Be Prepared!

"What do they want me to do?!" I've often heard this frustrated cry from Actor friends over the years after mangled auditions and have managed to hold in my laughter at this point.

The obvious answer is, "Act." But obviously, Actors don't see it that way. They want Direction...from a Casting Director who is actually not the real director of the picture.

"I'm not getting the right roles." Hmmm, which are??

All fun aside, I feel the pain of Actors. I love actors. I love how they infuse words with emotion and living intelligence that translates to moving and even convincing audiences that they are someone who they are not.

But I have picked up a few sage words from Casting Directors and mixed it with my own audition quality wisdom. Like to hear it? Here it goes.

1. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare (see Scar caption) for the roles that YOU WANT. Wipe any idea out of your mind of suddenly being presented with "the role of a lifetime" or "the perfect role". Someone Seasoned Entertainment Insiders know how to keep those just out of reach of unprepared actors. If you really want to play Romeo (and who doesn't) you must practice those monologues until the paper is worn out. This is the digital age, shoot a B&W Youtube video of you rehearsing with your worn out paper. Hashtag it. Let people see that you are working for what you want and not just what you get.

2. Poll Your Audience. You have social media followers, who, often have very specific ideas of what roles they'd like to see you play. Put yourself out there. Do a Poll on Insta, FB, or Twitter. You can actually leverage this data with agents/managers. They will be impressed that you're trying to develop a niche and taking ownership of your audience.

3. Repeat Step 1. Whether you want to cast in the next Marvel or remake of Elizabeth, you cannot just hope and/or pray. You have to DO what you know, which is act. And I'll stick to what I know which is write. #unsolicitedactingadvice