• Always go to an audition confident and prepared. Know exactly what you are expected to do before you get there.
• Try to find out as much as you can about the company you are auditioning for and the production being cast - just as you would for any other job you were serious about.
• Choose something suitable for you. The character you play in your audition piece should be one that you could be cast as in a professional production (particularly in relation to age and type).
• Arrive early for your audition, giving yourself enough time to read through any scripts that you may be given.
• Don't have audition pieces any longer than 3 minutes (2 minutes is probably ideal).
• Know your character and the play from which it comes, thoroughly (i.e. read the play!).
• Don't be too desperate. Remember: they want you to be right for the job just as much as you do.
• At the audition find out what you need to know. Don't be afraid to ask about pay, hours, etc. The job may be awful!
• Don't deliver your audition piece directly to the audition panel, unless asked to do so. Some people don't like it, but nobody minds if you don't.
• Auditioning can seem like a drag at times, but it's something that you are likely to be doing for many years to come. It's a very important part of the job, so try to enjoy it!

RECOMMENDED READING FOR ACTORS.

Reading these books will NOT guarantee that you become a great actor or that you will have a great career as an actor. If, however, you are serious about acting, have an interest in how to improve and how to get ahead in both the art and the business of acting then reading these books, along with taking part in acting classes and most importantly in doing as much acting as possible, will certainly help. You may find it useful to experiment with a variety of different techniques of acting. It is not an exact science and there is no ONE way of doing it. You need to find out what suits YOU…

Acting

An Actor Prepares / Building a Character (Konstantin Stanislavski)
OR An Actor’s Work (Konstantin Stanislavski)

Creating a Role (Stanislavski)

On the Technique of Acting (Michael Chekhov)
OR To the Actor (Michael Chekhov)

Respect for Acting (Uta Hagen)

A Challenge for the Actor (Uta Hagen)

Stanislavski and the Actor (Jean Benedetti)

Sanford Meisner on Acting (Sanford Meisner)

A Dream of Passion: The Development of the Method (Lee Strasberg)

True and False: Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor (David Mamet)

Voice and the Actor (Cicely Berry)

The Empty Space (Peter Brook)

Voice-Overs: A Practical Guide (Bernard Graham Shaw)

Radio Acting (Alan Beck)

 

The Business of Acting

Like in any other business, there are quite specific ways of doing things. The help and advice contained in these books could just stop you from making silly mistakes and looking unprofessional…

Contacts (published yearly by Spotlight)

Actors Yearbook (published yearly by A&C Black)

An Actor’s Guide to Getting Work (Simon Dunmore)

 

Audition & Monologue Books

To give yourself ‘the edge’, you should always try to choose audition pieces that are NOT in an audition or monologue book. These books are, however, good for using as exercises or emergencies…

The Faber book of Monologues: Men (Jane Edwardes)

The Faber book of Monologues: Women (Jane Edwardes)

The Methuen Audition Book for Men (Annika Bluhm)

The Methuen Audition Book for Women (Annika Bluhm)

The Methuen Audition Book for Young Actors (Anne Harvey)

Audition Speeches for Men (Jean Marlow)

Audition Speeches for Women (Jean Marlow)

Audition Speeches for 6 – 16 year olds (Jean Marlow)

The Contemporary Monologue: Men (Michael Earley & Philippa Keil)

The Contemporary Monologue: Women (Michael Earley & Philippa Keil)

The Classical Monologue: Men ((Michael Earley & Philippa Keil)

The Classical Monologue: Women ((Michael Earley & Philippa Keil)

Classical Audition Speeches for Men (Jean Marlowe)

Classical Audition Speeches for Women (Jean Marlowe)

Alternative Shakespeare Auditions for Men (Simon Dunmore)

Alternative Shakespeare Auditions for Women (Simon Dunmore)

More Alternative Shakespeare Auditions for Men (Simon Dunmore)

More Alternative Shakespeare Auditions for Women (Simon Dunmore)

 

Biographies & Autobiographies

Not absolutely essential reading, but you may be interested in how other actors have become successful…

Beginning (Kenneth Branagh)

Kenneth Branagh (Mark White)

Judi Dench: With a crack in her Voice (John Miller)

Confessions of an Actor: The Autobiography (Lawrence Olivier)

Olivier: The Authorised Biography (Terry Coleman)

Rich: The Life of Richard Burton (Melvyn Bragg)

Richard Harris: Sex, Death and the Movies (Michael Feeney Callan)

What’s It All About? (Michael Caine)

Being an Actor (Simon Callow)

What’s My Motivation? (Michael Simkins)