Austin-based casting director Donise L. Hardy has been casting principals for more than 30 years. A former actor, Hardy worked as an agent in the Bay Area for seven years before becoming a full-time CD in Los Angeles in 1991 and making the move to Austin in 1999. She says she sees actors make the same audition mistakes from L.A. to Texas. Through her blog and workshops, Hardy doles out audition advice to actors at all career levels, and shares some of it with Backstage!
What’s the biggest mistake you see actors make in auditions?One of the biggest mistakes actors make is to trying to figure out what I’m looking for. I want them to be themselves. What is “typical” or “wrong”—you never know. There are people who come in completely different than the character may have been originally written, and they land the job. I’ve been doing this for 30 years—I’ve seen great auditions and horrible ones. It all depends on the actor bringing themselves to the table.
How should an actor prepare for an audition?For a commercial shoot, in particular, there’s a very limited amount of time. Show up at the right time, and when you walk in the door you have to walk in
Leave a Reply