I haven't been on the forum for several days.
Auditions were last Sunday. Recovery in progress. Throat still a little scratchy.
I did a significant amount of audition prep; I went back to my notes from the "Acting For Directors" workshop I took, and did some analysis of my script. In the process, I made some interesting discoveries, and found some playable moments in the scenes that I never knew existed. I used my script analysis to direct the auditions.
A few notes:
- I sent out sides in advance.
- I scheduled each actor 9 minutes + 1 min so I could hammer out some notes.
- 5 minute break/hour.
- 20 minutes lunch.
- Held auditions at VFX Studio screening room.
- Lit the auditions with three LED light panels that I built (they worked).
- Young actors can be strange. Several made some unusual requests (all of which went unfulfilled). One lady described herself as a 'great' actress, and told me that her boyfriend/manager wants to negotiate a rate for her audition. I found a nice way for us to immediately part ways.
- For the first reading, I let the actor run the scene without direction. The next time through, I asked that they play the scene with a objective that was exactly the opposite of their first read. The last time through, I'd give them direction that pushed them closer to the performance that might appear in the film. This approach revealed which actors could take direction, use direction, and find a way to make the scene work. The good actors really took it on.
- One actor was very good, but with each note I gave his performance was identical to his initial choice. That's a red flag.
On The Day:
After three hours of restless sleep, we kicked opened the doors to the studio and started he auditions. We quickly fell 30 minutes behind schedule ... and soon were an hour behind. The auditions themselves easily fit within the time allowed. The problem was ME. I spoke too much with the actors before each audition, so I revamped my approach during the lunch break. Luckily, 4 people (who were scheduled consecutively) were the only flakes of the day, and suddenly we rallied and were back on schedule.
I thoroughly enjoyed the audition process and met some excellent actors. Unfortunately, I didn't meet anyone who can play my lead ... until ... the next day my phone rings (out of the blue) and a I think I may have found the man I need.
For me, 10 minute auditions were perfect. The pace was steady, but never felt rushed.
Judith Weston's Acting for Directors workshop allowed me to head into the auditions with confidence, a strategy, and a way to express it to the actors.
Now, I have hours of video to review ...
- Thomas