Commercial Audition Tip #6
Friday, July 1, 2011

ACTING WORKSHOPS WITH JAN AND JON

COMMERCIAL AUDITION TIP #6

DON’T SELL THEM ON HOW BADLY YOU DID

If you think your audition has gone into the crapper wait until you get out of the room before having a nervous breakdown.

Short of the Director telling you that you were terrible, you can’t presume to know where they’re at. The worst response is to slump your shoulders and look unhappy as you leave the audition room. On more than one occasion we’ve heard a Director say “I really like that actor but he seemed depressed.” Inevitably at that point they’re beginning to like you less.

Selling them on how badly you did is one sale you don’t want to make.

As to not assuming anything, here’s a prime example: At a callback session, the director was trying to work with an actor who was so nervous that we had to stop twice to get him water. Jon kept thinking: Please let this guy go. He’s in a panic. You’re never, ever going to hire him.

Long story short, something about him clicked with the director and client and the nervous actor got the job.

Do your best not to make assumptions. Sometimes actors think they’ve missed the mark, but without realizing it, a creative moment will bring it all to life for the Director and you’ll BOOK THE JOB.

Posted byActing Workshops with Jan and Jon at 7:21 PM 0 comments  

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COMMERCIAL AUDITION TIP #5

COMMERCIAL AUDITION TIP #5

COMMERCIAL ACTING WORKSHOPS WITH JAN AND JON

TAKE AN ON-CAMERA CLASS

Ok, this isn’t exactly an audition tip but we feel there’s an important aspect of the business of acting that sometimes goes overlooked.

We all know that auditioning for commercials can be fun.

But there are some frustrations:

You never get to see yourself on-camera (Unless of course you book the spot).

You seldom get feedback.

Whether you choose our classes or not…

We highly recommend periodically taking an on-camera commercial workshop.

In a guided way, it’s a chance to take a look at what you’re doing. It’s very easy, over time, to unconsciously slide into habits that run counter to booking the job. Habits you are not aware of, until you see the playback.

Also, and we’re happy to say we’ve seen this many times in our classes, you can discover strengths on camera that you didn’t realize you possessed; this holds true for the experienced actor or newcomer to the business.

A once-a-year investment in an on-camera class is invaluable.

Posted byActing Workshops with Jan and Jon at 3:54 PM 0 comments  

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