What can I expect at an audition for a play?

Question

The people I am auditioning with don't even know what play they're doing yet. (it's the school drama club.) I have never auditioned for a play for and I don't know what to expect.

So... what should I expect and what can I do to prepare?

Answer 1

You'll probably be tested on how well you can keep a straight face when people are touching you, considering how sad the play is. You will almost definetly be asked to read some lines, and if it is a musical, you will be asked to sing. But don't worry- there are probably lots of other people there who are first timers!!

Answer 2

You will probably be doing a cold reading.  You should practice this before you do the audition.  

Get a script, practice looking at the line, then looking up and saying it.  It puts you into connection with your scene partner.  Do *not* just read your line and then look at your partner.  

Answer 3

Cold reading is one thing that you'll most likely be doing.  Cold reading can be difficult for some people (such as myself) since most people read and speak at different speeds.  One thing I did when I was directing a performance was paired people up and ask them to do improvised acting, which isn't overly common, but I've seen it a few times.  Musicals a lot of times will have you sing in an audition, sometimes not to a song of your choosing.  If you do want to develop a "stage voice" one of the big things is range, which you may not find in pop, hip hop, and most country music.  Blue grass and classical are some of the best to practice on voice range.  I would like to say that appearance isn't important, but it is, as is posture, stature and voice.  You most likely won't audition with a microphone so you'll have to project your voice to be heard.  This shows two things:  one being you don't mumble (always good) and the second being that you have confidence.  Showing confidence and emotion will put you in the running for better parts.  As a side note, if you're worried about confidence on stage, when the lights are on, to you it will look like an empty theater.  Even if you botch lines up a bit cold reading, if you do it confidently and emotionally, and move on without "dwelling" on it; you'll do better than most people that audition.  It's better to have a charismatic that has to practice to get lines than to have some one who reads out loud very well with no emotion.