Your #Audition is a #Performance. Treat it like one.

When actors are assembled before an audition, it’s a good bet a number of people are there for the same part. The impulse, of course, is to scope out the others, see if you know them, or maybe recognize them, or just get a sense of who else is in the room. It’s nearly impossible not to do… but it serves no purpose.

I’ve seen actors listen at the door, trying to pick up notes from other auditions, or boast about how they know the producers and the rest of us should go home. The intention is clear: to gain an advantage. But in truth you’re probably doing just the opposite.

Your best shot at giving a good read is to stay within what you’re doing, not what others are doing.

How do you do this? Well, it’s different for everybody, of course, but I would suggest keeping your nose in the material, and finding the quietest spot you can if others are chatting away. Go into the hall if you have to. You might also try to arrive such that you don’t have too much time before you’re called in to read. (Yes, sessions run late, so that can be tricky, but do the best you can.)

But one thing is clear: you’re there to give a strong audition. You’ll never achieve that by undermining others, or focusing on things beyond your control, or being distracted. Your audition is a performance. Treat it like one.