DON'T LET THE AUDITION GET YOU.

First of all the people sitting behind the desk who are going to chose an actor for a certain part often don't know exactly what they're are looking for. And so, it is your job to make them want you.

If they give you a part of the commercial or part of a script for a play then take a look at it and DO NOT fall into the trap of reading it for them the way you'd think almost every other person would read it. Words are not written in stone. They need the imagination and boldness of a new eye. The thing to do with the script is to think of it as differently as possible from what it appears to be. Doing this will bring you into the possibility of finding a new and novel way of acting it.

I often forget the people behind the desk and totally immerse myself into the part and I tell myself it is the life I am acting now and the hell with the people who are casting me. I think of it as fun, as a challenge and as a way of showing the others that no one else will interpret this the way I do. And no one else will have the energy and life force behind it. I also believe that the very first impression one makes is vital. I never believe in fawning, never saying...ah, I;m not sure how you want or I just and the word JUST as an apology is a death sentence. You come in with self approval, you introduce yourself. Smiles are dynamite but never in an ingratiating way.

Now, if you are auditioning and are asked to bring your own audition piece DO TRY to avoid ones that have been done over and over and over again. Often these pieces or monologues are found in acting books and they are sometimes BORING and the people behind the desk have heard them over and over again. You are generally given no more than three minutes and often they want to see what you do with a serious or classic piece and a comic piece. What I did and had great success with was write my own monologues but then I'm a writer. The difficulty in auditions is to be able to show a wide range of acting skills in a short time. My advice. Blaze ahead and surprise them. Break a leg,

Rosemary Foley

(Rosemary Foley is an award winning Screenplay writer, an actress, and a director)