The hardest thing about an audition is entering the room itself.
It is hard work to get to an audition. First you have to find an audition you are qualified for. You have to search through the database of auditions, find a show that fits your type, look, or just a show that you would like to do. Then you must fill out all the papers that have to be submitted electronically, see what is required to prepare, and then find an audition slot that will fit your schedule. If you don't have your headshots and resume printed, you have to get that done ASAP, staple or print it perfectly and put it in the front of your audition book.
Day of the audition: Wake up, warm up, run through your song/monologue. If it's a dance call you have to go through that barre class. Then it's hair and make up and an outfit that would look subtly like the character you would go for with a balance of not trying too hard.
Hour of the Audition: Then it's finding the random building, the random floor, climbing over women's make up bags, shoes, curling irons and legs as the dancers are all having a stretch competition in the very narrow hallway. You get to the monitor and maybe you fill out more paper work, submit your gorgeous, perfectly stapled resume and sit down to go into tunnel vision so you don't psych yourself out.
Audition: You sing/recite your monologue five minutes at the most and then you leave.
All that to have no more than five minutes in a room. And yet auditioning is our job. To get the job, you must master the audition.
So what happens when nerves get in the way?
No one loses the nerves fully. If you are a living, breathing human being then you are going to become nervous once in your life. If you never get nervous than you need a super hero name because that's a super power. I still get nervous at least right before I enter the room but once I am in there, I am performing, however I definitely have not always been this way. My college friends can confirm that I was definitely the most nervous of the class. Some even thought I was untalented for the longest time and said at a recital I nailed "Oh my goodness I didn't know you could sing." I don't blame them. My nerves strangled my voice out of me.
It wasn't until I went to my New York program that I realized how ridiculous I was for letting my nerves get the best of me. The most embarrassing story of them all was singing in front of Tom Kitt. I had worked on this song to sing in front of him and completely choked. When I say it was bad, it was really bad. I forgot my lyrics, forgot my notes, and just forgot how to sing altogether type of bad. I stopped the song, asked him if I could sing a different one, and he was the sweetest and totally let me. At the end he leaned forward and said "I'm really glad you chose to sing that song instead." I may have been humiliated at first, but at least I picked up the pieces and dusted my humility off.
After that one experience, nothing has scared me. It's hilarious but I seriously tell myself before I walk into an audition "Victoria, you messed up in front of a Tony award winning composer and you are still alive. You will definitely be fine after this." Sometimes you need to shut those negative thoughts up about yourself with a big fat dose of reality.
So right before you walk in that audition room, breathe. Tell yourself you have this. Remind yourself that you will do this a hundred times. You will not be perfect but you will get a role eventually. There are more no's than yes's, so just expect that and don't be upset if you are not called back. A no does not define how good of a performer you are You were in that room for five minutes. How could they possibly see what all you can do? The fact of the matter is, is you are not right for every job. You may not be the right look, height, weight, or style of performing for every job and that is totally okay. Are any of those things in your control? NO!
No matter what, prepare and continue to work your butt off for what you love. Every job takes hard work and this is no different. If you get disappointed by rejection then this might not be the business for you because there is a hell of a lot of it.
And if you make it to the audition, YOU DID IT!!! You got one step closer to a job and that's amazing! Treat yourself. After you're done with that, get ready for the next one.
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