The Three Tiers of Actors Auditioning in Los Angeles

Daniel Gamburg was a guest instructor at Seydways Studios this evening and he laid out what he feels are the three tiers of actors auditioning in LA:

1. Those who are Nervous: These are actors who come into the audition nervous, it's clear in their reads, and things are a little flat or too pushed. These folks don't get an adjustment and they definitely don't get called back.
2. Those who are Competent: These are actors who have been in town a few years, beaten their nerves, and turn in a very competent performance. They nail the requirements of the scene, but don't bring anything particularly charismatic to their work. They may get an adjustment to see if they can up their game in their second take.
3. Those who get Called Back: These are actors who absolutely nail the scene fresh out of the gate. They also bring something unique to their performance that elevates the scene above what is written on the page. So long as they fit the physical requirements of the part, these are the actors who get called back. Any one of them is good enough that you could put them on set and get the performance you need.

These seem like pretty reasonable bins to sort auditions into. The eventual goal is to master your nerves, and know yourself well enough that you are always bringing a Callback quality performance into the audition. If you do this, you experience the freeing effect of knowing that casting decisions will come down to issues beyond your control like height, physical type, and your star meter on IMDB.

The truth of the matter is: TV directors have little desire and no time to direct you. They are looking to cast pre-directed performances that can be lit and shot as quickly as possible. Bringing anything less than broadcast quality work into an audition is a waste of the Casting Director's time and yours. So whatever it takes, whatever it is you need to do to get your work to that level: do it.