You NEED to improve this one thing in your auditions
Seriously, this happens SO frequently, it blows my mind! I’ll be working with a coaching client on their monologue, and I ask them to take a very different approach. Often it’s something quite unusual, to shock them out of their repetitive patterns.
They enthusiastically agree to the suggestion, and… perform the monologue exactly the same way as before.
Immediately, my heart sinks. The inability to be take direction is a biiiiig problem.
If an actor can’t adapt quickly to what’s needed in the scene, it can completely ruin a scene. If it happens over and over, it can ruin a whole production!
That’s why directors or casting directors will often redirect actors during auditions even when you’ve done a great job - they need to see whether you can adapt to what they need QUICKLY. The inability to do that will just be a thorn in their side later on. They’re essentially problem solving ahead of time.
This applies to drama school auditions as well. They want to know if you’re malleable, mature, responsive, and whether you have any range beyond what you’ve shown them in your first take/run through. If you can’t adapt to what they’ve asked, it raises red flags. It’s almost a guaranteed ‘NO’ to your application.
When you perform your monologue/scene the exact same way after you’ve been redirected, it tells me one of three things:
You don’t have the technical ability to do what I’ve asked (i.e. you don’t have the range)
You lack technical awareness (Some actors actually THINK they’ve done what I asked, even when it’s completely the same).
You have an attitude problem… you don’t want to do what I’ve asked.
If you want to increase your ‘directability’, here’s what I recommend:
Take improv classes. Nothing will make you adaptable faster.
Check your attitude at the door. Even if you disagree with the director/panellists vision or reasoning, just give it a red hot go. (With the exception of anything that puts you at physical risk or crosses any other personal boundary).
PRACTICE doing the scene/monologue different ways during your rehearsal. Take it to the extreme - change accent, genre, period, pace, physicalisation.
Here are some ideas to start you off:
Perform the whole monologue/scene twice as fast or twice as slowly.
Change the shape of your monologue - put the climax at a different point or change where the beats fall.
Change the pitch of your voice - speak the whole monologue a lot higher or lower than you would usually speak (and let that inform the way your character changes).
Run around the room or dance while you perform your monologue.
Sing your monologue like you’re in a video clip.
Perform your monologue as if you’re a cowboy, a damsel in distress, a famous singer, a French person visiting your country for the first time.
If in doubt, try playing your character as the opposite of their casting type. e.g. If you’re playing the sweet, sensitive ingenue, play them as a manipulative femme fatale.
The possibilities are endless! Don’t worry if these are completely inappropriate to the context of your monologue or scene - they are designed to shock you out of your habitual patterns. Just have some fun with it. You might even make some useful discoveries along the way!
These are of course easier when you’re working on a monologue rather than a scene, because you don’t have to worry about getting another person involved in your exploration. What I recommend if you’re working on a scene is to firstly, reciprocate - ask your scene partner if they have a scene that you can help them with, and suggest that you could do similar exploration with their scene. That often takes away some of the awkwardness. Secondly, you could ask them to suggest a redirect scenario for you. Just explain that you’re trying to prepare yourself for the audition panel asking you to perform your monologue outside of what you’re used to, and you’d love for them to suggest some ‘outside the box’ challenges for you. Most actors will at least be able to suggest an ‘outside of casting type’ option for you to play with.
If you still feel awkward about the whole thing, some general improvisation can still help you practice being open and responsive. Asking your scene partner to improvise a few lines in the lead up to or directly after the scene can be useful, or even improvise your own version of the scene (without sticking to the script). If your partner is resistant to this… honestly, get a new partner!
Playfulness is key here. Lead yourself into discovery mode and try to enjoy it! This process is supposed to be fun, and maybe a little uncomfortable. Just like an audition! ;)
Let me know below… what are your favourite ways to break your habits when you’re rehearsing?
