4 Auditioning Tips All Actors Should Use

Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, and I know I normally don't look like this when I'm creating vlogs, but there's a point to it and I'll share it with you. So yesterday I was very fortunate. I had the opportunity to do a home audition for a pilot, a TV pilot, and this is for a recurring role. And I want to share with you some of the process that I use for the audition because these are really helpful auditioning techniques. And concepts that will be really helpful to you. So number one, read through the audition probably 4 or 5 times. Just read it. No acting. Just trying to get a sense of what's going on here. Certainly I needed to figure out who's the scene about. This one, the scene was about me. It was about my character. I wanted to see what changes were taking place, where they took place, to make sure I hit those beats properly. What information, you know, am I trying to give out? What information do I need to get? What do I— what does this character need to get out of the scene? What's the purpose of the scene? So once I had all those things down, then I started to memorize it. And I didn't have it fully memorized. There were times where I would have to glance over like that and Check out the sides for a second and then I would come back. But here are a couple other things. My philosophy, and everybody does this differently, but mine is I want to look the part, I want to feel the part, and I want the director to watch my audition and think that it's happening on the set. That's the way I like to do it. So my character is dying. It's not about him dying though, and I think that can be a trap for people where That's really what it's all about. It really has very— it's just, it's a fact. The guy's dying, but it really is not about him dying or anything like that. So one of the things that I did want to do is look like a guy who looks like he's dying. So number one, I dressed the part. I wore— actually, I wore the shirt, buttoned it up here. My neck looks incredibly thin. I look sickly. I'm an— I go to bed early, wake up really early. That's just my life. So schedule normally, unless I have a late-night shoot or something. I decided to shoot this audition at midnight, and it allowed me to feel exhausted, be exhausted, kind of be bleary-eyed, which was perfect for this particular character. Made sure my hair did not look good. I mean, this guy has tubes connected to him, you know, he doesn't have to look pristine or anything like that. And so those were just some of the, some of the physical things that I found really helpful. But most importantly is that I understood what this guy was going through. I understood what he needed to say. And it's a, it's a wonderful part. I'd love to do it. It's a recurring role on a pilot. And so we'll find out. But I just wanted to share that information. Oh, the other thing too is I didn't shave. So For like a day and a half. So it, it helped give that kind of look, which I thought— I mean, look at me now. I look pretty horrible. It's a really good look. So anyhow, I wanted to share that with you. I also want to let you know I've got a great audition secrets video, and you can use the link below and copy it or just type it and paste it in your browser. I interviewed a director And his name is Ryan Williams. He's directed some really well-known actors like Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, many other actors. And he talks about the audition process. He talks about what he wants and expects from actors. He talks about casting because he has done casting in the past. And he's also an— he was an actor as well. And so he really understands the auditioning process. So Once again, just copy the link below, put it in your browser, and you can learn more about this incredible auditioning video that I know will be really helpful to you. If you are watching this on YouTube, make sure you subscribe, click the notification button. If you're seeing this anywhere else, feel free to comment on YouTube, or you can go to my YouTube— I'm sorry, facebook.com/howtomodel page. And I'd love to hear any specific audition techniques that you use that you found really helpful, and that way we can continue to help share information with others in the industry. I'm Aaron Marcus, very tired, and can't wait to talk with you again soon.