How to Prepare for Your Audition or Performance

by: Kimberly Jentzen

Have a ritual of working out both your body and voice in the early part of the day prior to your audition. You’re body needs to be tuned up and present. Also, by executing a few vocal exercises, you won’t squeeze your throat from nerves or tension, and you will be able to drop that voice into your body.

Next is the mental preparation. Make sure you take a minute to close your eyes and quietly envision your audition from stepping into the building and meeting the casting director’s assistant to walking into the room and meeting the casting director; or if it’s a call back the director or producer. Experience being free from nerves and feeling a sense of confidence and enthusiasm for the project.

Visualize yourself doing your cold reading from beginning, middle, to end. Experience your intention, beats and emotion. (Let the emotion be held within, save the full-out emotion for the audition.) Then experience a sense of satisfaction and gratitude and see yourself leaving the audition room feeling like you did what you set out to do. Open your eyes and write down any realizations you may have about the process.

When you drive to your audition, listen to music that builds your confidence and gives you the added energy of emotion that will relate to your reading. Before you leave your car, take a moment to connect to your surroundings. Breath, relax and say to yourself, “I’m ready.” Even if you don’t believe you are, a part of you actually will.