What Are Casting Directors Really Thinking on the Other Side of the Table?
Auditioning is difficult enough without trying to guess what the folks on the other side of the table are thinking. Still, it’s an unavoidable hazard of the job.
To some extent, reading the context of the audition, your city and industry trends enough to have some idea of what directors and casting professionals will want to see is useful, even necessary. But obsessing over it will turn it into a source of anxiety that overshadows your ability to have fun in the room, or stifles your creativity when choosing audition pieces.
From someone who’s spent time on both sides of the table, and worked with many professionals who have as well, here’s a small window into the casting side of things.
Insights: Casting Tips and Advice
- Approach auditions with confidence, knowing that casting directors and directors are rooting for you to succeed and want to see you perform well.
- Understand that casting decisions are complex and often involve factors beyond your performance, such as overall cast dynamics, aesthetics, and availability.
- Demonstrate professionalism, the ability to take direction, and a positive attitude, as these qualities can be just as important as talent in determining whether you are cast.
Casting is On Your Side
As many times as I heard this, it is something I struggled to fully believe in my early days as an actor. But as a director, in my experience, this one is 100% true. We want you to be the answer. It makes everything so much easier.
I don’t speak for everyone, but for me at least: not only do I want you to be the answer, I want you to have a positive experience auditioning. I want the audition to be run professionally and seamlessly, I want actors to feel supported and well-prepared, and I want the environment in the room to be calm and welcoming. This helps everyone do their best work.
Although this might not be the vibe in every audition room, hang on to the fact that no one on the other side of the table is there to see you fail.
How Will The Actor Fit?
Casting is the weirdest game of Tetris. Truly, sometimes it just isn’t about your talent. Directors will likely see many equally talented actors. Of those actors, what determines who gets cast can be based on many, many factors.
It’s not just the role you have to fit, it’s the breakdown of the rest of the cast, the look of the world being created, producer input, availability, and a million other things. Often there are several potential cast lists in mind, and actors might get shuffled back and forth before everyone agrees on a final cast.
Do We Want to Work With Them?
Remember, talent and fit are only part of it. Directors are thinking ahead, beyond casting the project, to rehearsing and staging or filming the project. Will you be good to work with? Can you take a note? Are you a positive presence in the room? When you’re spoiled for choice of talented actors, why wouldn’t you choose the one who is going to make the process easier and more enjoyable?
Do I Sound Like an Idiot?
Directors are human just like the rest of us. Auditioning can be an exhausting process, and they’re likely tired, hungry, annoyed with a colleague or any number of things that have absolutely nothing to do with you.
Having a public professional face on for the entirety of auditions takes effort, and they may be wondering what kind of impression they are making as well. Are they finding the right words to guide you in the direction they want? Are they on schedule? Do they have time to give you another adjustment or have they already seen what they need? Any of these things could be a factor in that weird face they just made, rather than reflecting any sort of judgment on your performance.
Sitting on the other side of the table has only made auditions more fun for me as an actor. Auditions can be a time for connection as well as performance. The work relationship starts in the audition room. With good communication, we can support each other from both sides of the table and set everyone up for success.
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