10 SAVVY STEPS TO AUDITION SUCCESS

With more than two decades of casting under her belt, Christy Faison is well placed to advise on how to make the most of your audition. Here are her top tips to help you impress.

1.Don’t worry about what you wear
When auditioning, it’s about what you bring to the role, not what you’re wearing. I’ve had to cast many doctors, so as you can imagine during those sessions, I saw a lot of lab coats. Those lab-coat-wearing actors performed well, but many of them made one crucial mistake: they relied on their costume to do the work for them, instead of embodying the essence of the small-town family doctor or top-notch surgeon, from the inside out. It all comes back to the work.

2. Read through all directions
This is so important. I often list very specific directions of how I’d like your tape labelled, how I want it uploaded, how many takes I’d like, and more. The easiest way for you to pull yourself out of the running for an audition is by not following directions. We often don’t have the time to fix your mistakes or remind you of the directions, so make sure you read them thoroughly.

3. Do your homework
What’s the tone of the project? What network is it on? Who is on the creative team? The answers to these questions will make a difference when you’re making your choices and working on the material. Think Aaron Sorkin vs Jerry Bruckheimer — big difference in style and tone.

4. Imagine the moment before
We already know that the scene doesn’t start with the first line, so where does it start? What was the character doing before they walked into the scene? Imagine this moment. Create it. This helps build the human, not a character, and it will deepen the work.

5. Make specific character choices
In-depth script analysis is fun. Human behaviour is interesting and complicated. Take time to define your relationship with everyone in the scene. Take in where you are, the time of day, what you want and what stands in your way. If the scene takes place in the middle of the night, are you a morning person? The answer to this question may change how you approach the scene and how you react to the others in it. The more specific, the better. Read the breakdown and ask yourself, What else is there to know about this character? Thinking of something only you know about them will add a unique layer to your work.

6. Be a human
So often I see actors approach their craft as ‘playing a role’ or ‘playing a character’. They see the person on the page as something outside themselves and not as a living, breathing human being. The script provides ‘who’ the character is, but what makes a performance stand out is when an actor is able to filter that character through themselves, giving life and filling in the blanks with personal experiences. This may seem counterintuitive, but the truth is that auditions are held for you to be yourself.

7. Make a bold choice and own it
I’m constantly asked if it’s okay to upload two takes of the same scene. The answer is: only if you are bringing something different in the second take, otherwise what’s the point? Make a choice, be bold and confident that you are turning in the best version of your work. And, honestly, I rarely watch the second take.

8. Set yourself up for success
This could mean a few different things. Make sure you get a reader who supports you, do your tape at a time when you feel most connected, and avoid doing it at the last minute so you have plenty of time to upload it. Set yourself up to get the best tape possible.

9. “How can I stand out?”
I get asked this all the time. Well, what do you know about your character that no one else does? How would that change the way you approach the scene? How does it change how you connect with others? What if… you gave your character a secret? We all have them, right? Try it out, but don’t go overboard. The secret must make sense to the character and the tone of the show. And I don’t want to ‘see’ it; I want to be drawn in because of it.

10. Let go and be present
Now that you’ve done the work, it’s time to let it all go and be present in the scene. This is often the hardest part, but also the most important.

Christy Faison began her casting career more than 20 years ago. She has cast film and television pilots, notably The Newsroom, Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups, Ash vs Evil Dead and Boss for Starz, and the SEAL Team pilot, currently airing on Paramount+. Several of the independent films Christy cast have gone on to win awards at festivals.