Episode Details

“The time you spend during an audition, you have the part.” 

As actors, auditions can be a source of stress. We think, “I have to do my best to get this job!“ We think we aren’t working actors if we are not on set. However, if you are getting auditions and getting callbacks, then you ARE a working actor. I’ve heard this so many times, but I truly believe it’s true.

When you have an audition, whether in person, a Zoom call, or a taped submission: 

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You. Own. That. Room.

So act like it! Act like you’re actually on set, because you are. Set is where you’re performing. It doesn’t mean that you have to have payment and make up artists and hair and wardrobe and contracts. If you need all of that, then your worth is tied to things outside of your control.

When you focus on the audition as a performance, even if it’s just for you to see, then you realize how much of an actor you truly are. Don’t misunderstand, this doesn’t mean that you should dismiss the learning that can come with the audition process, far from it. However, you lose that learning opportunity when you focus on it as a job interview rather than a job task.

How does this thinking apply to everyday people that are not actors?

When you live with the expectation that you have to prove yourself to other people, then your worth is tied to how other people feel about you. It doesn’t matter what aspect of your life that comes to mind when these challenges arise. If your self worth is tied to other people and their opinions or thoughts of you, you hold yourself to a lower standard and in someone else’s control. 

I think that is absolutely preposterous.

I may not know you, but what I do know is you are worth so much more than what other people think you are. What’s even more astounding is that most people don’t realize that those outside of their close knit circle aren’t even focused on them. What I mean by not even focused on you is that they’re so focused on themselves that they don’t have time or the capacity to look at you.

Back to my actors for just a moment, you are not going to get the validation that you’re expecting from casting, agents, and others involved in the audition process most of the time. Even if you’re relatively new, you may understand this already. You’re not going to be able to guess what casting wants from you. So do what you think is best for whatever the role is. Your agents are typically busy and can’t always get you feedback on why you did or did not get a part. So move like the part was either meant for someone else if you didn’t get it or what you did was exactly what you were supposed to do because you got it.

I want to conclude this by saying whatever space you step into whether you’re an actor doing an audition or you’re a person trying something for the first time, have the confidence that you’ve already accomplished what is needed.

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