Iowa State Theatre has six productions planned for the 2017-18 school year, and auditions for the shows come up quick. Preparing for theatre auditions may seem like a lot of work, but with these tips, you’ll be ready for whatever the production team may throw your way leading up to the day of the audition. 

Over prepare 

Being underprepared in an audition room can be daunting and potentially embarrassing for any actor. “Rehearse and rehearse your material.  Ask friends or mentors to watch and give you feedback,” said Vivian Cook, member of the theatre department recruitment committee and co-founder/producer of the One Act Play days. “Keep experimenting so that, once you’ve decided on how you are going to present your piece, you know you can be flexible.” 

Know your abilities- and hone into them 

Directors want to know not only who you are as an actor, but as a person. That said, you as the actor need to know yourself as well, and how willing you are to do something outside your comfort zone. “They may ask you to try something different or new, but you are in control of yourself and your body, voice, etc,” Cook said. “You always have a choice.” If you feel comfortable taking the risks presented to you, then take them. If not, it’s not the end of the world. 

Mind your manners in the audition room

“The audition starts long before you actually get in from to the director,” Cook said. This means that audition panels can see if you are the kind of person who can collaborate and work well with a creative team and other actors. With this in mind, be courteous to those helping out with auditions, as well as those in the room itself. 

You’re giving a gift- remember that 

Auditions and performances seem so different from one another in so many ways, but if you give an audition the same amount of passion and confidence you would give a performance, the more successful they will be. “Don’t focus on yourself.  If you have prepared your pieces, your instrument (yourself), and your attitude, you will be ready to perform,” Cook said. “Whether you make it into the show or not, you’ll know you’ve performed generously and given what you have to give.”