Auditions
Preparation gives you something solid to stand on.
An audition isn't about being perfect.
It's about arriving prepared, making clear choices and giving yourself the best opportunity to do your work well.
Before theAudition
A few things worth thinking about before you step into the room.
Know what's
being asked
Choose & prepare
your material
Do the
practical stuff
Read the brief carefully. Check what you need to prepare, what to bring and whether there are any specific requirements.
Know your material well enough to make choices, respond to direction and stay connected to what you're doing
and how you're doing it.
Plan your journey, clothes, sheet music, backing tracks and anything else you need. Removing avoidable stress leaves more room for the work.
Nerves or Excitement?
We can recognise and use how we are feeling to our advantage.
That fluttery stomach, racing heart, nausea or rush of adrenaline doesn't always have to mean something is wrong. The physical feelings we associate with nerves can also be
the feelings of excitement and anticipation.
I know this from experience. For years. nerves affected my own performing, eventually reaching the point where they were beginning to stop me performing altogether. It was only a few years ago that I began to understand that I didn't necessarily need to get rid of these feelings — I could change the way I interpreted them.
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Instead of "I'm nervous," I began to think "I'm excited." The sensations hadn't necessarily changed, but what they meant to me had.
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That shift didn't happen overnight, and it takes practice. But slowly, we can learn to recognise those familiar sensations, give them a different name and allow that energy to work for us rather than against us.
Notice it. Name it. Reframe it.
On the Day
You don't need to get rid of the nerves.
Feeling nervous doesn't mean you're unprepared. Give yourself time, warm up in a way that works for you, and try not to use the waiting room to measure yourself against everybody else.
When you go into the room, your job isn't to guess what they want. Listen, connect with the material and make the choices you've prepared. If you're redirected, take it as an opportunity to show that you can respond and adapt.
Be prepared. Be present. Then let yourself perform.
After the Audition
Leave the room without taking the audition with you.
Once it's done, it's done. There will always be things you might have done differently, but replaying every moment rarely tells you how the people in the room experienced your work.
Acknowledge
the win
Reflect,
don't criticise
Then let
it go
You showed up, prepared your work and put yourself in the room. Whatever the outcome, that matters.
If there's something useful to learn, make a note of it. Reflection helps us grow, picking ourselves apart doesn't.
The outcome may depend on dozens of things you cannot control. Your job was to prepare, perform and connect. Once you've done that, allow yourself to move on.