“Welcome to the theater, to the magic, to the fun …” It’s audition time for summer community theaters and for fall high school shows, and even for films being shot locally this year. Time to get ready to go out and strut your stuff.

Standing up to read or sing for anyone in hope of landing a part puts you out there in a very public and vulnerable way.

1)     Be professional.  Even if you know the director, that person is there to cast a show not to cast favorites.    

2)     Be confident. The human brain makes over 27 judgments about another person within seconds. Why is this important? Because acting is a business.  People do business with those in whom they feel confident.

3)     Be prepared.  For a musical, bring a prepared piece to sing. Pick something that suits your voice, preferably something not on the top ten or from the latest Disney movie.  If singing from the score, don’t choose the most well-known song. Most directors would open a vein before listening to “Tomorrow” 16 times.

4)     Keep it brief. Try to sing one verse and one chorus of a song, unless it is unusually short. No one wants to hear all four verses of "I, Don Quixote" in the middle of long auditions.

5)     Bring sheet music. It is never good to bring a recording with which to sing or to sing a cappella (unaccompanied.)After you sing, say Thank you. Everyone will notice how you treat them. It's an indication of how easy you will be to work with should you get cast.

6)     Don’t start over.  Screw up?  Fight through it.  And it probably wasn’t as bad as you thought.  You’re more sensitive to it than anyone else.

7)     If asked to read, read clearly in a normal tone. Try not to ‘act.’ Scan over the materials unless it is a cold reading, and try to understand what is happening in your scene. You may not even read the part you prefer. This does not mean you are not being considered for it, only that the director has chosen specific materials to get a sense of each actor on a level field.

8)     Don’t make excuses.  No one wants to hear that you have a cold, or that you have bed-head, or that your printer is broken.  Do your best. Don’t explain yourself to the director. Leave the stage knowing that if you are right for the part, they will contact you. If not, know that you did your best.  

9)     One note for younger actors in particular: Don't fret about your looks. I know it's a dirty word, but I’m gonna say it... puberty. Every teenager goes through it. It makes you too tall or too short, changes your voice, makes you smell like a farm animal, and scrambles your brain like an egg. But trust me when I say this: The less you worry about your looks, the better your audition will be and we all went through it.

10) Don’t second guess the choices. It is likely to get you excluded in future if you whine or question the casting decisions.

Most important of all: have fun. Audition for parts that may seem impossible right now. They won’t be out of your reach forever.  Part of a life in the theater: professional, community, or in films is auditioning. The more you audition, the better you will get at showing a director what you can do. You will learn a little more each time you put a foot onto a stage if you are willing to be open to the experience.

Oh and most important of all: your body and your voice are your instruments. Respect them and take care of them.

“Welcome to the theater, with some luck you’ll be a pro, you’ll work and slave and scratch and bite, you’ll learn to kill with sheer delight … You only come alive at night when you’re in a show … Welcome to the theater, you fool, you’ll love it so …” ( From APPLAUSE)