Question: Callback method?

[PaPa]

Hey guys and gals.

I received a call from my agent yesterday informing me that the director for a feature i auditioned for is interested as having me for the lead. He wants to meet with me tonight.

On Monday i put myself on tape and sent it off, i had 8 pages to learn, no problem. Last night i receive updated sides, 15 pages in total, pretty much full of dialogue.

I work today from 7-5 and i am meeting with them tonight at 8 so im wondering how exactly i am supposed to be off book by then. I mean, i know how to learn lines, but 15 pages within 3 hours is simply impossible. Should i kill myself and try to get off book, or should i simply become very familiar with the text and if asked, explain my situation? What would you do? (Actors)

Cheers,

Jon

 

[GageFX]

Depends how badly you want the job. If you overstress and overwork and overtrain yourself, your brain will go into shock and not remember anything. Similar to why "cramming" didnt work for many kids in high school.

But you said "should I try to kill my self and try to get off book?" That sounds to me like you think you can do it, but you just dont want to put in the effort.

Does the director expect you to be 100% off book? No. Will you impress the sh*t out of him if you are? Yes. BUT... better to put in a great audition - on book or off - than put in a sh*tty one OFF.

Concentrate on your character and motivation and put in as much time as you have to get it down. But dont stress, just do your best. If you do LESS than your best, THEN stress.

 

[Ted Spencer]

Personally I think off-book is completely unnecessary at this point. It can even work against you if you're more concerned with memorization than performance. Struggling to remember the dialog can take you right out of the moment, which is the worst possible outcome in an audition.

I say take the sides to the audition, hold them in your hand and refer to them whenever necessary. Certainly you want to take the reading as much off the page as possible, but again, not if it interferes with the performance. Anybody can memorize - they're not hiring you for that. Don't stress over it.

I recently did extensive casting sessions for a feature I'm producing, and often found myself almost annoyed with the 'flash-memorizers'. What I described above happened all too often. The mental 'overhead' the actor was burdened with often made for a less inspired performance. The fact that they memorized it was impressive, but it was as irrelevant to me at that stage as it would have been for them to demonstrate their skill at riding a unicycle.

Best of luck in the audition, and please let us know how it went!

 

[Michele Seidman]

Hey guys and gals.

Should i kill myself and try to get off book, or should i simply become very familiar with the text and if asked, explain my situation? What would you do? (Actors)

Cheers,

Jon

Jon

Off book won't mean much if you can't nail the scene. Off page will matter. In other words...have the script on hand but get your eyes off the page quickly to keep your focus on the scene or reader. I have seen actors use the script to their advantage. It is when you are face down in it that it can hurt your reading.

Don't need to explain. Most directors and casting people could not get it all down in memory that fast which is where the term 'cold reading' came from.