TEN ways to deal with audition nerves.

I recently sat down with a bunch of actors and we tackled the issue of being nervous at auditions:

Why am I so nervous, and what can I do to control my nerves?!

1 - Prepare, prepare, prepare.
Know the song so well, you could sing it if the piano played messes up every note. Know the sides so well that the reader could be speaking Spanish, and you'd stay on track. Concentrate on the acting moment BEFORE the text starts. Know where to start!

2 - Breathe.
I love Dr. Joy Browne's square breathing exercise.

3 - Know how to handle the waiting room.
I recommend having one and ONLY one conversation in the waiting room that has NOTHING to do with the audition. Force it, if you have to. It humanizes your competition, and humanizes you too, actually. Act like a person.

4 - Know that an audition is often not about booking the job, it's about laying the groundwork for future work through the same casting director.
Do what you do well, be confident in that.

5 - Wear comfortable shoes.
I'm serious.

6 - Remember that you love to perform.
You have a captive audience. Perform! It's supposed to be fun!

7 - Feel free to say hello to the casting director.
Make conversation. It relaxes you and them. AND, it shows that you're a nice, normal person who they might want to work with.

8 - Get there early.
If you arrive in a rush, you'll have no chance of relaxing. Even arrive early, and sit around for a few minutes before you sign in. (In the summer, I do this all the time, so that I'm not a sweaty mess in the room.)

9 - Stretch and warm up your voice
It's true. Your body is an instrument. It's got to be primed, and ready-to-go.

10 - Take a BETA Blocker.
This is officially cheating, but it's done! It's a homeopathic drug that calms your nerves. It calms everything. It helps people who have shakey hands, or who break out in hives. (*ActorsWhoMakeMoney does not endorse illicit drug use...)


And my new favorite quote for how to handle NOT getting the job: "I wasn't rejected; I was overlooked."