Auditioning for Plays: Smart Choices are Bold Choices by Janet Bentley
nDirectors and teachers often encourage actors to “make bold choices”, but how do you make bold choices that enhance and not distract directors? The party line is: Don’t evaluate an actor based on choices because they can be given an adjustment. The real deal is this: If a director is watching many auditions for a long stretch of time, she/he won’t always have the time and the will to give every actor an adjustment.
nnSo the perennial question is how do you distinguish yourself amidst a sea of talent presumably as open, flowing, natural, relaxed, ready, and energized as you are?nnHere’s a painfully obvious idea. One so unbearably elementary that you might ask, “Why is she writing this? Does she think we don’t know this?” But no. Trust me. It has to be said: Take the time to really read the play.nnAnd you say, “Seriously? I know this!”nnActually, reading a play is a very specific process. Just like every performance of the same play is different because every evening or afternoon is different, every configuration of audience energies, actors’ health and mindsets, environmental elements, are all different – so are the mindsets we have when receiving a text. You can read the same play ten times and get ten different plays depending upon how you read it. So when reading a play for an audition, don’t just scan it. Give yourself plenty of time.nnFirst reading: Let it wash over you. Find a quiet place, turn off your phone and anything else that is distracting, tell your roommates or family that you need quiet time, relax, and read. Take your time and don’t worry about taking notes. If you need to acknowledge a section, be minimal about it (i.e., make a light pencil mark in the margin). Don’t linger in commentary. Let impressions arise into curiosity.nnSecond reading: Follow your curiosity more consciously here. Make notes. Ask questions. Keep a running list.nnThird reading: Answer questions about character as much as you can from the script. If something fundamental* cannot be understood, than a small amount of research should be done. (*By fundamental, I mean logistics like context and pronunciation. Show the director that you have put in the effort and that does go a long way.)nnnIf you don’t have time to read the play three times, at least give yourself time to go back to the initial pencil markings and follow the questions/impressions/curiosities that come from areas that you have noted.nnSome analysis and research can feed and inspire the actor. This can only happen if there is enough time to carefully read, 
allow curiosities to naturally arise, and interact with imagination and openness to specific sources. The actor’s reception of the information should be allowed to settle and work its way into the subconscious. So obviously when cabbing to an audition for Hedda Gabler, pulling out your smart phone and looking at a Wikipedia article about Norwegian customs in 1890 isn’t going to feed or enhance your choices about character. In fact, at that point, I would say let it go and run with your instincts.nnLike the daily maintenance of body readiness and self awareness/openness, reading and understanding a play and its circumstances is key to making bold, smart, and memorable choices in an audition. So if you want that part, don’t cheat yourself. Give yourself time and break a leg!nn nn