Preparation for commercial auditions for most actors consists of reading the copy a few times, trying to get it mostly memorized, and then going in the room and hoping for the best. I’m willing to wager that around 60 percent of all actors do this. This is about as effective as watching an episode of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” in order to prep for an agent or manager meeting. Yet, so many actors do this, and not surprisingly, get little to no results from their commercial auditions, and quickly become frustrated and cynical.
To be fair, it’s not completely the actors’ fault. There’s so much hype and mythology surrounding commercial auditions that actors feel like a mere good delivery, mostly off-book, should be adequate for gainful employment. Actors are told over and over again that booking a commercial is about “your look” so why should they approach such auditions with the same strategic fervor that they would a theatrical audition?
Sure, your look matters, but only to an extent. All major commercial production teams and casting directors treat the commercial like a short scene, and so should you. You should view commercials as perhaps a more authentic snapshot of human
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