For Actors: On Booking The Job

As a working Casting Director, former studio and network Casting Executive,  and as an Acting Coach for many years now, I see first hand what it takes to get the callback and book the job.  I see and hear it in the room, on tape or film, or when an actor walks in and lights up the office with their smile and personality.  There’s a lot of talented actors in the world, so the majority of actors who come in to audition, or these days, who need to audition on tape, come in with professional quality auditions. 

But what’s the extra spice in the recipe that makes an actor’s audition stand out?  Sometimes it’s a matter of thinking “out of the box”.  It also includes interacting with whomever you’re reading with in person, or connecting on your taped audition.  And let’s mention coming up with “little things” that enhance the scene.  It’s difficult in a short blog to describe exactly what the “little things” are exactly, but they can be made up of a tilt of the head, an extra long beat, a grin, a simple reaction, or countless other things that brighten up a moment.  And of course, every scene brings its own case specific criteria with it. 

I coached one of the many Skype actors I work with yesterday.  He has excellent instincts and from the get-go came up with an audition-worthy performance.  But then I started guiding him around and away from “the expected”, “the norm”, or whatever you’d like to call it that the script points a character to react and respond to.  Instead, we tried very valid choices that were less expected, that took us on a high road that would set him apart from what other actors might choose to do.  And you know, we came up with an excellent scene that I’m still reflecting on with a smile! 

Coming to an audition of course means producing a totally professional, intelligent, well thought out performance.  But thinking past the norm, and I mean, really considering other choices, can lead to the gift that keeps on giving.  I wish I could be more specific here, but in all the thousands of times I’ve pre-read and/or worked with actors in my office prior to their audition in an attempt to give them “the answers to the quiz” and in all my many days and nights in my classes, on Skype, Private Coaching, and Taped Audition Coaching, I find it so rewarding to be able to tweak scenes a little this way and that so that an actor’s work is just that much more special. 

So my professional advice to all of you, is to think past the obvious, viable choices and figure out how to come up with things that might put the cherry on the sundae.

I wish you all the very best in pilot season and 2018.

Melissa Skoff

Casting Director/Acting Coach/Producer www.melissaskoffacting.com