The last few days I have been working in harrods, as much as I normally dislike my job here I have been clever and used it to my advantage. The agency I work for only hire performers!! I feel like I have hit a gold mine not only can I earn money while I'm at work I can also collect information and do some research for uni!! It was a light bulb moment. So to kill some time on the shop floor I got researching and this is what came up!!
These were a few of the things fellow performers believe that you should do in order to develop a successful audition technique.
Having a good picking up speed for routines - if not go away and work on it.
Don't lie about special skills but if you have them make sure they are known, ie Ariel work, acrobatics, roller blading etc
Have eye contact and interaction with the panel but not too much so it's awkward.
Make sure you take on board notes and corrections.
Carry out the appropriate warm up before the audition, a) so you can show your self of to the best of your ability and b) so you don't injure yourself.
Being able to work with other people is important and also to listen to them.
Make sure you have done your background checks, know about the piece, production and director. Also if singing know about your song, where its from etc!!
Go wearing the appropriate attire. Don't dress as the character your up for, it's not fancy dress. But perhaps dress on a parallel giving slight hints but nothing too obvious!
Make sure your sheet musics clearly marked and you he be stuck to the brief!
Time keeping. Don't miss your slot and piss of the panel!
I also asked them what they would like to ask a casting directer, so we can try and understand what the other side goes through, as I feel that this is a good aspect to look into. As its important for us in order to develop a successful technique to know what the person choosing us thinks! Some questions that arose were....
Do you preference black and white or colour headshots when calling people in?
Why when you know what your looking for are you not more specific on the brief. Ie when your picking blondes just ask for them don't waste my time being brunette!
Should a performer stick to the brief or sing something they are better at?
When it comes down to a final how do you pick? What do you specifically look at?
In musical theatre is a triple threat now vital to stand any chance of being even ensemble?
This is just a taster of what I managed to get out of some performers but I would love some feedback to see what all you think? I am trying to establish weather there is a market for my project and from just initial enquiry I personally believe there is.
I think there is a lot you can do with this inquiry..imagine how many performers want these questions answered! I would like to ask them if they even know what they are looking for? Sometimes it's so obvious they want blondes for example, but other times it seems so completely random. And often it seems as if they take people that appear to be half as talented as others..is image really more important?
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