HOW DO YOU ACTUALLY PREPARE FOR A SCREEN AUDITION? A film or television audition is not just about learning the lines. You are creating a performance specifically for the camera, often with very little time to prepare. The goal is to know the material well enough that you can stop thinking about the words and start responding to what is actually happening in the scene. LEARN THE LINES EARLY Knowing your lines gives you freedom. If part of your brain is still searching for the next sentence, it becomes much harder to listen, react and take direction. For screen auditions, I encourage actors to get the words into their body rather than continually analysing them on the page. Say them out loud. Move while you learn them. Repeat them until the language becomes familiar. Then you can start playing. UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING You need enough understanding of the scene to know: What do you want? Who are you talking to? What has just happened? What changes during the scene? You don't need to intellectualise every line. You need enough information to be able to enter the situation and behave truthfully. YOUR EYELINE MATTERS Where you look changes the image. In a self tape, your reader should usually be positioned close enough to the camera that we can clearly see your eyes and experience your performance. Small changes in eyeline can dramatically change how connected an actor appears on screen. This is why screen actors need to understand the relationship between themselves, their scene partner and the lens. WORK INSIDE THE FRAME Your performance has to fit the shot. A close-up sees everything. Your eyes moving. Your breathing. A tiny shift in your face. A thought. You don't need to manufacture those things for the camera. You need to understand the frame well enough to allow the camera to capture them. BE READY TO TAKE DIRECTION One of the most important skills an actor can develop is the ability to change. If someone gives you a different direction, you should be able to try it immediately rather than protecting the performance you rehearsed. That's one of the reasons we train actors through multiple takes at ActorZone. You discover what works by doing it. Prepare thoroughly, then remain flexible. That is where some of the most interesting screen performances begin.
