Chloe – The Other Side of the Table

One of the most intimidating parts of being an actor is auditioning for roles and so it was nice to be on the other side of the table for once and watch other people audition.

The casting call for my placement Gary: A Love Story had generated a lot of interest and on the first day of auditions at The Town Hall Tavern we saw around eight actors and following these auditions we auditioned a few actors individually at a later date.

I found it interesting to act as an assistant in these auditions as I had never been on the other side of the table before – I’d always been the one in front of it feeling what I like to call ‘nervcited’. It was great to see how it worked on this side of the table and how the writer and director prepared for each actor – what they brought, how they set the room up and the general conversations that they had.

I helped out by reading in the other part for the actors. Our play is a two hander and as such, much of the play relies on the characters feeding one another dialogue. Performing this role helped me to really appreciate how different actors take different approaches, something prior to this experience I might not have considered if I was to facilitate auditions.

The most notable thing for me though was the way in which small details could affect the bigger picture. There were things we noticed and picked up on that to the actor probably seemed unimportant or that they maybe hadn’t even considered. For example, the actors who had done their research, read the entire play and brought their audition pieces annotated and with a good attitude stood out from those who turned up with nothing ready. I also learnt that it’s not always about being the most talented, but being the best suited to the part.

I definitely feel that this experience has been one of my most valuable to date and has given me a great deal to think about the next time I go for an audition. I guess, the main lesson I have learnt as an actor is to ‘not forget the finer details’. As a practitioner, I’ve also learnt a great deal including an understanding of how to conduct myself as the person auditioning.

After a couple of weeks of auditioning some fantastic actors we have finally got a full cast. I’m really excited to see Reuben and Craig bring Andrew and Gary alive and the rehearsal process can’t come quick enough.

Roll on July, roll on the rehearsals!

(FITD blog)