The Pre-Read With The Casting Director

A Casting Director "pre-reads" an actor either because they don't know their work as an actor, or they aren't sure if the actor is right for the particular role they are casting. The pre-read is usually in the Casting Director's office, which is often a small space, and the Casting Director or a "reader" reads with the actor during the audition. 

The Casting Director Workshops is often a chaotic scene with phones ringing, piles of pictures and resumes covering the desk and floor, and with a lot of chatty actors piling up in the lobby. It is imperative that the actor maintains their mental focus while in the lobby, walking into the audition room, and while in the audition room. The use of simple audition tools can help the actor maintain the mental focus of an athlete while traveling through the audition process.

I am asked a lot in my Audition Workshops if actors should enter the room in character or not. Never enter the room in character, but in a hybrid state of focus…an actor ready to go. If you are auditioning for the part of a killer, and you are a really sweet person normally, you don't want to enter the room saying "Hello" as your warm and fuzzy self, because the viewers will have too far to reach to believe you can play the part of a killer. On the flip side, you don't want to enter the room as a scary jerk, or we may not ever want you on our set. So, walk in saying "Hello", looking the Casting Director in the eye, focused and ready.

Sometimes the Casting Director will chitchat for a bit, looking at your picture and possibly discussing some things on your resume. This chitchat often throws actors, because they start getting caught up in the fact that the Casting Director is paying attention to them and they start trying to impress and be remembered. All of a sudden the chitchat is over for the Casting Director and they say "Are you ready to start?"

It is at this point that the actor can be thrown and has a hard time getting back into focus, worrying that they now have to hurry to not displease the Casting Director. So, typically, the actor jumps into the scene without getting re-focused, and the audition is rushed, unfocused, and technical. The actor who understands that it is necessary to take 5 seconds before they start the audition…reminding themselves of 4 simple tools (who, what, where, pre-beat)…is the actor who takes control of the room and has a successful audition.

Taking 5 seconds to re-focus and visualize before the actor begins the audition is imperative. If the actor is worried about all their competition sitting in the lobby, stressing about the camera, and is trying to impress the big deal Casting Director sitting across from them… who happens to be the gate-keeper that will keep them from getting a callback or not…the actor is mentally focusing on the wrong things, and their audition is doomed to failure. 

The first tool the actor should focus on is: Where: Sense of place. Where does the scene take place? Get a specific visualization of the place you are in and be specific in your visualization.

Who: Who are you talking to and how do you feel about this person? Find a specific person in your own life that conjures the correct relationship with the person in the scene. And put that visual on the Casting Director or readers face. Remember, have a specific visual of not only who you are talking to in the scene, but who you are talking about in the scene.

What: What is the "intention" of your Character in the scene; what do you want at the top of the scene? Remember, "intention" changes based on circumstances and what another character says to you.

Pre-beat: What happened or was said the moment before the scene starts? If it's not clear in the script, make something up for yourself. 

When preparing for the audition at home, the actor needs to mine the scene for the answer to these 4 questions. So when the actor is in the audition room, these tools are at their fingertips. And in the 5 seconds before the audition begins, they repeat silently to themselves…where am I, who am I talking to, what do I want, and what just happened. 

So before you say your first line, you have drawn the viewers into watching your inner dialogue.

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