In all the years that I have been working as an actor, I cannot recall ever completely duplicating my audition during a shoot. Inevitably something gets changed. So much so sometimes I think to myself, "This is so different from my audition, why did they even pick me?" The answer is simple. Booking is a separate beast! When you understand that booking a job is not necessarily how you're going to shoot the job, then you will start separating out the two and see booking as it's own art form. Trust me on this guys, I have booked over 40 films and 30 television shows in addition to helping actors book when I was a personal manager for 9 years and personally coaching 1000's of actors over the years and witness them booking big jobs!
So what constitutes a booking? Well, it would take an entire "War and Peace" gigantic book to describe that one to you, but what I will tell you is that you have to be dynamic. Actors are so afraid of "going over the top" that they actually put a cap on their own performance. Did you know that 'going over the top' is simply not being in truth? If you are in EXACT TRUTH according to the writer's intent and you are in the tone and style of the show or film, then why are you hitting it at a comfortable 7 when you should be hitting it at a 10+ to take the job? Why get all dressed up and inconvenience yourself to get to an audition and not go there to book it?
Instead of running your scene with anyone that will help you and flattening the hell out of it, why not section out your script and work your transitions and see if you actually know where this is for you and if you understand exactly what you are saying and feeling? Look for the transitions and keep switching them effortlessly like a precision driver. If you run the lines, then they will sound like lines run.
Another thing that constitutes a booking is, knowing what you are doing. Why would anyone hire you if you don't know what you doing? Trust me, the last thing a casting director wants to hear from their boss is that they messed up by bringing you into their producer session and onto a set when you didn't know what you are doing.
Also, are you prepared to shoot the scene right there in the office? If not, then don't go to that audition. This is an add water and stir business people. I'm sorry, but no one cares about your process. Are you there to deliver the goods or not? Stop thinking that you're going to get a second take or an adjustment to help you hit it exactly where they want you to be. If 6 actors are brought in for one job and 5 actors get it on the first take, why would they bring back the 6th actor who needed an adjustment? Be logical. Look at this business as a business. If the tables were turned, would you do business with you? Are you conducting yourself as a business? Are you really ready to work? This isn't a joke. This is the real deal. Information is power!
Here's to booking big!
xoxo
Amy Lyndon
Amy Lyndon is a Multi-Award winning
Actress, Director, Producer, Writer, International Booking Coach and CEO of the
Lyndon Technique. Lyndon has 40+ films to her credit including; “And They’re Off” opposite Sean Astin, "The House That Jack Built” opposite Joe Mantegna, and "The Poughkeepsie Tapes" for MGM. On TV, she Guest Starred in over 30+ TV shows: “Adopting Terror” for Lifetime, “Law and Order: LA,” “Eagleheart” w/ Chris Elliot, “NCIS,” "Ugly Betty," "Entourage," "NYPD Blue," "JAG," Recurring in “Days Of Our Lives,” “The Bold and the Beautiful," "General Hospital," & "Young and The Restless." She Teaches Cold Reading & Booking Classes at The
Lyndon Technique.
