Acting Audition? Things You May Not Have Considered When Thinking About Your Casting Director

You are excited and possibly nervous about your upcoming audition.  You replay the scenario of the last audition with a cringe on your face.  You know you are good.  You would have been perfect for that film, right?

There's no doubt that you are a talented actor.  You have passion, zeal and a commitment to your field.  You've taken the right classes, hired the right coach and read all the right books, even though you are a natural.  

Well, even assuming that's all true (congrats, if it is!) you can't rely on your sheer unmatchable talent as the only scale. 

The life of a casting director isn’t so simple.  Think about the pressure they are under.  The very volume of parts to fill can be daunting enough, let alone the desire to find just the right candidates. The casting director needs to make sure that the ones chosen are truly right for each role and will supremely fulfill the director's vision, helping the movie reach its best and highest potential.

Casting in general, is a complicated, delicate task that seems to move through the process in perfect alchemy.  ....assuming it's got all the right ingredients. 

Again, placing the talent of yourself and others aside, let's look at what characteristics the casting director must fluidly contain: 

A good casting director must have:

• instinct 
• patience
• the ability to remember hundreds of diverse faces, voices, and performances.
• empathy & sympathy: the empathy that enables you to know, almost before he or she does, what the director wants in a particular part, as well as the sympathy that allows them to put a nervous actor at ease or to help a potentially stellar actress find the great audition that you sense she can give. 

Can you imagine having to juggle all that responsibility? Having to, day in and day out, be both observer and intuitive selector, manager and guide? 

Perhaps the most important trait they need to posses, is the kind of wild faith that allows them to continue believing in miracles.  It's so hard to know that there is part that's been needing to be filled for months, but having the unrelenting faith and peace of knowing it WILL eventually be cast. They know that the moment will come, when they find the performer who's eluded them for so long, finally arrive and leave him with that 'a-ha' sense of relief. When that kind of faith is rewarded, it's a thrill like nothing else.  Those are the moments they live for, the times that make all the anxiety worthwhile. It brings meaning to the job. 

So, will you always get the part?

No. 

Is it deeply personal? 

Not likely.

As an artist, remember that everyone involved is part of bringing the masterpiece to life.  There are so many variables to consider.  

The best you can do, is show up and show up well.  If the part is meant to be yours, it will be. 

There are many other tips and tricks we, at the New York Acting School for Film and Television, would love to share with you.  Please get in touch today, to see how we can advance you on your path to stardom.