Tag Archives: Audition Advice

8 Voice Over Tips For Actors

Posted on October 26, 2016 by AMP Talent Group

Whether you want to improve your voice work, or simply just get started in the voice over industry, it’s definitely a great tool for an actor. Voice work should not be taken lightly as it’s just as much acting as anything else you’ll do. Along with getting work as a voice over artist, working on, […]

Whether you want to improve your voice work, or simply just get started in the voice over industry, it’s definitely a great tool for an actor. Voice work should not be taken lightly as it’s just as much acting as anything else you’ll do. Along with getting work as a voice over artist, working on, and mastering your voice skills will help you in all your other acting performances. Your voice is one of the most valuable instruments and working on strengthening, and improving your range and clarity will help you to book more roles, adapt different characters, as well as increase your earning potential.

So what are some important voice over tips and ways to improve your voice skills?

1. Know your character: One of the most important starting points before trying to work on creating a voice is to know exactly the character you’re supposed to be portraying. For example, before you were to create a voice for an animated character you would be given multiple pictures of the character and you would get an opportunity to talk with the writers before working on carving out a voice that would best suit the character. So, just as you would spend the time, and do your research on your character for an acting role on screen, for voice it is the same. You need to put in the time, to rehearse, study and create all aspects of the character you’re going to be playing.

2. Enunciation is key: Clearly you won’t get the job, or book work if you don’t have the ability to enunciate perfectly. Voice actors have absolute control and precision, and know how to use their instruments. You can’t mumble or muffle over your words. What you say needs to be completely clear, sharp, and articulated. It’s important to work on this by doing cardiovascular exercise regularly so you have stamina and can work your vocal instrument harder when it comes time to recording. Also drinking lots of water and making sure your sinuses are clear leading up to a job is going to be key to make sure that your enunciation is on point when the day of the job comes.

3. Voice work is acting: One of the great misconceptions of a new voice actor will be that voice work is a much easier than acting on screen because all you need is your voice. While it appear to require fewer tools to get into character, you need to be able to channel all the emotion, and feeling of a particular situation and moment into your voice. This will require you to do a lot more than just read from the script. You will need to use your whole body, your imagination, and have a clear understanding of the story and your character in order to accurately portray the voice for that scene. This is actually quite difficult because when you’re acting on screen you have your whole face, body, mannerisms, as well as the tone in your voice to perform with, but when you’re only lending your voice, you have just that one single instrument to get across so many different levels and experiences the character is experiencing in that moment. It’s important that you use your entire body and actually act, and react, with someone in the room while you’re working.

4. Practice by reading out loud often: Obviously the best method for improving your voice skills is going to be to speak and read out loud as often as possible. You can find different passages to read and take on various voices and characters, as well as practice different voice techniques. The best voice actors in the business got to be as good as they are by working on their sound and constantly trying to come up with new tones and characters. So be sure find your own space and work on your voice technique as much as possible.

5. Avoid jewelry and never bring cell phones into the booth: Bringing your phone into the booth will create interface with the audio and potentially ruin your performance, while any dangling jewelry will take from the sound of your performance and disrupt your audio for the editor. So make sure you leave your cell phone outside of the booth and have your body free of any jewelry.

6. Develop accents and a few key voices: Voice work is definitely a time when having the ability to take on different accents will be a huge advantage for you. Even if the accents are made up, through the process you could potentially bring different characters to life. So by improving your ability to take on some of the important accents, you can increase your diversity and marketability for booking voice work. Also, trying to create 3-4 voices that you have stored on the back burner to showcase if somebody asks you if you can do voices is going to be key as well. These are also voices that you can showcase on your demo reel when it comes time to making one.

7. Know your voice type: Before even entering into the voice industry you should access what type of voice you may be. Are you going to be a real voice? A narrator? An announcer? A spokesperson? Or a character voice actor for animation? These are all very important things to take into consideration before proceeding because knowing your type will be exactly what your voice demo should be catered to. For example, if you saw yourself as the perfect voice for late night infomercials, then that would be one of the main selling features on your voice demo reel. Seek out voice workshops in animation, commercial, and or character, to learn what areas of voice work your best suited to, and to gain valuable feedback from voice professionals on your voice and where it is suited to be cast within the film, television, commercial and animaton voice market.

8. Building a voice demo: Even more so than acting on screen, a voice demo is going to be your number one selling feature for booking work. You must provide a voice demo to your Agent in order to be considered and promoted to voice castings. Most work will be booked off your demo reel, so take the time and get feedback from professionals to know what your voice style is; then build a well rounded and professional demo reel. Make sure your demo reel highlights a diverse range of vocal styles that you can use to market your work. Your demo should include a number of professional recordings that showcase your talents in 15 and 30 second spots and titled; Commercial, Character, Narration and Corporate Demo. If you have a special skill such as accents, fluent languages, yodelling, or your a skilled auctioneer, be sure to include those on your demo as well. Where should you get a professional voice demo done? Through voice workshops which are offered at accredited schools, and studios and taught by voice professionals in the industry. Many long time voice casting directors teach voice workshops in Toronto, NY and LA and other markets.

Deciding to pursue voice work is a very important thing for every actor to consider, as it opens up the doors to so much more work at your disposal, and will help to improve your acting performance on the screen. It also gives you another avenue to build a name for yourself and book more work. Many name actors (Kiefer Sutherland in Phone Booth and Scarlett Johansson in Her for example) are lending their voice to take the life of characters, whether it’s in big feature films, sports, car and beer commercials, or for the latest wacky and wild animation film. Voice work is another exciting way to broaden your opportunities off screen!

Audition Etiquette: Do’s & Don’ts

Posted on August 5, 2016 by AMP Talent Group

How to execute the perfect audition? I’m sure this question has become exhausting to a lot of you, constantly being drilled with the correct way to go about the audition process. This is because without being awesome at auditioning, you will never be able to really show people how awesome you are at acting. So […]

How to execute the perfect audition? I’m sure this question has become exhausting to a lot of you, constantly being drilled with the correct way to go about the audition process. This is because without being awesome at auditioning, you will never be able to really show people how awesome you are at acting. So while it’s tedious and frustrating incessantly having it banged into your head like a broken record, it’s something that you will want to make sure you have down to a science.

This is why we’ve broken down the do’s and don’ts loud and clear, to make sure you know exactly how to kill it the next time you step into that audition room.

DO respond to all Agency Communication immediately. In this fast paced business, Actors must be on the ball with the best communication skills by responding quickly to confirm auditions, and all communication from the Agency. Response times by the actor within the hour of an email or phone call being sent is required, not hours or days later. Casting people are waiting to confirm or replace the actors for the auditions. Know there are many people involved in getting you the audition and timely response to auditions is key with respect to all and future auditions.

DO put your cell phone on silent. Vibrate won’t cut it, particularly if your leg starts shaking in the middle of your intense and dramatic monologue and it’s just your mom wondering if you’re going to be home for dinner or not.

DO be early for your audition. Ideally you will show up 20 minutes early, so you can sign-in, prepare yourself with whatever material you’re going to go off of, as well as ground yourself, relax, and de-sweat (if you were rushing) before going in for your audition.

DO be friendly and professional when you’re meeting everyone at the audition. Even though you’re promoting yourself as an actor, they will be more inclined to want to hire you if you show you are a respectable and professional human being.

DO turn up the charm before your audition begins. This is the time when you need to showcase your personality before you showcase your acting chops. Show them that you are ready, and would be a delight to work with, and not in an overbearing, front-row-of-the-classroom kind of way.

DO keep the conversation up-tempo and brief, letting the casting directors and people running the audition drive the conversation.

DO repeat the director or casting director’s name back to him or her when you’re introduced. It shows you’re listening to what they’re saying, instead of hammering out your audition strategy in your head like a nervous wreck while going through introductions.

DON’T shake anyone’s hand in the room unless they reach out to shake your hand first. You are just one of so many actors they have seen that day, you won’t make an impact by thrusting your sweaty palm into their hand.

DON’T wear cologne or perfume. If they meet you and are instantly over-taken by your intense aroma, then your audition is going to drop downhill very quickly.

DON’T wear heavy make-up. You’re there to show off your natural self as a performer and what you can do with whatever character you’re auditioning for. Too much make-up will just distract from your performance and focus the casting director’s attention on all the wrong things.

DON’T wear self-tanner. So you just got back from a vacation in Mexico and have a bit of colour. That does not mean you can compensate your skin by applying bronzer you bought at the drug store. You’ll end up orange and won’t book the part.

DON’T bring props or wear costume unless directed to by your agent. Sure you may think you’re taking your audition to the next level by going crazy with your outfit, but actually, it’s the opposite. Never bring a costume for your audition unless it’s something that was strictly outlined in the breakdown from your agent.

DON’T apologize for messing up your audition, or apologize for nailing it, thinking that you did poorly. Just perform your audition, say your thank yous, and be gone. Do not continue to beat a dead horse by apologizing all your way out the door.

DON’T disagree or argue with any direction that you’re given. You’re there performing something for them, so make sure you do what you’re asked.

DON’T bad mouth anyone. Of course after enough auditions, you will start to see the same casting directors again and again, and build up a bit of a rapport. This does not mean that you should ever start to gossip about someone else in the business that you may have a mutual disliking for. You should always be professional and business as usual.

DON’T ask the casting director for feedback. Feedback comes from acting classes, not auditions. Work with a coach prior to your audition and ask them for feedback. Come prepared with the material ready to give your best performance and don’t expect to get anything but a “Thank you for coming in” at the end. If you get more your lucky, but do not expect it. The casting director is looking to hire the best actor for the parts she or he is casting. It is not the casting directors job to give feedback to all the actors at auditions. It is the job of the actor to come in prepared with all the emotion ready to give the best performance.

DON’T overstay your welcome. So you killed your audition, the endorphins and energy is running full-throttle and you instantly want to be chatty, try not to. Just finish with your performance, share a final word or two, and then thank them for taking the time to see you, and off you go. No casting director is going to want to deal with a over-chatty actor at the end of a seriously long day of auditions.

Auditioning can become a very simple, and smooth running machine once you do enough of them and nail down the right way to go about it. There are just some important rules that you have to follow to make sure that you don’t stand out in a bad way. These do’s and don’t are simple guidelines for you to keep in mind the next time you step into the room in hopes of booking your next job!

Remember your auditioning for your career, not the job. Meaning that you do your best with each audition, come prepared, are on time, are well rehearsed, memorized, in character and ready to perform a killer performance!

Break a leg!

5 Steps To Fulfilling Your Dreams

Posted on January 29, 2015 by AMP Talent Group

January Means it’s Time to Get a Head Start on What You Want for 2015! I presume for a lot you reading this, acting is your dream. It’s the thing that stirs your soul and makes you feel alive. It’s your passion and what you’re hoping will one day be your full time job and […]

January Means it’s Time to Get a Head Start on What You Want for 2015!

I presume for a lot you reading this, acting is your dream. It’s the thing that stirs your soul and makes you feel alive. It’s your passion and what you’re hoping will one day be your full time job and lead to a very exciting and fulfilling career. Firstly, I commend you for being courageous and deciding to walk the path of your dream. For a lot of people, their dreams remain ideas, things they talk about but never really take action towards; they remain as pictures they drew in elementary school of what they wanted to do when they grew up, but fear got the best of them and they took the safe route. But if you’re reading this article, you’ve probably already done the hardest part — commit yourself to walking the path of your dream, no matter where it may lead you.

Dreams are big and scary, and sometimes hard to imagine that they could possibly come true, so how do you deal with their sheer vastness in a way that makes them seem more manageable?

Identify What You Want Your Legacy To Be.

This is a very important question to ask yourself before you walk fearlessly in the direction of a large goal or dream. What do you want to be remembered for? This really breaks down and clarifies why you want to achieve this dream. You will know that your dream is in line with your truest self if your big goal is in perfect alignment with what you want to be remembered for as a person, what you want people to think or say when your name comes up. You should write your legacy down on paper, so the driving force behind the pursuit of this dream will become permanently etched into your mind and what fuels your motivation. So do you want to be remembered for making people laugh? For making great movies? For being one of the best dramatic actors to ever live? It’s important that you nail this down so this dream of yours can have some context and purpose towards what you desire in your life.

Set Goals and Visualize.

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” — Napoleon Hill

I believe this is absolutely the most important grass roots step in the pursuit of a big goal or dream. A dream becomes a goal when it’s put down on paper, but it’s just some fantasy or fairy tale when it’s kept in all wishy washy in your mind. You have to put a VERY SPECIFIC goal down on paper and then break down the necessary steps to arriving at that specific goal. You will have to break the path to your goal down into specific parts, by creating short-term and long-term goals. Your short-term goals will definitely change as you complete them, or other things come up, but your long-term goal will be the guiding force in your life. The most successful 1% of the population sets goals and the most successful 0.1% of that 1% reads and updates their goals regularly (Source: Brian Tracy). So by making an active choice to set goals, read them every day, and update them once a month, you’re already setting yourself up for massive success. To add to your goal setting regiment, you need to spend some time visualizing your goals coming to fruition. Visualize your world after you achieve your biggest goal — picture how you’re feeling, the excitement and contentment that you feel inside, how happy and inspired others around you are, and generally, just how fulfilled you feel. Goal setting and regular visualization are going to be the seeds that not only help your dreams grow, but help to make you believe that you can actually accomplish them.

Surround Yourself With People On A Similar Path.

Find people that support you. You may have people that you’ve been friends with for a long time, but you reach a point where it becomes perfectly clear that you’re headed down completely different paths. They begin to take you away from your goals by not supporting you, or believing that you can actually accomplish the things you’re setting out to do. You don’t need to completely remove these people from your life (you have all the history with them) but you do need to manage how much of an influence they will have on you. You won’t be able to see them every single weekend, as you will continuously get discouraged because they keep badgering you, “When are you going to get a real job? Are you still trying to pursue the acting thing?” Trying to become an actor, or artist and someone who’s successful in the entertainment industry is a very long and exhausting road — something that someone who doesn’t work in the industry won’t understand (particularly if they work in the corporate world or a standard 9-5 job). This is why it’s very important that you create a circle of actor friends, or friends that work in the industry that you’re pursing a career in. This way you will have people to bounce ideas off, as well as people that just generally support you and believe that you can accomplish your dream. They will be able to spot the talent in you, the drive, and all the potential you have to do everything you’re trying to do. These are the people that you will probably connect with the most and be the most like-minded with, but mostly, they will help bring you closer to your goals. They will probably know people and be able to put you in touch with people who will help you to get ahead in your career. If you don’t have any friends that have the same dream as you, or work in the industry you’re trying to get into, then you really need to make some changes to who you are hanging out with if you’re serious about accomplishing your dream.

Welcome failure into your life.

This is the hardest one to accept, but it’s one of the most important. One of the greatest pre-requisites for success is failure. This is definitely true for entrepreneurs, as well as artists. The only way you’re going to get better, improve your technique and strategy, is by failing thousands of times. Success comes with a price, through a series of failures that you live through and overcome to create something better. You just have to have the endurance, patience, and persistence to understand that with every failure you go through, you’re getting closer to your big break, or opportunity for everything to turn around in your favour. Failure also makes success feels warranted, making you feel like you’ve earned everything that’s come your way. You don’t want to become hugely successful without feeling like you’ve gone through the gauntlet of struggle. The feeling of triumph will be completely squashed by the fact you feel like someone that just got lucky, instead of having earned every inch that came your way. So welcome failure into your life. You’re the one who decided to chase a dream, which means you chose to walk a path of criticism and skepticism from others, as well as path that will force you to walk into the fear of the unknown being judged every step of the way by people who want to bring you down. Failure is your friend, welcome it, and learn from it.

Follow the stories of the key players in your industry.

Your dream is to become an actor, so my first piece of advice is to read every single biography of every actor that inspires you. If they have a biography book, go buy their book and take every word to heart. I would suggest that you watch shows such as Inside the Actor’s Studio and note the stories of how the actors got to be at the level they are at now, as well as their words of wisdom for beginning actors starting out in the industry. I would also suggest that you watch as many interviews as you can from actors who you respect and look up to for how they get into character for each role they play, and what they’ve learned from peers in their industry whom they respect. Just as a writer should study the work of the writers they most admire, you have to study the bodies of work of the best actors in the game. That way you can find certain things about their preparation methods, or course they took to success that you can try and mirror in your own career. For these are the actors and people who you aspire to be like, as well as hope to have a career that will be even just a slight semblance of.

I know from my own experiences that choosing to chase a dream is a tough thing to fully commit to, but once you do, you’re on your way. You are finally on the path that you’re intended to be on. However long it took you to get here, it doesn’t matter, because you’ve arrived and are now ready to make any sacrifice necessary to make things happen for yourself. That’s a huge turning point and something that you should feel good about. Just be prepared that along the way there will be endless obstacles, but if you make a conscious choice to overcome absolutely everything that comes in front of you and your dream, your success will happen, it’s just a matter of when.

In order to achieve a dream, you first have to completely surrender to it; you have to tell yourself that you’re at mercy to this path, wherever it may lead you. That’s because you love it, how it makes you feel inside, it’s something you can’t describe or properly put into words, you’re guided by a purpose, something greater than yourself.

6 Tips To Ace A Cold Read Audition

Posted on September 6, 2014 by AMP Talent Group

Ahhh the dreaded cold read. It’s something that a lot of actors fear. That’s because usually there is no opportunity for preparation. A script is thrown in front of you moments before you’re to appear on camera, and panic can set in. You worry that you’re going to deliver the lines completely flat, you aren’t going to figure out what’s going on in the scene fast enough to deliver a satisfactory performance, and it’s just going to be painful and you’re going to be terrible. Yes it might not be the most comfortable thing you’ll have to do, but it’s a big part of the audition process and something that you’re going to have to get a handle on if you want to book acting jobs.

At AMP Talent Group, we want our clients and talent to excel in every opportunity so we recommend you keep these tips in mind to help you improve your cold reading skills for audition purposes, we’ve highlighted 6 important keys to cold read success:

Arrive early for your audition: Sometimes if you arrive early you will have the opportunity to read over the sides and begin your preparation early. This way you can at least be familiar with what you’re going to be saying and doing. If you are able to get the material beforehand, spend less time on the actual lines that you are going to be delivering, instead focus on the story and situation, as well as try and get a feel for the character that you’re going to be reading. This way you can at least ground yourself in the world of the scene and you won’t require quite as much attention on the actual words, so you can feel yourself as the character in that environment.

Research the project you’re auditioning for: Even if you know you’re going in to do a cold read audition, you can still go online and find out some details about the audition. You can also ask your agent to provide you with some more information if possible as well. You should find out the type of project that you’re going out for (commercial, feature film, TV show), as well as the time period of the piece, and what the story is. While you might not be able to find a ton of information on the project, you will definitely be able to get some background information that will at least put you ahead of most of the actors who will be walking into the audition blind.

Be Flexible: When you’re going through your cold read, it might not be blatantly clear from the outset if you’re reading a comedy or a drama. I mean, hopefully it is, but there is a possibility that you won’t get the tone of the script right away. This is why you need to enter into your reading with complete flexibility. Go in with the mindset that they might ask you to read the script in a certain way that you weren’t expecting, or maybe you’ll even discover things in the middle of the reading that take it to a whole different place than you expected. Considering that this will be one of the first times you’ve read through this passage of the script in its entirety, you definitely can’t be opposed to figuring out certain things from the inside. So be loose, flexible, and ready to go in any direction.

Take risks and do more than just read: Even though it’s a cold read, you don’t want to sit there like a pile of concrete and just read the lines in a voice that will put the people holding the audition to sleep. You still want to be lively, take action with your body, and use your voice as an instrument to get yourself into character and convey emotion. Even though it’s just a cold read, that doesn’t mean you can’t make strong choices and go with them. In fact, you will standout more at your audition if you make a decision and try something out. Even if it’s wacky, there are no wrong artistic choices during a cold read. You want to show them that you were able to read over the script, and in just a couple of quick minutes, be able to make a strong artistic decision and do something with the character that nobody else has done. They want to see how you interpret the script, just as much as they want to gage your actual performance.

Look up at the reader: Unless this is the first time you’ve ever acted or been to an audition before, you will know that you must always look up at the reader when you deliver the lines. You should never read directly from the page, but be following along with your finger and make sure that you use the person reading with you as a reference to get yourself into the moment and be authentic. Try and look up and connect with the reader as often as possible. Just be sure that you keep your thumb on the page and follow along so you don’t lose your place during the read. The people running the audition understand that the material is completely new to you; therefore they don’t expect the audition to be perfect. Also, taking your few minutes before the audition starts to get a good grasp of the scene, story, and your character is going to be hugely instrumental in allowing you to go with the scene and connect with the reader, instead of having your eyes married to the page the whole time.

Practice your cold reads: If you want to take it one step further and work on your cold reading skills, then you should practice reading passages and memorizing as many of the words, as quickly as you can. At least learn to memorize important points, or key phrases that you can use and rely on so that you don’t have to be looking down at the page every two seconds during your audition. By practicing this technique, you will slowly start to improve your ability to retain words and dialogue very quickly so that you can be that little bit more off book when it comes time for your audition. By working on your cold reading skills on your own time, you will be miles ahead of the competition when it comes to stepping up and delivering a great cold read performance.

Cold reading only has to be a painful experience if you make it one. You can decide to ignore it and just do your best on the day of the audition, or you can take matters into your own hands and prepare yourself so that when a cold read audition comes your way, you’re ready to attack it and destroy it. Casting directors are testing you when they give you a cold read; they want to see how you handle it and what you do with it. So make sure you do everything in your power to show them that cold reads don’t faze you, in fact you look forward to them.

Remember, audition for your career, not for the job and you will feel more confident about your performance!

5 Key Tips for Actors To Always Remember When Auditioning

Posted on May 27, 2014 by AMP Talent Group

So now the day has arrived. It’s the day of your audition. Like is the case with most actors, you’ll wake up with that butterfly feeling fluttering in your stomach. You’ll go through the motions of your day with that tingling anticipation and excitement. Today it’s your time to shine! Today could be the day […]

Off to the audition you go, making the walk, or the drive, with that old familiar theme running through your head: “Is this going to be my moment?” Everything seems to be moving in slow motion and the world grows quiet, as if it senses that today is extra important to you. Hopefully you’ve done everything in your power to prepare, and it’s now up to the acting gods to guide you, to lead you through a brilliant audition, and hopefully onto that role you’ve been waiting for.

So what are some of the most important things to have in mind when you’re in the audition room? It can be a scary place, so to make sure everything goes well, we’ve outlined five things for you to always remember when auditioning!

You’re the one driving the story: One of the basic differences between a performance in an audition and a performance on an actual set is you’re the number one story driver during an audition. All the focus is on you. The casting directors are less focused on the complete story, and are more so focused on how you can drive their story. On a set you’re a small piece in a greater story, but when it’s your time to audition, you’re up there showing them why they should cast you. So during auditions the performances are a little bigger than on a set, because you really want to make an impact. Show them that they can base a story around you, and that they should base a story around you.

Who/What/When/Where/Why: Always remember your five W’s. Even if you get your sides ten minutes before you’re due to audition. Always know who you are in the scene with, what you’re doing in the scene, when the scene is happening, where the scene is happening, and why this circumstance or situation is happening. It’s essential so that even if you don’t have the lines completely memorized, you’ll at least be able to ground yourself in the scene.

The Golden Frame: During an audition, you have your mark and you have very little leeway to move from that mark. This makes it essential that you’re as still as possible when you’re doing your audition. If you plan on performing an action or stepping out of frame at all, make sure you tell them beforehand so they’re prepared for it. If you tell them a particular action you’re going to perform at a certain moment in the scene, it shows that you’re confident, have done your homework, and know what you want to do with the scene. Just always be weary of that frame in which your audition is being captured.

If you screw up, just keep going: The absolute worst thing you can do during your audition is mess up a line and start to lose your cool and drop out of the scene. If you mess a line up, just forget about it and keep going. Even better, you can use your own mistake and use it to add something to the scene. By doing that, you’ll impress them on your ability to improvise and redeem yourself. It could be a simple moment like that, which helps you book the role. Messing up is a scary thought, but what’s worse than screwing up is acknowledging yourself that you screwed up. Just move on and pretend like that was what you intended to do all along.

Be polite, be yourself and show off your personality: Those first few minutes when you walk into the room, before you begin your audition as you’re running through your slate, is your time. By this we mean, it is your time to show off who you are as a person. So make sure you’re enthusiastic, friendly, polite, confident, and the type of person they would want to work with. You can be funny, charming and endearing, which is only going to bode well for you when it comes time to choosing callbacks, and eventually casting. Also be sure to thank them for seeing you when your audition is finished, and then exit the room promptly and be on your way.

It goes without saying, but it’s important to be off book whenever possible. Of course there are situations where you get your sides minutes beforehand or the sides are very lengthy and it can’t be expected. But if you’ve been given adequate time to prepare the material, make sure you’re off book and ready to rock. Actors can bring the sides into the audition but it is important that the actors stay focused on the person opposite them in the scene not buried with their head in the script. Most importantly always listen to your instincts. If you have an idea in audition, let yourself be free to go with it.

The audition room can be a scary place to many actors who aren’t used to it. But that antagonizing fear of auditioning can be overcome with practice, practice, and more practice. The only way you’re going to overcome the nerves and the fear of failing in a miserable fashion is by doing it a lot. Going out there, making mistakes, learning from them and overcoming it and redeeming yourself. So start right now and improve your auditions. This list we put together is a pretty good guideline to start with. Eventually, you’ll get so comfortable with auditioning that you’ll start booking things regularly with a completely carefree Sunday walk-in-the-park attitude.

Now go off, step into that audition room, hit your mark and book it!

Audition advice: Tips for Actors Models from Talent Agent Anne Marie Perrault

Posted on October 8, 2013 by AMP Talent Group

Audition Advice for Actors Models & Talent! In this post, top 5 tips to help you ace your next audition! Here is key advice and tips for actors and models when meeting a talent agent from long time Talent Agent Anne Marie Perrault of AMP Talent Group. At AMP Talent Group we want you, our talent to view […]

Audition Advice for Actors Models & Talent! In this post, top 5 tips to help you ace your next audition! Here is key advice and tips for actors and models when meeting a talent agent from long time Talent Agent Anne Marie Perrault of AMP Talent Group. At AMP Talent Group we want you, our talent to view every audition as an opportunity to showcase your very best work. Each audition is an opportunity to be seen by casting directors, producers, directors and clients. Even if you think you are not perfect for the role, it is still an opportunity to be seen! Casting work on many projects at once and are looking at you for all their projects. When attending audition, always have your 8×10 professional headshot and resume in your hand and be ready to go when you are called for each audition. Even when you don’t think they need one, you should still be prepared with one. This is your marketing tool! It shows you are serious about your work and are the professional. Unless you are a name actor, always bring your resume and headshot to every meeting and audition. When the door opens, be ready! Break a leg! For more insightful tips follow AMP on Twitter and subscribe to our channel on YouTube!

10 Audition Tips for Actors

Posted on June 25, 2013 by AMP Talent Group

10 Audition Tips for Actors Here are 10 audition tips to ace your audition and help you get the acting roles you want: Always bring a picture and resume. Don’t expect your agent to send it over. You’re the one that won’t be remembered if you don’t have one to give to casting at the audition. Staple your […]

10 Audition Tips for Actors

Here are 10 audition tips to ace your audition and help you get the acting roles you want:

Always bring a picture and resume. Don’t expect your agent to send it over. You’re the one that won’t be remembered if you don’t have one to give to casting at the audition. Staple your headshot and resume together with the photo and resume facing out. It is a good idea to bring 2-3 copies to audition callbacks as there are may be many decision makers in the room who request a photo and resume from you. Best to be prepared.
Make your first 20 seconds count. When you meet someone for the first time, do you make a lot of suppositions? So do producers, directors and casting directors. Be on time, smile and greet the people in the room by name (when you know them), say your name, introduce yourself. Look your best by dressing appropriately in clothes that flatter you. Women should be fresh light make up, hair styled, men clean shaven and neat. Talent should never be late for an audition appointment. Being punctual is important for casting directors who are considering you for the job as it is an indication to how your behavior will be on set.
Do your best and don’t make excuses. Casting directors don’t want to hear about your cold or the reasons why you are running late, or that your printer is broken. Always be professional.
When you are given sides always memorize them. If you have not, it is OK to hold the script and read from it. Better to read from the sides then to make it up as you go (and the writer may be present in the room). Stick to the script.
If you are given direction at an audition and are asked to make a choice, make one. When actors are asked at auditions to make a choice don’t reply, “What do YOU want?” Actors need to make clear strong choices when developing characters. Show confidence in the choices you make.
Don’t ask to start over. When you make a mistake in your read, fight through it. You may be asked to do another take, but fight through the first one and don’t apologize. Stay in character.
Be comfortable, charismatic and confident. Successful people are self assured and confident. Actors and actresses who make it in this industry work hard to be noticed. You have to be the most interesting person to capture and keep our attentions. Be that someone that producers, directors and casting directors want to get to know. If you are naturally this way as yourself, you’ll also be able to do that in a character.
Make sure your Agents contact information is on your resume. And keep your resume up to date and to one page.
Don’t take the last audition times of the day. After a long day of casting, the casting people are tired and ready to go home. Often times, the early actor gets the part. And, you don’t have the rest of the day of actors to be compared to.
Audition as much and as often as you can. The best way to master auditioning is like anything else. Repetition. Again and again. Don’t let nerves hold you back. You will overcome anxiety by doing it over and over, and deliver a stronger audition each time. Let your personality shine through and remember!