In a perfect world, we would always have time to prepare our best work for every acting audition and project. Yet despite our best intentions, sometimes the industry doesn’t set us up for success.
Twenty-four-hour turnarounds for self tapes are not uncommon, and a work-life balance is not always possible when you’re juggling the challenges of everyday life and your acting career. How do you turn in a good audition on a tight schedule? Here are some things to consider.
Insights: Audition Preparation Tips When You’re on Short Notice
- Approach fast auditions confidently, focusing on what you can offer, not on proving yourself.
- Use context from the audition brief and online resources to inform your performance; highlight your unique strengths.
- Keep self tape gear and a reader network ready; connect genuinely with the text for a compelling audition.
Change Your Audition Mindset
Instead of panicking over how little time you have to prepare, remember that everyone has a similar timeline. This is your chance to stand out despite a fast turnaround. Approaching your work from a place of sharing what you have to offer as opposed to proving your worth will help you appear more grounded, professional and confident.
Context Clues are Your Friends
Even if you have no time to research the source material or read the full audition script, you can usually give yourself a leg up by thoroughly reading the audition breakdown. Project titles, casting directors and character notations can all give you clues as to the tone of the project.
For television, if you’ve never seen the show, watch a couple of clips and trailers on YouTube. For film, find out if the director has a consistent or distinct style. Sometimes just a little bit of digging can go a long way.
Play to Your Strengths
No one knows you better than yourself, and that includes all the tools and acting techniques that make you stand out. Are you a strong improviser? Throw a fun button on the second take of your audition. Do you have strong memorization skills? Make sure you’re completely off-book, even for the lengthy auditions.
A fast turnaround tends to weed out the insecure and inexperienced actors. Make sure you rise to the top in your self tape audition with strong chocies.
Maintain a State of Readiness
Being prepared for last-minute auditions will keep you from scrambling every time. Find a support network of fellow actors who can hop in to be your readers so you can trade off.
You should also make sure your self tape equipment and audition environment is maintained and ready to go at all times. For emergencies, keep a couple of self tape studios on file. If you already have the technical side of things covered, you’ll free yourself up to focus on the material.
Connect to the Text
When you’re feeling stuck, you can tear yourself apart trying to fulfill every imagined expectation in your audition process. There’s only so much audition preparation and troubleshooting you can manage.
If you’re feeling stiff and disconnected, try physically stepping away, shaking out your body or stretching to relieve muscle tension. Then take some grounding breaths and give yourself a calm space in which to approach the work. The best thing you can do for yourself is to find an honest connection with the text and let yourself shine through in your audition tape. That way you’ll be able to make strong choices with ease.
At the end of the day, a quick turnaround does not condemn or prohibit good work. Rely on your training and experience, trust your talent, and have some fun with your self tape auditions.
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