Acting: Cut the Crap, Cue the Truth by Burt Natalie;

Author:Burt, Natalie;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oberon Books, Limited

Earlier when I mentioned taking control of your audition, these are some of the things I meant:

• Enquire how big or small the frame is, i.e. how close in on you they are, as this dictates how much movement you have. (Don’t ask for the sake of it, it’s not clever; only ask if this is useful for you or you think it may be relevant.)

• Ask to go again if there was something you weren’t happy with (but gauge this – if they’re really complimentary and happy, just run with it for now and nail it on set!)

• Even if you are miserable with being out of work, remember to be passionate and enthusiastic about work, or else what’s the point?

Finally, don’t crumble, stumble, or over-compensate when the oh so common yet debilitating question comes up:

DIRECTOR: So, what have you been doing recently?

Although your paranoia and misery might be at an all-time high if you’ve been out of work, I promise you that this question is NOT a trick, or in any way a spiteful ‘You’re not doing very well’ dig. They can see your CV, if the last job listed was in December and it’s now June, they can see that. These answers may not be ideal:

ACTOR 1: My imbecile of an agent hasn’t been getting me any auditions.

ACTOR 2: I’ve had loads of auditions I just haven’t gotten any of them. Weird huh?

ACTOR 3: I’ve been doing an amateur puppet show in a car park in Cleethorpes but didn’t list it on my CV.

ACTOR 4: Er… (Red face, big gulps, tears well up, voice disappears.)

These four actors may have just blown the first sniff they’ve had of a job in six months, all because they let their own self-doubt and deprecation mute the fascinating person within them. Every actor has ‘out of work’ times, every director knows this and knows that every actor wants to work and hates being out of it; all is common knowledge and to be expected of freelancers, so don’t apologise for it. Instead, make sure that you are using the out-of-work time wisely. I write when I’m unemployed, as you can see! It gives me a creative outlet, I feel worthwhile when I do it, like I’m achieving, I have control over it, and it gives me something to discuss when that dreaded question comes up. (In fact, I’m rather disappointed these days if they don’t ask!) I’m not saying that every actor should write, of course not, but inertia isn’t attractive or constructive, and you must find ways to stimulate yourself in between work. Surely these sound better?

ACTOR 1: I haven’t had any acting work lately but I took a short course in philosophy and it was fascinating.

ACTOR 2: I haven’t had any acting work lately but I’ve always been interested in photography, so I’ve been building a portfolio of work that I’ve named ‘Seek and ye shall find’ (quite a good idea actually… I’ve lost the lead to charge my camera, so that’s scuppered that idea).

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