Gimme a C…or three!

Letter C

Casting is subjective. There, I said it. Over the years people have tried to convince me otherwise - usually folks who pitch acting classes, seminars or listing services for a living. But experience from both sides of the stage, camera and studio glass has taught me that in the end, casting comes down to the opinions and tastes of other humans.

So what is a voice talent/actor to do? Give up and say "what's the point of it all?" Absolutely not! Just send me $399 and I'll give you the secret to taking those pesky client whims and opinions out of the equation! Kidding. Training is invaluable in any profession, but sometimes a few tricks from the trenches can help as well.

Today I offer (free of charge) the three "Cs" of a successful audition.

Cast yourself first. This is a mental trick I like to play on myself. Get it in your noggin that the audition IS the gig, and it's yours! This will help you to...

Connect with the material on a personal level, and to fully...

Commit to your interpretive choices without hesitation.

Control what you can, by maintaining a clean audio quality, being vocally warmed up and hydrated, etc.

If you do these things you can be confident that your audition will be as competitive as possible.

Now comes the hardest trick for acting newbies to master:

Convince yourself after you submit your audition that it doesn't matter whether you get the gig or not. You've done your job to the best of your abilities. Now it's time for the other folks to do theirs.

Okay, that's more than three Cs. Perhaps next time I'll focus on the letter Z. At least it should make for a shorter post!