Sunday, April 1, 2012

To tape an audition or not...

Last night I put my first audition on tape in quite some time. I always frustrated when I see the posts requesting an “open call” for actors, feeling as if my hard work will get skipped or deleted or even overlooked, but I feel like at the very least it’s worth my time to practice a monologue, get myself on camera and just work on the basics regardless of the outcome.

This audition was a particular challenge because the casting director also requested a song—the character is a talented singer/songwriter. After reading the script in its entirety a few times, I decided the best fit for the character was “Make Me Feel Your Love” by Bob Dylan. I’m a pianist, however playing the piano and singing at the same time is something I rarely do. It's a completely different skill and uses a different part of the musical brain than I'm used to. It's musical multitasking. Normally it’s just my fingers making the magic, not the voice, so I spent about a month working on the song determined to make it better than blah.

Over the past few weeks, I’d set my little Flip cam on my music stand and play, sing and belt for hours. I’m sure my neighbors hate me by now and are sick to death of my audition song (I know my boyfriend pretends not to be), but luckily I got better every time I practiced – hah! I put a lot of work into this audition, and whether or not I hear something from the casting, I think it’s worth it every time to put yourself on tape. I learned even the littlest things about what kind of makeup looks good, and also how to critique myself and choose a favorite take. Maybe I’ll hear something in a few weeks. If not, I not only learned some valuable acting skills, but I’m ready for any triple threat singing/instrumentation audition that comes my way!

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