The pullback
These days, I hear a lot about the “pull back” of shows and auditions, work drying up or leaving town, etc. Even for voice actors. Crickets…
“Why am I no longer booking?” “Where did the auditions go?” “How can I book more?”
Let’s first consider our ever-shifting industry before exploring some ideas for upping your audition game.
To start, it probably isn’t your fault (or your agent’s) that you have fewer auditions right now. The industry is changing dramatically and rapidly. Studios old and new are pausing or recalibrating from the spending spree of content creation since streaming went Big Time. Casting and creating are shifting to favor inclusivity. Post-COVID auditioning takes place in isolation with little or no helpful feedback at hand. A.I. introduces new creative tools that promise to transform our workspace.
That’s a lot of change!
But the entertainment industry has always been characterized by change. Our current confluence of disruptions is an amped version of what entertainment professionals have weathered since the invention of moving pictures. Means of creation and distribution have always been changing as have job descriptions.
The good news is that the streamers still need outstanding, fresh, high-quality content to galvanize eyeballs and draw subscribers. The more content is consumed, the higher the demand.
Shifting market conditions has been a constant challenge for creative freelancers. It is as important as ever for a professional artist to counter with doubling down on strenghening your acting and making your auditions stronger and more standout than ever.
Seek other ears.
Maximizing your “booking ratio” means delivering consistently outstanding auditions. But a talented performer may need work at self-directing and producing their auditions. Too often an actor submits work that is still in the “workshop” phase that hasn’t been properly considered or “directed” to be the best it can be.
I’ll assume you’re at least seeking feedback from your agent, which may be of approximate help at best. “You’re doing great, hang in there,” or something reassuring or vaguely helpful but not too specific. Agents aren’t acting coaches.
If you’re experiencing a drop-off in booking you can seek out an audition “coach” to get another pair of ears on your work (your final cut of your audition). Work with a pro work on an upcoming audition or two or have them assess previously sent auditions. Either could be of help.
Any of the working voice actors I mention in my site (CLICK HERE) may offer helpful acting adjustments to what you do.
But you can’t be coached for every audition. How to get better at doing this on your own?
Clear the noise, start your audition with a clean stage:
Try this: Sit quietly and clear your mind or breathe/meditate for a few minutes before you dive in to your audition. Nobody ever hires you because you are in a rush or because you need a job. Any urgency you may feel can pollute your acting. It’s invisible to you, but clear to the casting director’s ear.
You need the sunshine of a relaxed, free-space of mind to bring the flower of your read to full blossom.
You can gain control over anxiety or mental clutter. Do what you need to do to wash it away before you work.
Your first run at your audition
You then diagnose the audition copy (What is needed? What tone?, etc.), record a few runs at it and then edit your audition. But don’t send it in yet. That’s only your start!
Too many rush to send in their earlier takes as their final audition. But adding a bit of distance between the actor and their work can yield better oversight in crafting a competitive audition.
Better auditioning: Walk away to gain better directing ears
To craft a competitive read, you need the honest feedback from an objective ear. To create better auditions you need to be both a better actor and a better director/producer.
A voice actor must have talent and good acting instincts, but they’ll need to develop directing instincts as well. Your “actor self” must please an equally finicky and talented “director-self.”
Most submitted auditions are inadequate because they haven’t been sufficiently vetted and shaped by a good, honest listen. An audition is too often rushed past the director’s input, prematurely certified as “show ready” when it really needs a bit more workshopping.
So step back. After you have cobbled your initial best audition take as the “actor”- walk away and come back after five or ten minutes and listen with your eyes shut as the “director.” Don’t read along with the script- only listen. In your mind’s darkened theater, just feel your read as an audience member.
With a just few minutes’ distance, your “director-self” can better hear what works and what doesn’t. You are now a more neutral observer of your audition and can better detect any adjustments that may be needed to your acting.
Is your read too fast, too quiet, too repetitive or one-level, etc. Is it flat, boring, indecisive, unclear? Does it jump out at you? Does it take you on a journey? Do you love it? How much? Does it feel right? Not good enough? Does another idea emerge?
Would you cast you off this read?
With a bit of a break, the needed fix or improvement can present more clearly to your director-ears , whereas before you were too close to your work to notice.
Don’t let your audition booth isolation flatten your read!
Listening back, does it sound like you just reading words or does it live? It’s easy to forget when you’re reading alone in your closed-off padded cell that your character is not alone or isolated. Do you hear an authentic connection from your performance?
A voice actor is hired not only to read words but to act and that means even as you utter words, you are actively listening and even seeing your invisible scene partner as the scene plays out. This dimension accompanies your speech and lends fullness and specificity to your performance.
As you perform, are you “listening as you speak?”
The words are the vehicle not the destination.
Remember- you are hired not just to read words clearly- a good actor makes bold, interesting and fitting choices. Generic or vague is the enemy!
When you listen back to your read- do you hear a journey and arrival? Is there a clear character and story that lands where it should?
If not, let’s rework it until it’s as good as it needs to be! If you are unsure or lost, call in a referee voice actor pro/teacher and ask their take.
Learn by comparing
Save your initial “best take” as a separate file. Save your second “final take” (after the fresh-eared walk-away) as another file.
Now compare the two. Do you start to notice tendencies of acting quirks that you unconsciously add to your acting? Can you convert persistent automatic tendencies to intentional options?
You can do this too with a coached read- compare your before (on your own) audition to your coached one. What changed?
Comparing “before” and “after” reads can advance your awareness and grow in your acting instincts.
Don’t force it!
Now- after saying all this- I don’t want you to be so fixated on “perfection” that it blocks your results . An audition shouldn’t take hours to complete. Don’t overwork it! It should be focused but with good final effect. If you are too belabored or obsessive, your read will feel that way.
If you are getting fatigued or finding your efforts are getting worse and not better with the extended effort- step away, have a cuppa joe and come back with fresher ears after a break. Too much effort can kill the fun, the feel and your objectivity!
Go get ’em!
By taking more time in assessing your auditions and maybe enlisting outside ears, I hope you can improve your reads, strengthen your instincts and up your bookings.
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