Aaron Marcus breaks down six mistakes new actors make in auditions: trying to book the job instead of doing the work, failing to make definitive choices, monotone delivery, unclear objectives, and apologizing. He gives practical fixes for each.
In this video, I'm going to be sharing with you 6 common mistakes new actors make when auditioning. And if you watch this to the end, I've got a great bonus video— secrets to looking into the lens when using a free teleprompter app. Okay, let's get started. Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, and welcome to the Acting and Modeling Quick Tips channel and the Actor Career Center. Look, when you're just getting started, well, Or even if you've been in the industry for a while, there are lots of mistakes that actors make when auditioning. And it's not goofing up, it's not being silly, it's really not having the right information or being prepared. So let's get started with number 1. This is probably The most important mistake that actors make, and this holds true for beginners and experienced actors: don't try and book the job. And I know that sounds a little bit weird because you're probably thinking, well, why, why am I even auditioning if I'm not trying to book the job? Look, let me just tell you, when you go into an audition thinking I've got to get this. I really want this. This is going to be a great job. They're paying a lot. It's going to change my career. There's going to be so much pressure on you to trying to get it that it's going to have a negative effect on your audition. And I can tell you, casting directors can smell this desperation miles away. So here's my suggestion. Just enjoy the audition. Don't even think about booking it because you probably won't. And I, and I'm not saying that because I don't think you're talented. That's the way I go into every audition. I'm not trying to book the job because I know the chances of getting it are very slim. There are so many people who are giving great reads, and then it comes down to decisions that are made that have nothing to do with your audition. So anyhow, number 1, don't try to book the Good job. If you haven't done this yet and this is really helpful, please subscribe, click the notification bell so you always know when a new video has been uploaded. If you like it, give it a thumbs up. Those things really do help, and I want to continue to build a bigger community of actors helping each other. Number 2, You've got to make definitive choices. Sometimes actors try to play it in a generic way. They don't want to read it in a way where they might be making mistakes and taking the character in the wrong direction, and so they really go a straight line. Don't ever do that. Make specific choices. They might be wrong, they might be correct. But what's interesting is if you make choices that make sense, it might not be right for the character. And part of it is you don't have, you know, all the information about your character. Typically, if you're auditioning for a smaller role, you're not sent the entire script. You're sent the sides, the short portion of the script that you're going to be reading during the audition. So based on that information, and you can get a lot of information, make a specific decision about your character. Number 4, if you have more than 3 words to say, and sometimes you might get that, Mr. President, your meeting is ready, or, you know, something like that. But if you have something that has more substance, there's more going on, make sure That you don't read things in a monotone way. And what I mean is sometimes, you know, let's say you're talking about getting divorced, you know, to your husband, and you are having a, you know, an argument with him. Don't have your lines just being screamed at for the entire time. It's not interesting. You, you always want to show some emotional changes. You know, typically you're going to have a beginning, middle, and And there should be some change. And look, I would never tell somebody, oh well, when you're yelling at somebody, why don't you make sure you add in some smiling and some laughing? Because that's, that's not acting. But what you need to do is try to figure out what is going on emotionally with your character so that there are changes that take place. And so it's not just a one-trick pony saying everything with the same tone, the same kind of feel. Make it interesting because that's what's going to grab the attention of casting directors and directors. Number 5, what does your character want to accomplish in this scene is something that's very, very important. And just as important is what is the person you are talking to, what are they doing to try to prevent that from happening? And so once again, that also builds in a really interesting kind of read. So instead of just saying the words, there's a story that's going on. There's things— there are things going on in your brain that are interesting that people want to watch. They like the character. They find it interesting. So anyhow, make sure that you have a really clear understanding of what your character is trying to accomplish here. Number 6, and this is a really, really important one as well. No matter what happens in your audition, and, and this could, you know, be true even if you're auditioning from home, sometimes it's just not there. It's not quite what you want. You feel like you've got to send it in. And we make mistakes, but this is especially true if you are in a casting director's office. Even if you know that you made some errors, don't ever, ever apologize. And what I mean by apologizing is this: you start saying, I'm sorry. Maybe you finish the audition, and as you're walking out, you just kind of lower your head and shake it because you're embarrassed. Even if you're sending in an audition, people can sense when you are feeling bad about it because maybe there were some mistakes, you just didn't have the time to shoot it, you know, for the 10th time, or whatever it is. Whatever you do, finish and give the feeling that it was the greatest performance of your life because people might watch the audition and say, yeah, there were some mistakes, some of the words got changed a little bit, it's okay, this is an audition. Now on the set they might stop you and script supervisor might say, you know, there were some problems, you got to say these words, but you always want it to have the feel That it was a great performance because people might look at it and say, yeah, there were some mistakes, but I really liked it. Very interesting. But if you're showing some disappointment or some hesitation or some kind of apology with your body language, then they might go, yeah, maybe it really wasn't so great. So please, whatever you do, walk out of the audition or have the feel That it was a wonderful performance. Now, if you have ever made a mistake at an audition, please share it with us here so that way we can learn from you as well. I did promise another video for you to watch. You can see it right up here. It's secrets to looking into the lens when using a teleprompter app. I'm Aaron Marcus, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya.
