This is some advice for actors who already have a bit of a foundation. If you’re just starting out in the industry, this might not be super useful to you yet.
I’m not going to analyze the current state of the industry or the casting process here. I just want to focus on the absolute maximum effort we can put in on our end as actors.
I’ll break down my 6 years of auditioning experience into 3 parts and share some advice I really wish I had known earlier.
The Pain Points:
- We usually get very little time to prep for an audition.
- There is a massive gap between analyzing the script/memorizing lines and the actual performance (True Understanding + Embodiment).
Let's not talk about audition "hacks" or how an audition performance should differ from a real one—like the old clichés of how to grab a casting director's attention or stand out. In my eyes, an audition performance shouldn't fundamentally differ from a real performance, at least not from the actor's perspective. Truth is always the most attractive; Truth is always the funniest; Truth is always the most touching.
But getting there within the few short days you have for an audition is tough. The hardest part is hitting that true understanding + embodiment. Once you have those two things, you find truth. Otherwise, you're just playing pretend.
No fluff, just the practical stuff:
Part A: Script Analysis
- Read it all the way through at once. Don't break it up into pieces on your first read.
- Use your own system. Stick to whatever analysis method you are most familiar with.
- Find and deeply analyze the "bumpy lines." Lines that feel really awkward to say are often little cheat sheets from the writer—they hide the fundamental differences between you and the character.
- Trust your first impression. The feelings you get during your first read are usually your most accessible path to embodiment. Use that feeling.
Part B: Memorizing Lines
I don't know how many times I’ve done this: The tape is due tomorrow morning. I ask my roommate to be my reader at 8 PM. After 2 hours of rote memorization alone on the couch, I feel like I've got it down and understood the scene. But when we start recording, and the reader actually throws the cue at me, all my brain sees is the visual format and order of the script on the page. I stumble just to get the lines out. After one take, something feels off, so I do another, and another. I watch them over and over. My roommate has to go to bed, so time's up. Even though I’m still not satisfied, I send Take 3 to the CD. Then I lie in bed overthinking it for another hour.
The Reasons:
- You memorized an image of the script's format and order. You didn't actually memorize the scene.
- You’re trying to understand a scene by memorizing it like a monologue. When the cue comes, your first thought is, "What’s my next line?" instead of reacting based on the character's objective.
- You kept the exact same posture in the exact same spot. Your audition environment isn't your couch or your office; it should be a dynamic environment that you believe in, even if it only exists in your imagination. The ideal standard is being able to say your lines naturally while standing, sitting, running, cooking, or driving. Your body can help you with this far more than you think. Get on your feet.
Tips:
- Memorize with cues. You need that process of reacting to truly understand the character.
- Motivation > Rote Memorization. When you curse someone out in real life, there's a reason behind it, which is why the words flow continuously without you having to think. You don't just use one "cursing template," right?
- Science shows that understanding the motivation behind the lines makes you remember them 2–3 times better than rote memorization. With so little time for an audition, higher efficiency is a huge advantage. (Credit: Craik & Tulving, 1975; Noice & Noice, 1996, 2006)
- Memorizing lines while doing different physical actions and in different locations increases retention by about 20–30%. If your rehearsal space resembles your audition space, it can jump another 40–50%. (Credit: Godden & Baddeley, 1975; Madan & Singhal, 2012; Noice & Noice, 2001)
- Getting some sleep after memorizing lines and before recording your audition helps consolidate and understand the material. Word-pair memory can even double. (Credit: Plihal & Born, 1997; Marshall et al., 2006, Nature; Diekelmann & Born, 2010, Nature Reviews Neuroscience)
(I actually built an app called Offbookly that helps actors rehearse with cues and understand intentions on camera when they don't have a reader. It's free for beta testers—DM me if you need it.)
Part C: The Actual Audition
Don’t agonize over your "choices" (even though that’s our greatest authority as actors): Recording take after take, watching it over and over, and still ending up unsatisfied... Knowing you have unlimited chances to re-record will destroy your audition performance. Watching yourself from a third-person perspective while trying to exist in the first person is fundamentally contradictory.
Regarding choices: I believe every choice you make while acting is just a variation of how the character achieves their objective (the real term being Action/Intention). I've seen many actors with their own "bottom-of-the-box tricks." For example, if it's a flirting scene, they instantly put on a "flirting mask" that looks the exact same every time. But the truth is, once the intention behind the action of flirting changes, that mask might not work anymore. If the character wants to fall in love with the other person, the action looks one way. If the intention is to scam them out of their money, the action looks completely different. So my point is: Only when you truly understand the intention behind it will you find truth. When you have truth, the "choice" isn't as important. (If you want to dig deeper into this, I highly recommend reading Chris Fields' "Leave Yourself Alone".)
I don't recommend reviewing lines 20 minutes before performing: Cramming lines 20 minutes before an audition is a signal of insecurity. You're telling yourself: My lines aren't solid yet. This makes it too easy to slip into a "safer, going-through-the-motions" mode. In this self-preservation state, you tend to prioritize getting the words out perfectly over letting the character actually exist.
I won't elaborate on how important confidence is to a performance. What I really want to talk about is how rare the stage of "forgetting" is.
Let me give you an example: Your audition scene is this: You (the character) just found out that the admissions decision for your dream college comes out today. You are at the computer, your heart pounding. You know you’ve fought for this exact moment for years. Your parents just want you to learn a trade in town to help the family. Your eyes are fixed on the "View Status" button, but you're too scared to click it. You know this decision might change your life trajectory, maybe you can instantly turn your family's finances around, and your dad might genuinely be proud of you because of this. Then, you click it. The screen flashes. A letter appears, and it says: "Since you have withdrawn your application to this university, we are unable to provide a decision..." But you never did that.
Much like the feeling you probably had just reading that paragraph, you were in an unknown stage just like the character. Because of that, you didn't have to design how to feel, or tell yourself "what my objective is." It was just a raw reaction.
But what if you do it again? You already know your application was withdrawn by someone, so how do you act this situation? What if you do it 10 times? Will your reaction be the same as the first time? Can you accept it if your reaction isn't exactly the same as the first time?
I'm sure a lot of actors will agree with me on this: Keeping the character's unknown information truly unknown is one of the hardest things in acting. I don't have an absolute solution for it either. But I’ve found that deliberately not thinking about the lines or what happens next for a period of time after I've memorized them really helps me. Just trust that you've already done the work, focus on the character's objective, and let what happens happen. That is the powerful charm of acting.
Hope the advice above helps. Genuinely wishing the industry gets better and better.
If you guys want to hear me talk about what I consider the 3 hardest parts of acting: Coexistence, Forgetting, and Stepping Out... let me know in the comments.
Stan