Written by Shari Shaw
You’ve got a lot of nerve!
One of the biggest challenges actors face is overcoming nerves in the audition room. In the martial arts, we are taught to use our opponent’s strength to our advantage. The same goes for audition nerves. Your nerves must motivate you to take the necessary steps to relax, understand your character and know your intention in your audition scene.This will give you all the confidence and power you need to beat your nerves and banish them forever.
When you feel that warning signal of nerves – the fluttery stomach, the headache, shortness of breath, the confusion and fear, the lack of confidence – take a moment andbreathe. As long as it takes to calm you. Breathing relieves tension; it oxygenates your body and calms your mind. It centers you and reconnects you to your body and gets you out of your head. Breathing allows you to be vulnerable so you can be more accessible to your thoughts and emotions. Breathing and relaxation is the first, and most organic, line of defense against nerves.
Then, know your character by creating your character biography. Be imaginative, sincere and honest. Pick life-changing events from your character’s childhood, young adult years and the present: a fight, a rejection, a triumph, a broken heart. Write these events, results and emotionsdown. Explore them, feel them, know them inside and out. Be creative and detailed. Combine real events from your own life for a deeper understanding of your character and a stronger connection to it. Knowing your character allows you to live that character. Knowledge is power – in this case, power over your nerves.
Finally, decide your intention, your driving force within the scene. Chose what your character wants and how to go about getting it. Set-up at least three specific tactics to achieve your intention using verbs and adverbs; ‘I want revenge’. ‘I need to break the bad news to her’, ‘I will act aggressively or playfully or mysteriously in order to do that’.
Armed with these three simple but powerful steps, you will gain all the confidence you need to overcome your nerves;to be totally present and at your best in the audition room.You will be too actively giving and doing to let insecurities and people-pleasing negativity take over.
Additional tips:
- If you have trouble making confident eye contact with the reader, substitute who you are speaking to.
- Drink plenty of water.
- If you have shaky hands, carry something with weight, like an iPad.
- If your voice is wobbly, throw in a little laugh to relieve the anxiety.
But the biggest nerve-buster is confidence. Relaxing, knowing your character and your intention will give you that confidence. Embrace the power that comes from it. Good luck. And breathe.
Combining principles and techniques learned from legendary coaches Lee Strasberg, Peggy Fuery, and John Lehne, years of on-camera experience as a working actor, more than 10 years as an acting coach, her own inspiring, high-energy personality, along with a remarkable talent for spot-on insights and analyses to adjust and fix an actor’s work, Shari Shaw has created an acclaimed approach to training today’s actors for TV, film and stage. She has also successfully translated these techniques into a focused, success-oriented approach to coaching Business Executives and all types Public Speakers and Performers. In November, Shari will direct the NBC Universal Showcase at the Renberg Theatre.
http://www.sharishaw.com | Follow Shari on Facebook & Twitter
