How to Prepare for an Audition: What Twenty Years Taught Me

Introduction

An audition is not a test of whether you can memorize lines under pressure. It is an invitation to bring a fully realized human being into a small room for ninety seconds. After twenty years of auditions — the ones I booked and the far greater number I did not — here is the preparation that actually makes a difference.

Start with the story, not the lines

Before I memorize a single word, I read the sides several times to answer basic questions: Who is this person? What do they want in this scene? What just happened? Who are they talking to? Acting is behavior in pursuit of an objective. If you understand what your character wants and why they can’t easily get it, the lines stop being lines and become a strategy. Memorization gets easy once the scene makes sense.

The three C’s I come back to

People ask about the “three C’s of acting.” The way I hold them: Concentration, Confidence, and Choices. Concentration keeps you inside the scene instead of watching yourself. Confidence is not arrogance — it is having done the work so you can let go. And choices are everything: a specific, committed choice about who this person is will always beat a safe, generic reading. Casting is not looking for perfect. They are looking for a point of view.

An actor studying audition sides with a highlighter and notes — Read for the story first. The lines come easily once you understand what the scene is really about.

Make strong, specific choices

The single biggest thing that makes an actor stand out is a clear, committed choice. Two actors can read the same lines; the one who has decided exactly what her character is fighting for — and plays it fully — is the one they remember. Even if your choice is “wrong,” it shows them a thinking, alive performer they can direct. Vagueness reads as nothing.

What not to do

Don’t apologize when you walk in. Don’t ask to start over the second something feels off — commit and keep going, because recovery is a skill they want to see. Don’t over-explain your choices; let the work speak. And don’t treat the reader like furniture — act with them. Finally, prepare enough that you can be flexible: if they give you an adjustment, the whole point is that you can take it. Preparation is not rigidity. It is the freedom to play.

Frequently Asked

How do I prepare for an audition?

Start by reading the sides to understand the story — who your character is, what they want, and what just happened — before memorizing. Make specific choices, rehearse enough to be flexible, and prepare so thoroughly that you can take direction in the room.

What are the three C's of acting?

Different teachers phrase them differently, but a useful set is Concentration, Confidence, and Choices: stay inside the scene, trust the work you've done, and commit to specific, active choices about who your character is and what they want.

How do you stand out in an audition?

Make a strong, specific choice and commit to it fully. Casting remembers a clear point of view over a safe, generic reading. Being prepared, easy to direct, and genuinely present with the reader also sets you apart.

What should you not do in an audition?

Don't apologize, don't ask to restart at the first wobble, don't over-explain your choices, and don't ignore the reader. Above all, don't come in vague — an unspecific, uncommitted reading is the easiest way to be forgotten.