5 *Insider* Things Casting Directors Wish Actors Knew About Auditioning

here are five Insider things casting directors wish actors knew about auditioning let's get started number one when you ignore a moment that's not working in your scene casting directors know they know you cannot run you cannot hide you know what I mean that moment in your scene that you're working on and you just can't get that one moment right and it's driving you crazy or you know that that line that you just hate you know the one that every time you say it you just cringe a little bit inside so you just kind of barrel through it hoping that they don't notice guess what they noticed it's a casting director's job to notice everything that you do in your audition scene all the moments so don't ignore that moment in fact pay extra attention to it when you hit a clunky moment that you just can't get right it's often not that moment itself that's the problem but rather the transition that's happening from the prior moment to that moment that's causing it focus on that transition and watch your cringy moment just smooth right out so don't Barrel through that moment it's trying to tell you something and it could actually be the best moment in your scene when you give it the attention that it's actually asking you for the second Insider thing that casting directors wish you knew is this casting directors can often feel it when you're too attached to booking even in a self tape it's true they don't have to be mind readers to sense that you really really really want the job that energy that comes into every moment of your scene every interaction that you have with a casting director everything attachment to booking by the way is is different than desire to book desire to book is just fine but if it goes beyond desire into desperation neediness and that energy can creep into your reading without you even knowing it and casting directors while they can't read your mind they can sense that energy and they can interpret it as not right for the part which by the way is the note most often used by casting directors when they're watching auditions and self tapes it's kind of a bit of a catch-all and while sometimes you're really actually not right for the part when this desperate needy energy creeps into your reading they sense it and they can just slap a not right on what could have been a hell yeah you booked learn to focus on the joy of the craft and let the results go the third Insider thing that casting directors wish you knew is this don't shoot the messenger but here it is your choices probably aren't as good as you think they are because if they were you'd be booking more but wait don't panic about this there are a lot of reasons why this might be happening and the good news is they're all fixable one of the most common reasons that your choices aren't as good as they could be is that when prepping what most actors do is they go with the first good idea that they get in each moment the problem is so did all the other actors auditioning for your role and weirdly their choices are almost always surprisingly similar to yours weird but true so if you want to stand out push yourself beyond your initial choices and then do it again then do it again and do it again see where I'm going you keep going because that audition gold that gets you booked that's often found Beyond on the push will you give it a try number four casting directors can tell when you're not listening even on a self tape showing that you're listening versus really listening is actually playing the result of listening casting directors are trained to see it and when they do they click they're out it's over remember your character isn't just waiting for their queue they have thoughts and feelings and emotions that happen when the other characters are speaking so if you're focused on your queue you're going to miss that opportunity to be present and allow that organic spontaneous reaction to come and without it what happens is your audition comes off false and why would a busy casting director continue to watch false moment after false moment to keep their attention and breathe life into your character you have to be in that moment you have to be listening and responding and waiting for your queue all at the same time that's the beauty of the craft and casting directors they can't wait to see you do that so do it finally number five casting directors want to love your work now and for all of their projects in the future let them in other words stop focusing on booking the job and start focusing on booking the room yes of course you want to book the job but for the long-term growth of your career as an actor the most important thing you can do in an audition or self tape is create a raving fan of your work when a casting director becomes a raving fan of yours it's a no-brainer to keep bringing you in over and over again this helps them populate all their sessions with great actors like you and makes their job much easier when you help make their job easier you're helping yourself to more and more auditions for bigger and better roles and when you approach all your auditions and self tapes as an opportunity to create a fan come what may you free yourself from attachment to any one audition you allow yourself to really show up into the work and you give casting directors the space to discover just how awesome you are do that there you have it five Insider things that casting directors wish you knew about auditioning which one helped you the most tell me in the comments oh and remember to like this video And subscribe to my channel for more awesome tips to become an Unstoppable actor I'll see you on the next video