Auditioning: An Actor-Friendly Guide

This is a very helpful book for most anyone who is new to the process of auditioning for the world of professional theater written by an experienced casting director who is also an actress. There are several books out on this subject. This one was recommended to me by the casting director of a regional theater company. The first chapter, which covers the emotional baggage that actors bring to auditions was especially helpful to me. The following chapters give a good overview of the audition process, so you know what to expect, and much good advice about preparing material for presentation.

I just had a lot of fun reading this book and you can get a lot of inspiration from it.

This book is full of practical advice written in an unusually effective manner: straightforward, warm, encouraging.

Excellence

Terrific no-nonsense approach; tried and true advice from a woman who knows what she's doing. Highly recommend.

Good.

The subtitle is no joke: Joanna Merlin's book is certainly Actor-Friendly. Auditioning is a terrible process for all parties involved. Auditors and auditioners both know that an actor cannot truly demonstrate the breadth and depth of their skill in a five minute general audition, nor a callback. But this is the process by which we cast shows, and until someone figures out a better way to do it, it's the one we're stuck with.Joanna rightly points this out in her opening, and goes to great lengths to get the actor to relax and take a positive (and more psychologically healthy) perspective towards the audition process. Her tips help bolster self-confidence, relaxation, acceptance of not getting a part, and a spirit of playing. She also gives several anecdotal stories from her own experiences in the business, supporting her advice with real-world examples.The meat and potatoes of the book is her actual advice on what to do in order to prepare and deliver an audition and callback, with chapters on general advice, advice for camera, and advice for musicals. She gives solid advice for monologue selection, the key points to hit for swift text analysis, making your characterization distinct (here her training in the Michael Chekhov technique shows), and later a more practical walkthrough of the event itself.This text is not a magical cure-all, nor a guarantee that you're going to land your next role. I'll be honest and tell you that I didn't. This book, however, did certainly helped me prepare and understand what was going on during the callback, and how to approach and understand why I might not have gotten the part (which, when I later talked to the director, turned out to be accurate). If you're an actor who is consistently anxious about auditioning, and gets terribly discourage or even depressed by not getting the role, absolutely read this book. Its biggest value is in shifting your perspective. If you're an actor who is comfortable with auditioning, then you've probably got a system that lets you deal with the stress, anxiety, and nerves already, but this book may be worth it for you to read Joanna's recommendations and anecdotes.

Good book