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I know actors who hate improv auditions. Common complaints I have heard include, “I don’t feel comfortable” and “I don’t know what I’m doing” and “I don’t know what they want.” I’m sure some actors bring remnants of that negative self-talk into the audition room.
All three comments are valid reactions to having to walk into a room and perform a scene unrehearsed. It can seem intimidating to face a casting director when you don’t know what you need to say or do in the moments that follow. Coming into it with a sense of anxiety is perfectly natural for many actors.
The trouble for those actors is they think they have to “wing it” every time. They approach the improv audition as a test of their ability to think quickly on their feet and look at the audition as a Pass/Fail situation. In setting the same standards for themselves they do with scripted material, it’s likely they will feel they fell short of nailing it, as they say.
Let’s agree that “winging it” isn’t helping you right now. Instead, let’s approach the audition as a storyteller would. You are a storyteller, after all. Continue reading