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MicroFilmmaker Academy Selection
How To Audition An Actor:
Bringing Out The Best In Talent

by D.W. Brown

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Me working with Olivia on the set of On The Inside.

Auditioning an actor is a little like having sex for the first time: you're nervous, they're nervous, you both want something wonderful to happen... I think I better abandon the metaphor here and simply point out the situation can be very fraught. Even if you like the feeling of playing a big shot, having this power to give life to someone's dream, to validate their deepest longing, I'm guessing you're a little bit, if not a lot bit, embarrassed by having that power. So, don't let the weirdness of the arrangement make you act badly and not get what you need: a good assessment of whether this actor in front of you will give you the best possible performance for your film. 

First of all, lets all admit that auditioning is ridiculous. Asking an artist to come in and prove themselves by performing material they haven't had a chance to develop has something almost obscene about it (which is why it's okay to be embarrassed); and there's always the danger that the best auditioners are just fast sketch artists who can knock out a portrait quickly, but will never give you any depth beyond that; whereas someone awkward in the room, if allowed the time and free of the pressure of getting the job, will give you layers of magic on a set; what's called in the culinary arts "amplitude." 

There's ways to avoid auditioning people, of course. Cast your actors from tape you've seen of real work they've done; or, better yet, see them in a play where an editor can't control when you get to look at them. A good actor is a good actor and, unless there's a tremendous difference between the character you want them to play in your project and the one you see them performing for real, I wouldn't make too a big deal out of hearing them speak your particular dialog, as if watching them render those precious words specifically is going to mean all that much. For the feature I wrote and directed in Pittsburgh, "On The Inside," the only talent I auditioned was the one or two line local actors, and the rest were cast from seeing their previous work. They all came through magnificently. 

But, okay, say you have to hold auditions and go through that lousy process, because it's the best kind of lousy you've got. First of all, set it up so that it's nice for the actors, not nice for you. You'd sit in the freezing cold in a cramped spot to catch the light just right for that incredible shot, right? You'd hang out of a moving car and endanger yourself for that cool action sequence. So, given there's nothing more important for the success of your film than the quality of the performances, it doesn't matter how cozy it is for you, you want to create an environment that's friendly for the actors. Have it so that the place where they wait is comfortable and treat each auditioner honorably. Set up the acting space so it looks like it might be a performance area: move that stupid plant out of the way, adjust the lighting. Make it obvious that there's something special about the place where they're going to act. 


Me talking to Nickon the set of On The Inside.

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