I had an audition recently for a recurring guest star role on a great show at an office I've been to a bunch. I was prepped, on time, knew what to expect, all good... And then I fell into a Waiting Room Trap (#3 specifically.)
No actor is immune. You can go for months without hitting one, and then WHAM. And then you panic, which makes it worse, and then you get pissed that you're panicking, and before you know it your prep is out the window, you've stumbled through your audition in a fog, and you're back in your car kicking yourself.
No more. Working actors don't let Waiting Room Traps become audition-killers. How? We have escape routes. Here are 5 of the most common pitfalls, and how to beat them:
- Thin Walls - Nothing makes you question your choices like listening to someone else's. Always carry earbuds and an iPod or phone loaded with music. I've made playlists - with names like 'Happy Go Lucky' and 'Down and Out' - that fit the types of characters I tend to go out for, so I can plug into something that will not only drown out the competition, but keep me in the right headspace.
- Chatty Comrades - Maybe you bump into someone you know, maybe you're sharing space with a couple of big personalities, but sometimes the waiting room feels more like a bar. There's nothing wrong with chatty actors (usually - see #5,) as long as you're checking in with yourself. If you feel the chatter pulling you away from your prep, excuse yourself and plug in to your trusty playlist. Often, others will take the hint and pipe down.
- Playing Casting Director - This one can happen a few different ways; You're sitting there, and in walks someone who looks exactly like what you pictured in your head when you first read the role. Or you see someone with more credits/experience/clout than you. Or one of those chatty comrades says s/he was college roommates with the director. Whatever it is, you decide you know who's going to get the job, and it's not you.
Escaping this one is all about remembering what you can and can't control. You can't control what you (or they) look like, or your (or their) credits, who you (or they) know, or what the decision-makers want for the role. The ONLY thing you can control is doing your best work in the room. So manhandle your brain back into focusing on THAT. Because as my Coaching clients know, an audition is not about booking the job, it's about showing the people in the room that you can be counted on to deliver great work. (Don't take my word for it, take it from Bryan Cranston.) - The Wait - Sometimes, the wait itself is the enemy. In addition to giving you more time to fall into one of the other traps, a long wait drains your focus. Your mind starts wandering, people start complaining... I gotta get back to work, my meter's running out, it's disrespectful to waste people's time, blah blah blah. Resist the resentment. Accept that ours is a profession that involves a lot of waiting. Consider it rehearsal for sitting in your trailer for 6 hours. Then check in with yourself. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 = ready-to-read and 1 = couch potato) Hover around 5 until 2 or 3 people before you, then ramp back up. If you don't know when you're up, hover around 7 or 8. (And if you're worried about your meter, feed it. Worrying costs more.)
- The Wild Card - Sometimes, things just get crazy. I've had a fellow actor try to screw me up by telling me they changed a critical line. I've had a series regular show up and tell me I'm overweight. Once, the actor reading before me hammed it up so hard she flung the door open and crawled around the waiting room screaming on all fours as part of her audition. Fire drills, hailstorms, projectile vomiting - audition enough and anything can and will happen. Do whatever you need to do to protect your prep, so you can do your work. Plug in, walk away, ask for a few minutes to recenter. Press the mute button on the drama until your work is done. (And once it's done, come back here and post the story!)
The danger of any Waiting Room Trap is that it distracts you from your prep; So lack of a good prep is the worst Trap of all. Need help with your prep skills? Schedule a coaching session before your next audition.
Got a Waiting Room Trap I missed? Post it in the comments and we'll break it down together. Now go break some legs!