Tips on Casting workshop

[JTBmum]

Hi, Ds has a casting workshop next week which is a recall. Does anyone have any tips for success in these workshops? Ds is more used to individual castings.

Thanks a lot

[pg]

I think casting workshops are fun! It's so interesting seeing other people auditioning and I think it's much easier to show what you can do as an actor in a workshop. It's much closer to rehearsal/performance so it feels more natural somehow. There's usually more time, too, so I find it easier to be bold and take risks in a workshop in the knowledge that I have more than three minutes to show them what I am made of! I usually come out of workshop auditions feeling quite a buzz.

I did once go to a casting workshop that was not in a group - confusingly . The definition of workshop seems very woolly but does always seem to include some kind of improvisation based around what is being cast

There's not a lot of preparation you can do because no two workshops are the same. The instructions are generally quite clear (e.g. what kind of improvised scene they would like to see) and if the instructions are NOT clear you have the comfort of seeing everyone else looking bemused too!

I think it's just a case of trying to strike the balance between being a wallflower and saying too little and being a show-off and saying too much. There needs to be give and take between the auditionees, but in my experience it's not unlike a rehearsal room to be honest and I know your DS has done quite a lot of theatre, so I imagine he will find it quite a familiar process. I know that everyone is in competition, but the best results for everyone are achieved through co-operation.

It's easy for the person running the workshop to spot if someone is trying to sabotage someone else (I have only once seen this happen, so I wouldn't expect it to happen to your ds!). Generally I think actors are very generous in workshop auditions and give each other support. I think this is an instinctive thing for most actors. It's not just altruism of course, because a production often does better with generous actors involved so this will be seen as a good thing!

I think my tips would be:

1. Be yourself.
2. Don't be afraid to take risks.
3. Immerse yourself totally in the activity and try to ignore the fact that you are being observed.
4. Be friendly and responsive to others in the group, but don't waste time on chit-chat with the other actors during the workshop itself - try to get on with the job in hand. It's not the actors you need to impress.
5. Try to relax and enjoy it - auditionees tend to come across better this way and it reassures the person/people observing you and makes their job easier.

[JTBmum]

Dear pg,

Thanks very much for the comprehensive advice! I will pass it on to ds and am sure it will come in useful.