Annie Tyson - Successful Auditions: The Complete Guide

First published in 2022 by
The Crowood Press Ltd
Ramsbury, Marlborough
Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2022

Annie Tyson 2022

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 0 7198 4022 7

Dedicated to Chris Honer (19482021). A brilliant director, inspiring teacher and passionate supporter of new talent.

Cover design by Maggie Mellett

FOREWORD

The Confederacy of the Humbled

Whether it be on stage, or in front of a camera or a microphone, acting is a collaborative art form, and that is what is so wonderful about it. Either in rehearsal or performance, it is a shared experience with your collaborators, but it can be a strange and sometimes cruel art to which to find yourself addicted.

Any other artist can work alone to maintain constant growth. A painter, composer, writer, sculptor or even a dancer can take themselves to a private space and work. Actors can study at home, but to test their art they must receive a commission, a request, and so the audition, the interview, the meeting exists. How can one make the most of that opportunity?

But what about those gaps between, those times when you are not working, not even auditioning? This can be frustrating in the extreme, and humbling, but if you tilt the lens a little, it can be wonderful. I often tell younger actors how useful it can be to fall in love with the problem, to become romantically attached to the idea not just of being a busy actor, but to the itchy status of the frustrated actor. It is a good sign, that itch. It is your inner artist wanting to paint pictures. So befriend him. Give him a hug and create some strategies for yourself to keep the creativity alive, active and available, so that when you are called for an audition you are ready, and see it as a necessary part of your life as an artist.

The earliest stage of this journey is deciding that you need to train, to develop the expressive skills of the body, the voice and, most importantly, the imagination, so that you can work with authenticity, truth and confidence in any environment, whether live or recorded. Your training will enable you to discover not only your strengths but also capabilities of which you may have been unaware. You will develop physical and mental stamina. Your audition for drama school will give you your first serious experience of auditioning, the excitement, the nerves, and the opportunity to learn how to be relaxed and open under pressure. If you are determined, you will learn that putting yourself on the line in this way will always be with you. You will need to learn to love it!

I was lucky enough to meet Annie Tyson at my earliest base camp: drama school. Annie didnt pay lip service to a single moment of any students work. She dived into the imaginative spaces with us, and God help us if we didnt dive too. The rewards were immense: precision, laughter, and the true joy of creation.

If we want to climb mountains, auditions are the base camp we must arrive at, again and again and again. What could be better than having the most detailed and up-to-date map and a brilliant guide by your side. This book is that map and Annie is that guide. Enjoy!

Joseph Millson, June 2021

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I studied Drama and Theatre Arts at the University of Birmingham at that time, unlike today, there were only four universities offering drama as a combined honours subject. My course at Birmingham, a single honours drama course, was the first of its kind in the UK.

After graduation I trained at Drama Centre London, to which I eventually returned after some years working in theatre, television and radio as an actor, as an acting tutor, and subsequently as the Course Director for the acting course there. I led many audition panels for the school, and when I returned to freelance life I combined acting with teaching and directing there, but also working as a tutor as part of the core acting team at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, again sitting on many audition panels and working with potential students at recall days.

I have worked as a guest director at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, Pittsburgh, and I have served as external examiner at the Guildford School of Acting, the Birmingham Conservatoire, Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre, and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. I continue to work at RADA and for the Mono Box, an ongoing training collective, and Open Door, which runs audition workshops and advisory sessions for young actors setting out on their exciting journey.

INTRODUCTION

This book is intended for young people who wish to make a professional career in performance whether that be on stage or in recorded media, or both. I hope it will be helpful to those wishing to undertake a vocational training on an acting course at a recognized drama school, or on performance studies or acting courses at university, and that it will be useful for those at the beginning of their professional career, whether recent graduates or those changing careers to pursue their long-held dream. It is not an anthology of possible audition material as there are many splendid books on that subject already available, and you will find examples of those in the References and Further Reading section. However, it will offer information about what to expect, how best to prepare for various kinds of audition so that you can work confidently and give of your best, and strategies to help you deal with nerves, and it will also attempt to examine the complex psychology that is always attendant on the audition.

Freda dreams of missed chances RADA final year production 2017.

I have included advice and observations from drama school audition panellists, theatre directors (mainstream and fringe), a television director, a musical director, students in training and professional actors, all of whom will offer supportive advice and wisdom accrued from their experience on both sides of the process. This advice is in the form of verbatim quotes from interviews conducted in 2020 and 2021, and I hope you will feel that these are personal chats with you, and that through hearing these voices you will feel you have acquired a kind of family. Even actors at the highest level of achievement and reputation have been known to say It doesnt get any easier. The advice and observations come from different voices and different areas of the profession, and they will serve to reinforce some fundamentals that, in time, will become second nature.