Cold Reading Tips

Cold reading is for the most part dead. What most actors call cold reading today is actually a prepared read or at least a lukewarm read. For most auditions you've got the sides at least 24hrs in advance and by all rights you should be off-book and at performance level when you enter the room. Granted, I make a gallant effort towards this end, but usually end up half-memorized and half-committed to my choices; not an enviable position. Last night I picked up some wonderful tips on how to approach a cold read – and I can already see applications in the realm of prepared reads. Richard Seyd is the man responsible for this little bit of genius. The following is a paraphrasing of his lecture:

When an actor is given a script and only given a little bit of time to prepare all of the blood drains from his brain and floods his major muscle groups. Yep, fight or flight. So when you feel stupid in an audition, it's because you actually are stupid. That being said, if you create and practice a preparation for cold reads and auditions you'll be much more able to effectively wrangle your grey matter (it's had more practice).

When actors are given a script on short notice they often fall into the trap of immediately building a character and back-story without taking the time to fully understand the text. This is stupid. The text will inform your character choices, and will allow you to be more specific and accurate. A couple very good choices will serve you far better than a dozen ungrounded and unclear choices. In order to arrive at a clearer understanding of the text in a short period of time, you should read it in a series of passes, making a conscious effort not to think just about your character but to take in the totality of the scene.

1. Read the first few lines and a the last few lines of the script. It's entirely possible to read a script and have no idea what you just read, reading the beginning and end gives you context as you read through the whole script. Remember, time is precious.
   
2. Read the script as a WRITER. Ask yourself these questions:
   
   1. Why is this scene in the script?
      
   2. What page number is this? Are we still in exposition-land?
      
   3. How is the scene written?
      
      1. Short sentences?
         
      2. Long sentences?
         
      3. What is the significance of the style of the writing.
         
3. Read the script as a DIRECTOR. If you were to direct the actors in the scene, how would you tell the other actor to play their part? This will help you to generate lively responses when you are working with a CD or actor who is giving you a flat read (DO NOT take this as license to actually direct the other actor, that's a big no-sirreee JimBob).
   
4. Read the script as an EDITOR. Ask yourself these questions:
   
   1. Where are the close ups?
      
   2. Is there a turning point in the scene? Find It!
      
      1. This is where the character shifts their psychological state.
         
      2. It can be the last moment of the scene.
         
   3. Control the time.
      
      1. Where can you place a moment within YOUR lines that directs all of the focus to you?
         
         1. Put a marker in the first 4 lines of the scene. CDs make snap judgments; make sure they've had a chance to really take you in.
            
   4. Finally, read the script as an ACTOR. Make the strongest possible choice that the text of the scene will hold.
      
      1. Even if it's "wrong" it's far better to make a strong choice supported by the text and get a redirect than to make a middling choice and get dismissed.
         
      2. How can you raise the stakes in the scene?
         
5. Read the scene for CLARIFICATION. If there are any lingering questions you have (e.g. What is my relationship to this other character?) read the text with only that question in mind. You'll likely find the answer, if you don't just pick something.
   

While this post has grown into something of a tome, it's all really good stuff and definitely worth giving a shot the next time you're playing around with a script with some actor buddies. If it works for you, then make a habit of doing it every time you get sides, a habit of preparation is what will allow you to excel in a cold-read situation.

Audition Tip: Take Time to Take the Note

I did something new in an audition today, and it paid off. For once, I actually took the time to take the note.

Earlier today, I drove down to Orange, CA. It's a 50 minute trip in the best of times, and a 2.5hr trek in the worst of times. The traffic was relatively light during my trip, so I got to Orange in about an hour and a half. I was just in time – to try and find the audition room that wasn't listed on the casting notice. Apparently, I had arrived before the director, I later found her in one of the spots I had already searched.

I took a decent first stab at the sides, I was partially off book and I gave a partially interesting read. Afterwards, the director gave me an adjustment (or note) "Imagine that during the second half of this script, your mother is really talking about you needing to take care of your autistic brother for the rest of his life." I felt like I had a good sense of what she wanted and was just about to plow ahead with a second read when I asked "May I have a few moments to look over the sides?" The director of course granted my request.

Roughly 20 seconds later, I knew at what point in the script my character realized what was going on and how he felt about it. My second read went much better, and afterwards the director said "I really saw that you made the adjustment. It was nice to see him realize what was happening. His whole energy changed."

Audition Tip: Take some time after you've been given a note in order to plan out that change. It's not enough to understand the note, you need to know it.

Don't worry about taking up too much of the casting director's time. it's a far greater waste of time for them to give you a note that is essentially ignored because you didn't take the time to follow it.

Financial Note:

Driving to/from Orange and a stop into Pasadena required half a tank of gas. Filling up my car cost me $39 today. Which is to say, it cost me $20 to audition for a non-paying student project. There's something wrong with that.

1 Feature, 3 Shorts, 1 Play, & 1 Cattle Call

I've reached a point where I have too many auditions to blog about them individually – or at all. This feels pretty good, a month ago I didn’t really anticipate going out this often.

Theater
Biloxi Blues (Donald Carney) – This was my first theater audition, and for whatever reason it was held in a little cubby hole of a casting office. It was me and 3 other people in a 6’ by 6’ room, a little cramped by even SF Stipend-pay theater standards. The audition went fairly well, but my read was a little flat. Unfortunately, I was the last actor of the day so I didn’t get an opportunity for a second read.

Student Films
War Zone (Ross) – This audition was held at The Center which is this rad little theater complex in South Hollywood. There are about 12 equity-waiver theaters crammed into a two story building. This was a cattle call audition, I got there early, waited about an hour and did what I thought was a pretty successful read. I got called back, more on that after the second audition.

Schindler’s List (Nazi Soldier) – I submitted for this project through LA Casting. However, I already knew the director because she was on set for the directing exercise at LA Film School. I combed my hair into an impeccable part in the expectation of playing a Nazi. I ended up reading the sides for Schindler and getting cast as a Polish violence-victim.

Friends (Lonely Guy) – This was a USC student project. The Robert Zemeckis studios are absolutely astounding. These kids have access to amazing facilities. This audition went well, and I ended up getting cast in another student project (Love Thy Brother) because the director sat in on the audition for this one.

Features
The Hereafter (The Devil) - I prepared pretty seriously for this one. I built up some character memories using the imaginative memory process that Richard Seyd described in his weekend workshop. The audition went well, and I’m hoping to get called back. Although, next time I definitely want to be more off book for the audition.

I’m probably missing a project or two in this list, but this is an indication that I’ve been going out a fair amount. If I keep this pace up for another couple weeks, I’ll have done more auditioning in 2 months than I did in the 5 years previous. Frequency is helping to demystify the process – although I still get the willies in professional auditions.

I'm about to bust this blog wide open... thematically.

I've been reading Prince, Diablo, and now Jon's cultural musings and I have to admit: I'm jealous. Here I am rather single-mindedly blogging about my career, while these folks get to write about music, movie premieres, and pop-flavored lip balm. Well, no longer will I sit silently in the corner thinking private thoughts about the latest happenings - I'm going to blast them out to YOU my reader.

And to kick off my turning a new leaf, I'm going to give you one heck of a... career update:

I'm back in LA after a week in the Bay Area. When I finally opened up Outlook on my home computer, I had 300 breakdowns that I had to go through to see if there was anything I wanted to submit for. Once I eliminated all the postings for little people, it became a much more manageable list. I submitted to a number of projects and I've got a couple auditions coming up - both are student projects. I'm excited about one of them. It's about an 18yr old kid who can't wait to take up his dead father's mantle by going to war - while his mother fights his leaving and the prospect of losing another loved one to the war. Its thematically similar to a show I did called "Here I Go Boys, Wish Me Luck!" for the Bay Area One Act Festival.

Audition 1: Lost In Translation

Good News: I've got my first LA audition tomorrow afternoon. It's for a Japanese alcoholic beverage and the spot shoots in Japan. Best I can tell, there is no script, although you can be sure I'll arrive early to ask for sides. In Lost In Translation, Bill Murray's character ends up shooting commercials for Japanese whiskey because he's in the twilight of his career - I find it funny that a similar opportunity is presenting itself in this crepescular moment in my career.

I'm thinking about logging all of my auditions on here, but that could become a bit overwhelming.

Update: Oh yeah, I got this audition through LA Casting (castingnetworks.com). More on the creepy bar code system later.