The Modern Actor A product of

Audition Checklist By: Eddie Ramos

The Modern Actor Audition Checklist

 Overview Materials
If you are an aspiring actor or actress in today’s world, chances are you Here’s what you’ll need:
will audition for a role at least once in your life. Auditioning can be fun
and rewarding, where do you start? How do you prepare for a role? § Audition sides
What skills do you need to memorize your lines?
§ Highlighter, Pen
This all-inclusive guide aims to answer those questions and help you feel
§ Quiet space & Focus
great about your audition from the moment you receive your sides to the
moment you walk out of the room.
The Checklist
Objectives A simple device comprised of a few
tasks. Keep this sheet at your desk or
¨ Understand the material
with you at your next audition, as part
¨ Breakdown the scene
of your auditioning tool kit.
¨ Commit the role to memory
¨ Bring yourself to the character Find the list on page 17.
¨ Execute in the room
¨ Walk out happy
Other Resources
Contents To grasp audition technique 100%
takes time and practice. Your own
1. Where to start?.....................................................................2 experience auditioning will teach you
2. Researching the scene …………………………………...……..3 a lot, but you can also learn on your
3. Technical skills……………………………………………………4 down time.
4. Artistic skills……………………………………………………....6
5. Memorization…………………………………………………......7 For more resources on auditioning see
6. Mindset................................................................................8 page 10.
7. In the audition room.............................................................9

Evaluation
Remember auditioning can be highly rewarding for an actress or actor.
Over time, you will see yourself able to find your beats quickly and
handle cold reads with ease. Mastering the audition technique will
change your life. It will open the doors you’ve dreamed of. You will start
to enjoy auditions and seek to go out even more.

Don’t compare your journey with anyone else’s, everyone learns at their
own pace. You need only to focus on strengthening your craft and
confidence. Actors go on more auditions than they book, so knowing
your “why” is crucial to maintain stamina.

The best way to improve your auditioning is through developing a solid

foundation of skills that you can build upon. The Modern Actor’s
Audition Checklist was designed in a way that hopefully achieves that.

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Where To Start?

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Where To Start?

Print Your Sides

Auditioning can be a very fast process. Some of you may even be receiving multiple auditions at once, all for the NEXT
day! That’s why it’s crucial to print out your sides as soon as you get them. The more time you give yourself for breaking
down the scene, the better prepared you’ll be—the better chances you will have at booking the role.

But, everyone prints out his or her sides right? I mean it’s obvious?

You’d be surprised.

What may seem like a no-brainer to you, might not for other actors. I’ve seen actors and actresses ruin their auditions
because they refused to print out their sides and when they inevitably forgot their lines, they had no life vest to save them
from drowning. You won’t drown if you have the sides with you; write them down if you don’t have access to a printer.

Studies have shown people remember 10% of what they read (passive) and 70% of what they read and write (active). So
taking the time to read the lines out loud and write them down is beneficial to your overall memory. The physical action
acts as a double bolt lock on your memory bank.

When it comes to auditioning, simpler is better. During a casting session I sat in on, an older actress chose to skip out on
printing her sides and use her iPad instead. As the scene reached the climax, the actress stopped talking and started to
frantically scroll for two minutes. I sat shocked with the director and casting director as we waited for her to find her
place again. By then, the director had already moved on mentally.

The best way to avoid this kind of situation is to leave your technology out of the room. Keep it old school, print or write
your lines.

Pro-Tip: Casting directors allow actors to hold their sides during an audition to prevent potential mishaps. As
long as you aren’t staring down at them the whole time or directly reading from the page, keeping your sides
near you in an audition is totally acceptable.

In this guide you will discover the best ways to keep from checking back into your lines constantly and how to deliver a
powerful and connected performance.

(Insert photo of holding your sides to the side not in your face)

One directly over your face, one with your head down, one the correct way

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Research The Scene

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Research The Scene
A smart actor knows how to do good homework. Look up the playwright or screenwriter, and get familiar with common
themes in their work. Read the entire play or screenplay. If your agent sends you the script and you have time, read
it. Familiarize yourself with the show by watching a couple of episodes to get a sense of the style and tone.

Read The Sides 4x

Los Angeles acting teacher Lesly Kahn suggests actors read their scripts multiple times using different perspectives.

Once, as Yourself. Go through and highlight your lines. Not committing anything to memory yet. (Don’t worry your
brain will automatically do that for you as you continue to read and work on your script.)

Once, as the Character. You should be thinking about what your character is saying, how they are saying it, and what
others are saying about them.

Once, as the Director. Try and picture the scene played out on camera or on the stage. For example, an interrogation
scene might call for close-ups, hovering cops, and the smoke from a lit cigarette. Whereas, a romantic scene might call
for wide-shots, a romantic stroll, and two warm coffees. Imagining how a director might see your scene gives advanced
actors clues to shape their performance. Let your imagination go wild, but always work towards making the scene feel
authentic.

Once, as the Writer. Know where the jokes are in a comedy and the pauses are in a drama. Understand the rhythm of
the scene. Long sentences usually reflect longer thoughts or that the character is searching and picking his words

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carefully. The same can be said about short, direct one-word responses. Good writing will tell you a lot about your
character’s background, social status, and emotional state.

Now that you have a basic understanding of what’s going on in your scene, it’s time to start developing your skills as an
actor. There are three major concepts you’ll need to develop into your audition: technical skills, artistic skills, and
memorization.

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Technical Skills

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Technical Skills

Find The Blood & Guts Of The Scene

Identify your characters Overall Objective, Scene Objective, Moment Before, Place, Substitution, As If, Obstacles,
Relationship, and a One-Page Backstory. Renowned Los Angeles acting teacher Anthony Meindl calls these tools the
characters “blood & guts.” They are helpful devices n developing your character and making choices for your audition.
There are many more ways to develop your character and scene, however bases on the average amount of time an actor
is given to prepare an audition (which isn’t much) these tools will do the trick.

There are great resources to find out what these tools are online, and in the book, “The Power of The Actor” by Ivanna
Chubbuck.

Overall Objective (Scene Objective) – Your
characters Purpose throughout the scene. What your
character wants to achieve over the course of the entire
scene. There is no “right” answer for your characters
objective, only smart choices. You can find your
objective by reading your lines and asking yourself—
How does your character respond to the given
circumstances and scene partner in the scene?
Moment Before – The event that happened before you
begin the scene. It gives you a place to come from, both
physically and emotionally. Create a Moment Before
that has a different energy than the scene, it helps add
Urgency and Raises the Stakes.
Place – Where does the scene happen? The scene
would be very different if it were taking place in an
office, outside, a library...etc. I also include the time of
day. Time of day hugely affects how your character
might react during the scene.
Obstacles – The physical, emotional, and mental
hurdles that make it difficult for your character to
achieve his or her Objective.
Substitution – Find substitution for your scene partner
and all the nouns in the scene by making connections
with your own life and that of the characters.
Substituting helps actors get closer to the reality of the
scene.
As If – Sometimes its necessary to take your
Substitutions to a deeper level. Actors will imagine what
it would be like to be in the scene as themselves. “ AS IF
I was talking to my____________about_______________.
Relationship – Our characters’ always want TO WIN, or
achieve their objectives at the end of the scene. So for
that reason it helps to think about relationship in terms
of ME VS. “ARCHETYPE.” An archetype can be
simplified to someone like “your best friend”, “your
ex”, “your boss”...etc. As you read this could you feel
your emotional response, inner–thought and maybe
even your physicality change from each archetype. As
actors we should ne able to call upon at least one
encounter with each of these archetypes from our own
memory or by using our imagination.
Backstory – The who/what/where/when of the
character leading up to the start of the scene. On the
back of your sides or on a piece of scrap paper take up
to 5-minutes without stopping or censoring yourself
describing the life of your character that we don’t get to
see. This is where you can describe his or her
birthplace, their relationship with their family, any love
interests or things they despise? Creating a backstory
develops a better understanding of the character and
Given Circumstances.

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Artistic Skills

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Artistic Skills
Acting can’t be 100% intellectual. Meaning that the actions made by the actor should be informed by instinct, emotion,
and a quality of spirit. The best actors are those who unabashedly bring their essence into the characters they play. And
guess what? That’s what audiences and casting directors respond to. Can you imagine if Marilyn Monroe or James Dean
shied away from who they were? We would be deprived of their iconic performances. Your job as an actor is to inspire
others by being yourself. The most successful actors and actresses figure this piece of the puzzle quickly and it will
dictate the time it takes for you to land roles.

This is super important so I’m going to put it into bold for you:

The sooner you realize that YOU are good enough, the sooner you will book.

So how does one shine through the character on an audition?

If you study the greats closely, a really captivating performance does not come from what they say, but rather what they
don’t say. The juice is in the listening and the actor’s inner-thoughts.

You can make your audition more engaging and interesting by having clear intentions and real inner-thoughts.

Set Your Intentions For Your Lines & Inner-Thoughts For Your Partner’s Lines
Your intentions or “mini-objectives” should go as follows, “I am saying this line to make you feel____________.” You
should have an intention for every one of your lines. In the case of a larger monologue or paragraph, find the overall
feeling you are trying to evoke in your partner with that group of lines. Again “I am saying these lines to make you
feel________.

You should have an inner-thought every time your partner speaks, as we do in life. The thought does not have to be
long; it can be a few words or utterances such as “Hmm...” However, having that inner-thought will do three things for
you:

Ø Connect you closer to your partner, by allowing every word they say to have an affect on you.
Ø During the audition you won’t be staring blankly at the camera or at the reader when they speak—you will
be thinking, listening, and responding truthfully and the camera will pick that up. Be careful not to over act
your thoughts, in life we are much more subtle.
Ø Gives your sources. A source is a technique to delineate different substitutions using various eye lines out in
front of you. So for example, instead of delivering a speech about the time you won a trophy directly into the
reader’s eye, place the trophy somewhere else in the room and “see” it while you speak. Not only, does it
look great on camera but it helps you avoid staring at the reader and will make your audition feel more
natural.

Actors are artists too. I think we tend to forget that because of the blurred line between celebrity and actors who are
famous because of their talent. Actors are as much artists as painters and musicians. Their physical body is their
instrument, and their instrument is their art.

There are ways to showcase your artistry in a five-minute audition. From the clothes your wear, to the props you
incorporate into your scene—the life and energy you bring into your audition will set you apart from other actors and
make the people sitting across from you pay attention and listen.

Doubt is the green-eyed monster that creeps into our heads from time to time. Doubt has made the most confident actors
and actresses throw in the towel, yet those who remain and become successful understand that the most important factor
in their career is how alive they feel walking out of their auditions.

Stop seeing auditioning as hoop to jump through before you get to “act,” use it to explore your acting all the more.

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Memorization

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Memorization

Learn the Role, Not the Lines

In the book Acting For The Camera, Tony Barr writes “the words themselves are not important; it’s what makes the words
happen that has significance. In other words, don’t just memorize and repeat your lines one after another. Know what
makes you say them, why you are saying them, and how you are trying to make your partner feel with them.

There will be little worry about forgetting your lines, if you’ve made a connection between the stimuli and the responses
they create. It’s the reason you can remember all the words to a song after years of not hearing it. The feeling you had
the first time you heard it generated a deeper connection to the lyrics. Naturally, that is the same relationship you are
trying to develop with the text.

Run Your Lines Regularly

Run your lines continuously during that time leading up to your audition. Going over the scene with someone else would
be optimal, although finding a quiet space to rehearse alone works as well. Incorporate your intention, inner-thoughts
and all the information you gathered in the technical skills portion.

Pro-Tip: Be aware that in your audition anything can happen, so don’t be married to any of the choices you made
on the script, but an actor who prepares is better off than an actor who goes into the room and tries to wing it.
Trust me.

Practice makes permanent.

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Mindset

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Mindset
Audition day skills are needed to make great actor or actress excel at their audition. A great performance doesn’t begin
in the room, it starts the moment you decide to print the sides and put in the work.

The more time you can give yourself to mentally prepare the better. The following guidelines are to be done on the day
of your audition.

-Audition Day-

Wake Up Like The Character

Practice igniting your creativity early. Brush your teeth as the character would. If the script suggests any music that your
character likes, listen to it. If you all yourself to be open to it, your body will naturally re-align your behaviors and
thoughts with those of the character.

Meditate
If I could only do one thing on the day of my audition, it would be to meditate. This has been the key to my recent
success and overall happiness, and I booked my second National Commercial the day I decided to implement this into
my routine. Give yourself time before your audition to meditate. It’s a great way to get grounded and away from being
nervous. There is a range of 5-20 minute meditation online that you can choose from. My favorites are the UCLA free-
guided meditations and Abraham Hicks guided meditations on Youtube. Recently, I have seen massive results in my
overall audition experience by doing a meditation from a fellow Modern Actor reader, Orel De La Mota.

Visualize The Audition In The Waiting Room

As you enter the waiting room most casting directors have the actor sign in with their name, role, and time of arrival.
This is where even the most seasoned actor can become nervous, self-doubting, and sabotage their whole audition
before even entering the room. Not to worry. You’re not like other actors. You are prepared and confident in your work.
Breathe. Collect your thoughts. Focus on your character. Gradually block out the other actors in the room and visualize
yourself having a great audition.

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Audition Like You’re Going On The Perfect Date
The best actors are self-aware people who understand the social cues of life. Similar to a date, you want to put your best
foot forward. You don’t want to enter the room with an attitude or distraught over whatever happened to you earlier that
day. You have to recognize that at it’s core, auditioning is just another human experience. The reader or casting director
follows the same guidelines of life as you do, and even though it may seem like an audition is a foreign experience, you
must train yourself to not see it that way.

The casting director wants you to do well. Your date wants you to sweep him/her off their feet! No one wants their
date to disappoint them. As much as I hated hearing this from other actors when I first started, it wasn’t until I sat in on
casting sessions that I realized this was true.

By staying relaxed, actors have the power to create an atmosphere that is fun and inviting. The team will be engaged
and eager to work with you on set. Your job as the actor is to be positive in these rooms. That is how you get the second
date.

Have A Conversation With Your Lines

In life we stumble over and mispronounce words all the time. If acting is living truthfully why would you not include
things that we do naturally. It is important that you have your lines memorized, I am not advocating paraphrasing or not
knowing your words, however I think it is important for actors to know that in the case of stumbling over your
words...Pause. Collect your thoughts, find your place, and continues on with the lines. Most likely the casting director
will think you are making a choice, but do not apologize or worst go off on a diatribe about a late night the day before.
You don’t want to be an actor with a reputation for making excuses.

Be Open To Adjustments
Film is a director’s medium. Therefore, a casting director may ask you to make an adjustment, even if your adjustment is
going extremely well. Don’t panic. The casting director is making sure you can take direction. They do not want to hire
you and then get word from production stating that you lack flexibility. The most important thing is to understand is that
getting direction is nothing personal and purely part of the job.

Say Thank You And Keep It Moving. It’s Just Another Day On The Job.
After your audition is done and the casting director is satisfied you can say something like “Thank You for having me,”
or “Good luck with the rest of the project,” and walk out of there with your head held high. This is just another day in the
life of an actor, those who remain and become successful understand that the most important factor in their career is how
alive they feel walking out of their auditions.

Ever walk out of an audition and repeat the lines over and over to yourself? This is death for an actor. It means you failed
to leave everything in the room. The next time you find yourself doing this, stop and let it go. Trust that you gave it your
all in the audition and walk away stress-free. Actors have one of the coolest jobs in the world, but again it is a JOB. So try
not to let your audition experience hijack your whole day.

Remember, auditioning is just part of the process and it gets easier every time you do it.

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The Modern Actor Audition
Checklist
Every time you get an audition, complete this checklist, and walk into the room
knowing you are ready to book the role!
¨ Print the sides
¨ Read the sides 4x
¨ Research the scene
¨ Find the blood & guts of the scene
¨ Set your intentions for your lines & inner-thoughts for your partner’s lines
¨ Run your lines regularly
¨ Wake up like the character
¨ Meditate
¨ Gather everything you need:
¨ Sides
¨ Headshot
¨ Resume
¨ Props
¨ Confidence!

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Other Resources
The following books are in order by which I think they are relevant to understanding the audition technique and their
nearness to the reality of an actual audition in 2017.

The Power Of The Actor

A Practical Handbook For The Actor

Book The F#©king Job

The Complete Audition Book For Young Actors

How To Stop Acting

The Science Of Acting

From The Modern Actor On Auditioning

13 Top-Tips To Nailing Your Audition!

How To Breakdown A Scene

Share This With Your Friends

Publisher: Eddie Ramos

www.the_modern_actor.com

Copyright © 2017

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