Audition Strategies: Adopt the "En Garde!" Stance
by Mark Brandon
Instantly snapping your script into the most advantageous reading position, with a minimum of movement and hesitation
just before you begin your audition, radiates self-assurance. It's almost as if you're confidently declaring, "En garde."
And once your script is in position, make every attempt to keep it there. Bringing it up to your face each time for a
line, and then lowering it, then bringing it up and lowering it again, is a monotonous habit that invariably distracts
those watching you. Your poise will seem far more professional if you keep your script continuously in one spot.
What's the best spot? Directly in front of you. That minimizes sideways head movement, allowing you to pick up your
lines with just your eyes. Also, the top edge of your script should never exceed the imaginary plane established by
your chin.
As an example, picture the end of a ruler taped under your chin and extending forward, away from your face. You don't
want the top of your script to exceed the ruler's height. With every increment you do, you're hiding that much more
of your face. And if you do, obviously the casting committee and/or camera will be deprived of a complete view of
all your features and expressions as you read.
Because of the unavoidable tension of an audition, you may not always have your script in the most advantageous position.
But if you've practiced "riveting" your script in one spot based on these essential angles, you'll never have to give it
a second thought. It will have become an automatic habit despite the pressure of any last minute notes or changes.
You can launch right into your reading - en garde - with your face completely open. And regardless of whether a casting
committee sits on the right, left or middle of the room, you'll always guarantee them a good view.
The preceding was an excerpt from the best selling acting book, WINNING AUDITIONS - 101 Strategies for Actors (Limelight Editions, NY) written by Mark Brandon. Mark is
a native Californian who now makes his home in Vancouver, BC. He has appeared in over 100 commercials, films and TV series.
Copyright © Mark Brandon. Used with permission of the author. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or distributed.
For more audition strategies and career building advice, visit: www.WinningAuditions.com
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