Audition Strategies: Stay Upbeat to Stay in the Running
by Mark Brandon
Being "positive" is imperative during the interview portion of your audition. Nobody wants to hear how you struggled through traffic to get there, how hard it was to find the place,
how your car broke down, etc. People involved in casting lead hectic lives and like you, and everyone else, they have problems, too. Consequently, you don't score points by talking
about your own.
When you get to your audition, make sure you've "shaken off" any negative influences that might be upsetting you that day. Forget the car trouble or other pressures for now. In order
to be at your absolute best, you've got to be in a vibrant, upbeat frame of mind.
A remarkable exercise to help you get there is to take a lively inventory on yourself. Before your interview, find five accomplishments from your past or relative present that you're
genuinely proud of. Count off on your fingers, one by one, things that spring to mind as uplifting, stand-out events in your life.
For instance, think about the last time you landed a part. Or maybe something you did completely outside of the industry that made you feel great for having done it. Did you get
involved with any volunteer work? Help somebody in need? Get a home run at a company picnic baseball game? Most important, you must not only see these things, you must revive
the original feelings that went with them.
This exercise may seem overly simplistic, but the goal is to "re-set" your thinking and stimulate your entire physiology as well. Re-living life affirming moments sends signals
into the body, generating exceptional effects. It revitalizes your speech with a tendency to use more resourceful language and actually straightens your posture as well. If
there's such a thing as magic, this exercise performs it.
The entire process shouldn't take long. Fifteen seconds to half a minute to re-live each circumstance is usually sufficient. With a little practice, you may even find the
experience so enjoyable you'll get into the habit of doing it anytime you face a personal challenge.
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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