Having been a talent agent for 5 years now, I’ve seen a lot of things change in a short space of time when it comes to casting for stage and screen. These changes have definitely been accelerated over the past 12 months, which is no surprise as the casting world has had to adapt to keep up with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now more than ever, the casting world has become so heavily digitally based, with initial face to face auditions becoming rarer and rarer! Normally, your first audition in the casting studio is a great opportunity to show the casting directors what you’re about, and what you’re like, but now, you have to do that through a self-tape or a virtual audition on a platform such as Zoom or Skype.

It’s so important to make sure that you know exactly how you can smash any self-tape or virtual audition opportunity that comes your way, so here’s some advice on how to approach any opportunity that comes your way.

Know your piece

 It goes without saying, that the most important part of any audition process is knowing the role, and the character that you’re auditioning for, and if you’re doing this virtually, you need to make sure that your interpretation of the character really shines through in your audition.

The casting directors will not give out the part based on who has the best home studio, the greatest lighting, or the clearest camera. They are looking for which actor will be able to bring the role to life, so make sure that this is the first thing you make perfect! So don’t stress about the technical elements, just make sure that you are fully comfortable and confident in the performance that you are going to give!

Doing the basics right

 Now although the casting director won’t be judging you on your technical expertise, it is important to do the basics right.

Should you be self-taping for a role, make sure that when you’re filming, your face and your eyes and well lit, because if the casting team can’t make out your face or the emotions you’re feeling, they won’t be seeing the best performance you can give.

Make sure that for self-tapes you film your tape HORIZONTALLY!!! This is one of the biggest pet peeves for casting directors. You need to remember that they will normally be watching your self-tape audition on a widescreen computer or laptop, so if you film it vertically, the image they see on their screen will not look good at all.

For both self-tapes and virtual auditions, you will also need to think of your appearance, just like how you would in a normal audition. Now of course they won’t be looking for who has the best costume wardrobe at home, but make sure that you look presentable, and if there are any small pieces of costumes or props that you can use at home to help you bring the character to life, by all means do!

Treat it like any other audition!

It’s a strange situation not being able to audition face to face anymore, but what’s really important, is that you don’t change as an actor or performer when your opportunity comes your way! Don’t feel as though because you’re auditioning on a webcam that you need to change your performance to compensate. The casting team will know and fully appreciate that this form of auditioning is much harder and will take this into account.

You just need to make sure that you have done what you need to do as an actor to show your interpretation of the character and the piece!

And finally, as is the case with all other auditions, make sure that you have fun with it! Being able to be creative and do what you love is the reason why we do this, make sure that you don’t put yourself under any pressure for any audition, because that’s not what it’s about!

See every opportunity and audition as a chance to showcase you and your talents, and once that audition is over, you forget about it and move on, ready to enjoy the next opportunity that comes your way!