How to Audition on Camera by Sharon Bialy

Author:Sharon Bialy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers

Recently our office cast two shows for HBO, Vice Principals, starring and created by Danny McBride, and a pilot for Bill Hader. Both artists are incredibly skilled improvisers and wanted to see how facile the actor was with improvisation skills. We often used our assistant Alyssa Morris, who is fantastic at improvising, to read with actors on those shows.

You have to be quick on your feet, be in the moment and not be afraid to “play,” especially on a callback reading with the star of the show. Remember, that is “fun” time, and the actors who have the most fun and use the text as the jumping off pad tend to book the role.

For dramas and comedies without the need for improvisational skills, I would trust the writer unless you truly believe you can make it better—and if you can, change careers, because TV and film writers make a lot of money.

Actors who can handle language fluidly will usually get cast over ones who rearrange words to suit themselves. If you improvise some dialogue during your audition and the director or casting director asks you to do it again as written, make sure to stick to the text on the second take. We are trying to gauge in those five minutes what your instinct will be for following direction when on the set. Hint: if you are given a second take, even if not asked to stick to the text, do the second take precisely as written; having used improvised dialogue on your first take, take the chance now to show what you can do with the script as written.

Most directors and writers won’t care if you change a word or two as long as they can sense that it was an honest mistake. One might think David Mamet would want an exact rendering of his script, but he doesn’t care at the audition, because he understands that an actor is auditioning. You can be sure, however, that he will care the day you are filming on the set. If you doubt my advice, just ask yourself which of you has won a Pulitzer Prize.

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