How Actors Calm Their Nerves Before an Audition

Anxiety before an audition is very common and completely understandable. It can be a nerve wracking experience to rehearse, question your choices from your outfit to the way your character speaks, and to make a good impression with the casting director.

When Casting Networks sponsored the first ever CAST Convention in Chicago last October, we asked the actors in attendance about how they handle those pre-audition butterflies so they can deliver their best performance.

How do you calm your nerves before an audition?

“I’m a competitive fencer, so before competition and before auditions it’s kind of the same process. I just take deep breaths and I put myself in a good place, a friendly, fun place, and then I can just walk in the door refreshed and confident but not cocky. And I have little secrets. I put on a temporary tattoo somewhere. Nobody knows it’s there but me. But just having it makes me feel confident that I know something you don’t know.”

—Edward Kaihatsu; Skokie, Illinois

“A lot of the time I will listen to peaceful yoga music. If I’m playing a fierce character, I’ll listen to something really fierce, maybe from Homeland or Blacklist, some of my favorite shows to really get me into the mood and make me feel like the badass I am. I will find music that is comparable to that emotion so that I can really allow myself to go into that place.”

—Jennifer A. Goodman; Chicago, Illinois

“A banana, thirty minutes before the audition. It’s an old music trick. Also just reminding my brain that it’s going to be okay.”

—Alexandra Anaya Green; Chicago, Illinois

“A coffee shot, espresso shot.”

—Kristin Broadwell; Chicago, Illinois

“I get in the shower and sing Gilda Radner. I sing the song that she does from her New York show.”

—Shaun Landry; Los Angeles, California

“Just have a routine. Make sure you keep your self tape area clean. Just take a deep breath and get it out of the way. Don’t overthink.”

—Gabel Dardovski; Chicago, Illinois

“I like to play happy, fun music. It’s kind of odd, but the CD that’s in my CD player in my car right now is The Little Mermaid. I just really love listening to the songs. If I’m driving to an audition, it just calms me and puts me in a happy place. It takes my mind off of the nerves that I know will hit me at some point.”

—Shannon L. Novak; Chicago, Illinois

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