Any tips on calming nerves for an audition? I have one coming up and I’m especially nervous because it’s one of my favorite shows and the director has told he’s doing a fairly small cast.
Thank you so much for reaching out!
Breathe, and breathe deeply. We forget to really breathe so easily, or we let ourselves breathe shallowly without realizing. It makes a huge difference to take deep, slow breaths. It sort of forces your body to calm down.
View it as the “fight or flight” response that it is. While it’s totally natural to feel nervous, sometimes understanding a little bit more about that can help. Our bodies haven’t quite mastered the difference between “danger” and “I’m nervous about an event.” The body’s response is basically the same to both. So your feelings are completely valid and reasonable, but also know that they’re stemming from evolution with the intent to help you run from or fight a threat.
Drink water. A lot of us tend to forget to drink water when we’re nervous, and it’s one of the most important things for our body. Especially for an audition where you’ll be using your voice. Plus, a lot of us also tend to get dry mouths when we’re nervous.
Prepare yourself to a point that you’re proud of. If you’re doing the best job you can do, you can be proud of that and know you did your best. Then you don’t have to doubt that you did everything you could to showcase yourself.
Remember that mistakes are human. We all make mistakes, especially in nervous situations. Even though the people casting are looking for the right person for the role, as people, we don’t usually judge mistakes, and they often make us like someone more. Plus, the mistake is almost always nowhere near as big as we feel like it is. Be forgiving and patient with yourself. How you recover from a mistake says a lot more about you than the mistake itself or the fact that you made it.
Know that casting can be arbitrary. If the casting doesn’t go the way you hope, it could have absolutely nothing to do with you. It doesn’t mean you were bad. It doesn’t in any way mean you weren’t good enough. You absolutely are. It can be that the director’s vision is just a bit different than yours and someone else fits that better.
This is one of my favorite stories to share: for this one show, it was between two guys for the male lead, and the casting ultimately had nothing to do with talent. They were both right for it for different reasons. But one guy got cast over the other because his eye color matched the eye color of the actor playing the character’s father and the other actor’s eyes didn’t match. It can be as arbitrary as that.
Especially if it’s a small cast, if you don’t get a part, it could really have nothing to do with you. It wouldn’t necessarily be that something was wrong about you, but that something was particularly right about someone else, and you were also right in a different way.
View it as practice. It’s always good to have more practice auditioning. Even super successful performers still talk about getting nervous for auditions. The more practice you have auditioning, the easier it becomes.
Be yourself. That’s what you’re there for. You could be exactly who they’re looking for. And if you’re not, that’s not your fault and you don’t have to make it your problem. But they want to see you shine. It might not feel like it, but the people in the room are rooting for you. No one else will ever be exactly the way you are, and that is one of your biggest strengths in life and in performing.
Walk into the room with confidence, even if it’s fake. You don’t want to come off as arrogant, but I have a feeling you wouldn’t. We’re typically drawn to people who are confident and charismatic. A lot of the people who enter that room will give off nervous energy. You can, too. You’re allowed to be nervous. But if you walk in confidently, you’ve probably already set yourself apart from the crowd.
Let yourself be happy to be there. It’s an amazing opportunity. Even if you don’t end up in the show, you’re part of the process, and you’re in the room. That alone is what some people dream of. If you can convince yourself that you’re grateful and happy to be there, you’ll feel better about the experience.
Let yourself love the work. You’re there because you love performing, right? Let yourself enjoy it if you can. You get to go perform for this amount of time. You get to spend part of your day doing something you love. And when you enjoy what you’re doing, you stand out even more.
The people casting are really the ones who should be nervous. They have to make the decisions. Your job is to make their job harder. Your job is to be yourself and shine like the star you are, because even if it is just for two minutes, you are the star.
At the end of the audition, you get to walk out of there and go about the rest of your day. The people casting don’t. So, my last tip is to celebrate in that freedom.
Create a post-audition tradition. Find something you can do to reward yourself. Eat a slice of pizza, watch an episode of a favorite show, paint your nails, spend a little extra time outside and enjoying the sunshine on your way back. You worked hard to get here. Whatever the outcome is, the tradition is something to look forward to and you can know that you earned it.
I’ve been on the other side of the casting table. Truly, they want you to do well. Everyone gets nervous and they understand that.
I hope it goes well. I never know if you should wish someone luck or a broken leg for an audition, because it’s theatre, but it’s not a show, so whichever one is the appropriate token is the one I’m sending you.
You’ve got this. You can do this. Trust yourself. And please let me know how it goes! I’m cheering for you.
ADD-ON: Additionally, Kerry Butler is producing a podcast about trying to make it in the business and it’s really helpful for things like this.
She recently released one specifically about auditioning that would be a great listen, I’m sure! I haven’t, yet, but someone posted about it and recapped a piece of advice from it — be aware of how you carry yourself and know that if you don’t get the role, that doesn’t mean you didn’t make an impression on the director(s). Furthermore, in Kerry’s Instagram story today, she also reaffirmed the point that no one else brings to a room what you do, so be yourself and that’s already more than enough.
