Find The Love

If you're an actor it's a familiar scenario-- It's been awhile since you had an audition or perhaps an audition for something you really want. You work hard on it and feel you're perfect for the role. Then at the audition there's no spark. Technically you give a good read, but you know it's not great.  You get in the car and go over it, frustrated not to have another chance. What happened? Were you over-rehearsed? Perhaps you were overtly critical and too much,"in your head"? In all honesty, focusing on you may in fact be the problem.

"Take the focus off yourself and fall in love," was one of the best pieces of auditioning advice I ever got. A dear friend of mine, a seasoned actress now retired, gave me this little gem. It means rather than sit in the waiting room going over your lines for the umpteenth time, practicing a relaxation technique, or getting, "in character", find something to love. Take in your surroundings, really look and listen, get outside yourself and be present. Trust that the lines and the work are there and relax into what is.  When you get in the audition room put all your focus and attention on the other people there. Find something beautiful in each person. Commit sincerely to finding something to love about them. If you work with a reader do the same, take them in, make them the center of your world as you would a lover. They should capture all of your attention. And if you don't have a reader, fall in love with some object in the room allowing it to hold your concentration.

By now you may be thinking I'm crazy. What if the casting director is nasty, the reader is awful, or what if I'm doing a scene that has nothing to do with love? Fall in love anyway! I guarantee it works in all instances. Why? Because acting is not about emoting, it's about drinking in all of life, heightened awareness, and having the courage to engage with others being fully in the "now".  Doesn't love, the object of your desire, make you feel most alive? If you really try can't you find something meaningful in everything? Not convinced? Give it a try and see what happens… you may just give the best audition ever. In the very least it will improve your general outlook on life.