, but for now I’ll say this: dress in something that makes you look put together and makes you feel like a million bucks! You don’t need to dress exactly like the character you are shooting for, but if it’s a period show I suggest wearing a dress or skirt to show how you move in them.
Get there early! Not only does it show that you are prepared and reliable, it will also give you time to settle into the space and give you some lee-way in case you can’t find parking or if there’s traffic, etc. Fifteen minutes early is on time, on time is late, late is inexcusable.
Be kind to Every. Single. Person. I’ve said it before, you never know who someone is or who they know. Be sincere, yourself, and above all, be kind.
Have your music ready. There’s no excuse for coming into the room with your music not in a binder, with it out of order, with a bunch of different cuts, none clearly marked, etc. Get it together. If you need help, ask your voice teacher or audition coach.
Walk in the room and own it! Those 2-ish minutes are YOURS. Show them the best version of yourself.
Do what you rehearsed. Please, for everyone’s sake, do not use your audition to experiment. If you come in well prepared and do what you know, you will have no regrets.
Finally, I’ll leave you with this: let it go when you leave. Obsessing over every detail will not change the audition you gave, so be proud of yourself for showing up and move on to the next one!
If you have any audition secrets of your own, please share them in the comments! I love to learn other people’s tips! Reach out with any questions or even audition stories too! I promise, I have quite a few myself that I will share in future posts. Thank you Eden Young for the post idea!