For the new actor auditioning on camera, the audition room can be a panic-inducing place. Auditioning itself is not a natural thing; there’s nothing real about it. You stand on a mark, someone reads with you from a distance, there’s no physical contact, and you have to stay within a certain area. Oh, and by the way, we need you to feel, show, and go through a change or two. Thanks. Next.
The most dangerous thing in an audition room for the new actor? The chair.
A chair equals comfort. Comfort, as every acting teacher under the sun will tell you, is the actor’s enemy. The first thing a new actor tends to do is sit all the way back in the chair; they get comfortable. All their energy is now going straight down into the floor—it’s no longer pointed forward so the camera can pick it up.
When you go on camera, the lens can actually read energy. I can’t tell you the science behind it, if there is any, but you can watch two actors read the same sides and tell immediately which has low energy. It’s the one you quickly lose interest in. The other is engaging and fun to watch, even if they aren’t right for the role. Energy demands attention.
As an example, visualize the following scenario
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