We've talked before about nasty, self-sabotaging actor habits. But surprise surprise, there are lots to go around. So this week we're going to talk about an audition-specific nasty habit.
Not using your sides.
I've been seeing a lot of actors lately who want to try to read without their sides. When I encourage them to pick them up, they kind of say, 'yeah I know, I just want to see if I can do it without them.' But that's the problem. Reading without your sides is not something to strive for, because it will not help you book the job.
The lines are not what book the job. What books the job is the acting the happens on and around the lines. You do not have enough time before a first audition to get comfortable enough with the lines that you can do that acting work and be totally off-book. So you have a choice:
- focus on remembering the lines at the expense of the acting, or
- focus on the acting at the expense of remembering the lines.
99% of the time, you will be MUCH better served with Option 2. I can tell you, based on my experience as a reader, that when you choose Option 1, the people watching you can feel when you should look at the page, but instead you lock eyes with the reader and try to pretend you're not focused on what to say next. It feels icky. No one likes it. And it does not make them want to give you the job.
Now, if if it's just a couple of small lines, or if you're at a "bonus round" callback, meaning you've been through pre-reads and/or producers with the same material and you've been brought back again, you should have it memorized. You should have it SO memorized that you can do all that juicy acting AND get the lines right without looking at the page. But you should NEVER sacrifice one bit of that juicy acting because you're avoiding looking at your sides. Never. Never ever.
But hey, don't take it from me. Look at how Hugh Laurie auditioned for the title role in House. Pay close attention to how often he looks down at the page. (Spoiler alert - He does it before almost every line.)
See how he never sacrifices a second of the character work because he's stubbornly refusing to break eye contact with the reader? He's obviously well prepared, he's very familiar with the lines, he probably could do it from memory. But he doesn't. (He's also an accomplished actor, and very comfortable glancing down at his script to pick up the next line. If you're not that comfortable, that's understandable. But the solution is to practice, not to pretend it's a skill you don't need.)
If I sound frustrated, it's because I am. I hate knowing an actor could book a role if s/he would only allow her or himself to focus on the acting instead of treating the audition like a memorization test. So I'm asking you to do me a favor. Try it the other way a few times. Just try it. And then keep trying it, so you can get better at it. And then brag about how you tried a new thing and it helped you book more jobs. BECAUSE IT WILL HELP YOU BOOK MORE JOBS.
Deal? Deal.