Audition Doctor News
Making your Shakespeare Speech Exciting
In this week’s Guardian, Christopher Eccleston warned against the waning opportunities for working-class actors. He described this disturbing phenomenon as contributing to a “culture that is resultantly bland”. Despite recognising the excluding nature of today’s...
read moreSpontaneity and Preparation at Audition Doctor
This week, Lyn Gardner wrote of an experience she had at the Forest Fringe: “I had one of those moments in the theatre when it feels as if you have seen something that was made just for you. They don’t happen often, but when they do, it is as if the artist has...
read moreShaping your Career at Audition Doctor
In an interview for BAFTA, Imelda Staunton spoke of the importance, for her, of being able to fail on the job after drama school. Repertory theatre afforded her the opportunity to continue to mould herself into the kind of actor she wanted to be. “I remember thinking...
read moreGrasping the Mechanics of Your Character at Audition Doctor
Last week, the Independent featured an article about Benedict Cumberbatch’s upcoming Barbican production of Hamlet. While it acknowledged that “Hamlet stands at the pinnacle of the actor's art for its emotional and intellectual range”, it focused largely on the 1,480...
read moreBeing Honest and Watchable at Audition Doctor
In the Guardian, actors Rory Kinnear and Anthony Sher discussed their different approaches to playing Iago. Kinnear commented: “Nick Hytner’s first instinct was always to steer away from racism and examine that jealousy” while Sher decided from the outset: “We...
read moreFinding Your Centre at Audition Doctor
Speaking of the importance of acting training, Hugh Jackman has said that his experience of drama school was a lesson in “being awake”. He credited his training with giving him the abilities of “being present” and “the importance of listening” - tired stock phrases...
read moreStrengthening Your Gut and Critical Faculties at Audition Doctor
When Phillip Seymour Hoffman was asked at in interview at the Golden Globe Awards what advice he would give to those starting out in the acting profession, he said: “You have to act wherever you can, you can’t be picky. Wherever you get a chance to act - and it...
read moreStriving for Greatness at Audition Doctor
Richard Jordon wrote in The Stage of the difference between good and great acting in The Stage, citing Imelda Staunton’s performance as Mama Rose as an example. “When you see great actors at work, you realise it is in the little touches they instinctively find in...
read moreArtistic Freedom and Preparation at Audition Doctor
In an interview for Film 4, Tom Hiddleston said: “I call acting 3D anthropology or archeology; in the way that you’re out there digging away at the mine shafts of the collective emotions of human beings - in the present and the past. Actors have to bring back their...
read moreThinking on the Line at Audition Doctor
In an interview, Jack Lemon spoke of his experience working on Glengarry Glen Ross and working with David Mamet’s text: “We had about two and half weeks rehearsal…if we had not had it, we would’ve all been fish that were drowning. As great a writer as Mamet is, I...
read moreOriginality and Failure at Audition Doctor
In The Stage, Judi Dench spoke about her constant “fear of everything” as an actor - fear “ of not fitting into that slot, of not fulfilling that piece you are asked to do. I get more frightened [the more I do]. The more you do, the more frightening it is anyway as...
read moreStrengthening Your Instincts at Audition Doctor
In an article for Ideastap, Caroline Leslie, Head of Acting at LAMDA, advised those auditioning to “really get inside the mind of your character – think about what they hide and show of themselves, and how they think other people think about them.” “Choose a piece and...
read moreGoing Beyond Your Parameters at Audition Doctor
The Stage asked Maria Friedman to give advice on auditioning: “Preparation, preparation, preparation. Bring yourself, not someone else, to every audition- you can’t hide you, so get to know yourself and what it is you have to offer; and know that is your three minutes...
read moreSimplifying Your Performance at Audition Doctor
In an interview...
read moreYour Individual Process at Audition Doctor
In his new book, Year of the Fat Knight, Anthony Sher recounts his experience playing Falstaff in the RSC’s production of Henry IV. In an extract printed in the Guardian, Sher wrote: “To an actor, dialogue is like food. You hold it in your mouth, you taste it. If it’s...
read moreEmbracing Risk at Audition Doctor
Following the General Election, much has been written about the fears of playing it safe with regards to programming in an age of belt-tightening and budget cuts. There seems to be a retaliation by many theatres to the idea that another five years of diminishing...
read moreMaking the Profession Accessible at Audition Doctor
Prominent actors such as Julie Walters and Mark Strong have publicly protested the inaccessibility of drama school for those from under-privileged backgrounds. They frequently cite the £9,000 yearly fee as being a prohibitive barrier to pursuing an acting career. The...
read moreCreating Your Own Work at Audition Doctor
This week, The Stage wrote about how the concerted effort drama schools have made to encourage their actors to self-produce and self-create has paid dividends. “Traditionally drama schools focused on developing stage skills and getting paid jobs in theatres at the...
read moreAvoiding Conservatism in Acting
Sean Holmes, Artistic Director of the Lyric Hammersmith, was interviewed in The Stage and spoke about his attempt to radicalise and disquiet the traditional model of British theatre through Secret Theatre. It was based on a speech he made in 2013 when he stated that...
read moreDeconstructing the Text at Audition Doctor
A recent interview with the cast members of the upcoming production of Mamet’s American Buffalo revealed the intensive and challenging nature of the rehearsal process. Director, Daniel Evans, and actors (John Goodman, Damien Lewis and Tom Sturridge) all admit that the...
read moreCombatting Competition in the Industry at Audition Doctor
The Times this week featured an article centred around the current crop of British male acting talent and the evolving face of theatre. Tim Piggot-Smith spoke of how “British theatre has been forced to become leaner, less complacent. “There’s not as much theatre...
read moreDebate and Enquiry at Audition Doctor
Phoebe Waller-Bridge wrote in the Stage of the pressure young actors feel to unquestioningly take directors’ decisions as gospel. “For years, the gratitude I felt for anyone who had given me an actual job, coupled with the embarrassment of disagreeing with them,...
read moreDistinguishing Yourself from the Other 3000 at Audition Doctor
The Stage published an article this week stating that “Spotlight recently sent a memo to agents informing them that 1,700 new performers are to graduate from Drama UK and the Council for Dance Education and Training accredited schools this summer. This is a staggering...
read moreDanger and Risk at Audition Doctor
In an interview for The Stage, Guildhall acting teacher Ken Rea spoke of the qualities that certain actors possessed that marked them out separately from the swathes of actors he has trained. “They’re unafraid of danger,” he says, mentioning Antony Sher with whom he...
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