Is this something you have wondered about? I have friends that ask me all the time... Let me also enlighten you on the difference between a script and a side... a script is typically the who story a side is just a piece of the story also called a scene. Basically there are 2 types of auditions:
A live or in person audition: Sometimes you are given the script / side a week in advance to memories your lines... others you are given them the night before. Then others you sign in and are given the scrip[t / side when you walk in the door. I know you are probably thinking... OMG!! How do I memorize the lines that fast? In my classes I am given the lines that night... we review them and then do them on camera... giving us just a short amount of time to memorize. This does help with getting your brain active for memorization. I'll tell you more in a bit! These occur live and in person in front of a casting director, and/or client, and/or producer, and/or camera. Sometimes you just see the person filming and the casting director (the recording could be streamed or saved for later).
A self-tape audition: This is where you record yourself. Now this can be very interesting in it self. For example, I had an audition yesterday. Now for legal obligations I can not say what is for! But, it consisted of a slate (in this case just my first and last name), a 20 to 30 second clipping talking about myself, a monologue, and then the audition. They also asked for a headshot and full body shot (that is the 2nd headshot requested). Typically the ask for more during a self tape.
Now as you can tell they are similar yet different... at either type of audition they could ask for a combination of things... like the example I gave in the self-tape audition. The key is to be prepared for this... have a monologue ready, have your headshot ready, etc. I sometimes for get this and now use an electronic business card for this very reason! If you want to know more about that let me know and I will share.
Now memorization... the one thing that I have learned over the years is that memorizing is not what the focus is all about during the audition. You might be thinking... really... well that is partially true... they care more about how you portray the character than the words coming out of your mouth. Think about this for a minute... do you fall in love with the words coming out of the characters mouth... or how the character acts?
That's it for this week... make a comment/give me feedback and receive an upvote from me! Have an awesome week.
