One of the most important skill an actor must show in any audition is that they know how to serve the story, scene or concept of the audition piece they’re performing. With TV and film scripts, actors oftentimes focus on the character’s history, emotions, physical traits, relationship to other characters and all the juicy traits of that character (which is essential), but if they do not go through the scene/story elements of their audition sides, those character choices may not actually be in line with the story elements. What are some of the important story elements to consider? Genre, tone, pacing, status and beat changes, purpose of the scene, purpose of that character in that particular scene, writer’s intention, moments before and after that scene, etc.
In commercial auditions, the actor must know how to serve the concept of the commercial ad. What are some of the most important elements of the commercial ad to consider? Theme or message, timing, pacing, and tone of the piece will determine how it must be delivered in order to serve the concept or story. Since the commercial is a very short piece (typically only thirty seconds), it is crucial for the actor to know the various types of commercial concepts and the deliveries needed to serve the ad; real people testimonial or reenactments, customer spokesperson, product spokesperson, humorous, poignant, dramatic, realistic or character, etc.
If an actor shows they actually get the scene or monologue they’re performing, they have succeeded in the most important of their objectives of the audition. But in order for the casting director to see that they comprehend it, they have to be willing to base their choices on those elements. What is often witnessed is how the actor had become more focused on trying to impress the director with their acting “brilliance”. It becomes very obvious they had made their acting choices based on what they think will impress somebody and forgot to serve the essential elements of the script; they are serving their ego, not the story.
One of the more obvious indicators that the actor is only serving their ego is when the timing and pacing of the lines slow down. The actor seems to “chew on every word”, which happens most often with sides that have only one or two lines. It seems they are more interested in stretching out their on-camera time. Another indicator of the actors ego getting in the way is when the actor feels the need to over-indicate, over-act or as some would say, “aackt”. The actor who is cast may only be appearing for a few short seconds of a thitry second commercial, so they need to understand how to portray that role in the limited time they have. Nothing will kill your chances of a call-back or booking than giving in to the seemingly irresistible need to serve your ego. This will always appear desperate to the directors.
Casting Directors smell desperation on an actor like animal can sense fear.
Not only is desperation a turn-off, it’s a clear warning sign that the actor will likely be a pain in the butt if they are cast.