Monday, November 25, 1996
THEATER:
UCLA actors and directors offer insight into, and advice for,
the competitive process of auditioningBy Stephanie Sheh
Daily Bruin Contributor
"God I hope I get it! I hope I get it! How many people does he
need? Look at all the people … God I really blew it! I really
blew it! How could I do a thing like that?"
These lyrics to the first song in "A Chorus Line" mirror the
nervous self-reflection and self-doubt that every actor goes
through during an audition. There is something about auditions that
creates a sense of terror in performers’ hearts.
Whether trying out for film or theater, UCLA actors have many
tales of past auditions and many tips for students looking to
follow similar paths.
UCLA 1994 theater graduate David Permenter, whose recent parts
include Cleante in "Quills" and an army ranger in the upcoming
Harrison Ford and Glenn Close film, "Air Force One," highlights the
now all-too-familiar audition process.
Permenter says that the first thing to do at a professional
audition is sign in and give pertinent information such as the role
desired, the actor’s agent and the time arrived. Then the actor has
time to do warm-ups or any exercises he may want to do to get
comfortable. Names are usually called in the order that they appear
on the sign -up sheets. When the time comes, the actor enters the
office.
"There’s so much going through your head at that time that the
most important thing is to get off of yourself," Permenter advises.
"Stop thinking about how nervous you are, how much you want this
part and carry on a conversation with them for as long as they
want. Then you go ahead and read."
According to Permenter, each casting director has his or her own
style of conducting auditions. Some talk to the actor before the
audition, some do not. Some casting directors give auditioners a
lot to work with when they read while others leave the
interpretation up to the actor. However, most casting directors ask
the actor to vary the part in some way.
"There is nothing worse than an actor who’s already figured out
exactly how he’s going to do a part, and finding out it’s not what
the director wants. It’s a lot of money and it’s a lot of time
being wasted and it’s frustrating to the director. So casting
directors will a lot of times redirect the person just to see if
they can make changes," Permenter explains.
Regardless of how the audition is conducted, nervousness on the
actor’s part always exists. Each auditioner has to somehow get a
handle on this excess energy and turn it into something positive.
Some feel that a little bit of nervousness can even be helpful
during an audition.
"I get extremely nervous, but I think that kind of helps me,
because I notice that when I’m nervous I feel like I perform
better, just because there’s more energy," says second-year student
Carrisa Knight, a member of the UCLA Shakespeare Reading and
Performance Group.
A multitude of emotions overcomes fifth-year theater student
Nathan Johnson during auditions, and he tries to use these energies
to his benefit.
"First emotion: fear. You look around at everybody and you go,
‘Look at them. Look at them! What if they’re all great? There are
so many of them. How can I get this job?’ And then you think, ‘No,
no, wrong attitude.’ And then you go into egomania, ‘I’m so very
special and because I’m so very special these other people are
nothing. I will prevail,’" Johnson says.
"During the actual audition it’s pure terror. And on the good
auditions you take that energy, the terror, and you turn it into
whatever you are doing. You channel the energy and you do your best
to become the character," Johnson continues.
In order to control all of these negative feelings, many actors
have exercises or techniques that they go through before auditions.
A large majority of the actors practice various breathing
techniques, vocalizations or rapidly run through their lines.
"We have this thing called the Alexander technique," Permenter
explains. "What you have to do is, before you go in, you have to
check your appearance out. You have to go to the bathroom, go over
your sides where no one else is around. (Sides are parts of the
script that your character’s in.) What you do is you stack yourself
from your spine, the way you’re supposed to be properly standing,
and it releases a lot of the tension that you put in your throat,
your hands, you legs, everywhere. Then by doing what they call
‘whispered ahs’ you whisper out all tension."
The majority of the fear and nervousness swarming around an
audition hall stems from the fear of rejection. And like all
aspects of auditioning, it is something that the actors must learn
to deal with and control.
"I have a high-powered rifle and a tall building," jokes
Permenter. "Actually it doesn’t bother me anymore. It’s just part
of the beast. There are hundreds and thousands of people who are
trying to act and only one person is going to get that one
job."
Director and UCLA faculty member Kent Gash has a similar
philosophy. "You give yourself a finite period of time to go ‘Boo
hoo hoo. I didn’t get that part. I hate whoever got that part.
They’re a horrible human being.’ You give yourself 20 minutes to
have a nervous breakdown about it and then you move on."
Second-year theater student Kelli Tager insists that you cannot
take rejection personally. She says during auditions, the actor
puts himself on the line and tries to sell himself as a product,
but he still should not think of not getting a part as a rejection
of him as a person or his talent.
"Take it as an evaluation of yourself. Compare how well you did
to other auditions you’ve been on, because you don’t know what
they’re going to look for," Tager suggests.
Johnson says that he’s more sensitive to rejection in the UCLA
community than in other acting circles. "In the Hollywood world, I
don’t mind rejection whatsoever, because rejection is based on so
many things (other than) my acting ability. There’s nepotism and
they’ll say to you ‘You’re really good kid, but we need someone
with a name.’
"Casting directors will say (for example), ‘This guy is perfect,
but he has sideburns  can’t use him.’ They’ll never think
that he could just shave," Johnson complains.
But as a director, Gash challenges this idea. He says, "Talent
is the most important thing, without question. I know that sounds
like heresy in a town like Los Angeles, and maybe in a town like
Los Angeles it is."
Amy Schmidt, a second-year student, English major and member of
the Shakespeare Group, has also directed and explains what she
looks for in an audition.
"I looked for how they presented themselves, if they were able
to feel for what they were doing and show a variety of emotions. A
lot of times (I) would ask them to do a particular scene completely
different from the true meaning of the scene just to see whether
they were flexible and versatile in their ability," Schmidt
says.
One way to increase the odds of having a successful audition is
extensive preparation. Permenter says that an actor must be
prepared no matter how small the role or production. A good,
prepared performance will lead to other parts.
Another tip Permenter has for theater students is to stay away
from other actors right before an audition. He warns, "Oddly
enough, there are actors out there, where the one thing they want
to do is to get you off focus, because you’re competition. It’s
like dog eat dog."
Finally, Permenter stresses that actors must arrive early to an
audition.
"For an audition you have to be at least 30 minutes early,
because it gives you time to unwind. If you’re fighting traffic and
you’re running like crazy and you get to the audition with two
minutes to spare. You’ve still got to sign in and boy if they call
you, you’re not ready. You haven’t calmed down yet. It’s all a game
of nerves and a game of confidence," Permenter says.
Despite all the tricks of the trade and the benefits of past
experience, auditions are still difficult. But the right attitude
can turn the process into a learning experience.
"There is no way around auditions, but I think auditions are
kind of fun." Johnson says. "Even if you don’t get any parts, you
get a chance to go and try different characters. And I love doing
different characters. The more chances you do it the better. The
only question is getting paid … and oh there’s the whole getting
famous thing."