I recently sat in on a casting session for a major television drama. The actors auditioning for roles ran the gamut from semi-celebrities to total unknowns. Some held the script, others were empty handed. Some sat, some stood. Some were chatty, others were quiet. None of those things were determining factors in the quality of their auditions, which ranged from deeply moving to laughably inappropriate. But the actors who stood out all had one thing in common: they were word-perfect. And if an actor flubbed a word, they or the casting director would ask to do it again.
Do you know why it’s particularly important to be word-perfect when auditioning for TV shows? Because television is a writer’s medium. From Aaron Sorkin to Shonda Rhimes to Vince Gilligan, the writing on TV these days is second to none and it seems like it’s only going to keep getting better. We are entering a new golden age of television.
Look at the TV shows you love, and the executive producer and creator is also most likely the show’s head writer. In episodic television, the writers are the engines who drive the show; everyone else is along for the ride. To extend this poor metaphor, while bucket seats and windshield wipers are vital,
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