10 WAYS TO WIN AT YOUR STAGE AUDITION
Alex Souvlis, Sydney Theatre Company’s casting director, has a top tip for stage auditions. Read. The. Play.
1. Never be late. In fact, it never hurts to be 10 minutes early, as it shows you are organised and able to run to a schedule!
2. Know the play, read it, and have an opinion. It doesn’t matter if it’s a different opinion to the director’s, but at least know the world you are working in.
You’d be surprised how many people audition without having read the play.
3. Engage with the auditioners. Remember, you have to spend weeks with the director and they want to like their team. Make eye contact with them when you talk.
4. Be your authentic self. Let people see who you are as you want to be able to be yourself in the room.
5. If you have a choice of audition piece, choose one that suits you. If you are 20, don’t choose a piece where you are playing a 60-year-old — it doesn’t show who you are.
6. Listen. It’s important to hear what the director is trying to tell you. That gives you an idea of what they want to see, what they are looking for. It’s important that a director feels their artists can hear what they’re asking them to do. Show the director that’s what you can do.
7. If you’re unsure about something in your piece before you start, ask. It’s important that you feel comfortable to do an accent or not, where to direct your lines, where to aim the ‘balcony’ or where you are aiming your piece. If you are not confident in your execution it will come out in the audition. So ask!
8. Do some research. It’s a really good idea to know what the director has done before this production, what the current season is, etc. It shows you have an interest in the industry and the director, and shows you have taken it seriously.
9. Enjoy your audition. This is what you trained for. This is why you do what you do, and you do it well, so enjoy it!
10. Did I say never be late? Never be late. Just don’t be.
Alex Souvlis is casting director at the Sydney Theatre Company. She has been in the theatre industry for 25 years as an event producer, lighting designer, stage manager, company manager, tour manager and casting director. In every role, she has assembled teams of artists to create the best environment for making the best work. After working at agencies for creatives and then actors, Alex spent five years casting at Bell Shakespeare.
