I studied musical theater back in college. In my sophomore year, I hit a bit of a rut. I auditioned for about eleven plays in the first three semesters that year, and I only got cast in one as a member of the ensemble. There was even one director who told me that she had wanted to give me the lead in her play, but during my audition, my attitude persuaded her to think I wasn’t really interested.
I was desperate to figure this thing out. I spoke to people who I auditioned for and they had all said the same thing. They said that I was (unknowingly) emitting an air of aloofness, an apparent by-product of trying to cope with nervousness and insecurity.
The thing that really helped was seeking advice from a very wise senior theater major, (now a voice over coach). Let’s call him Steven Lowell, (cause that’s his actual name.) Steve sat me down and, having seen some of my auditions, had really helpful comments. He said my overall attitude was of arrogance and, again aloofness. “These are plays,” he said, “if you continue to show this type of attitude, for whatever reason, no one will want to play with you.” Makes sense! Steve, you’re a genius!
It was strange to me that I was giving off that type of vibe. I’m generally not an aloof person, nor do I think of myself as one. However, I have tended to be a bit of a pessimist and insecure in the past and those thoughts translated to arrogance and aloofness once they reached my face.
Steve also advised me to go back to the early acting lessons which taught us exercises on how to calm yourself down during an audition. One tip we learned in our previous year, was to take along an audition mascot. This could be a small stuffed animal or toy from your childhood you found comforting. For me that toy was a Kermit the Frog puppet. It sat on my shelf as cool memorabilia of some fun pop culture from the late seventies, little did room visitors know, Kermit had been a huge influence on my early childhood life.
I always wanted to be like Kermit in the sense that he was a passionate anchor in the midst of total creative chaos. In The Muppet Show and Sesame Street, while zany colorful characters were blowing up sets or shooting themselves out of cannons or simply having a temper tantrum, we could always rely on Kermit to ground us and tell us everything’s gonna be okay. Kermit was and is a reminder that it’s a really wonderful thing to be who you are and that a little heart can go a long way. So I brought that twenty year old puppet to my next audition as a reminder that I need to have fun and accept whatever chaos is going on around or inside me. The important thing was to simply enjoy the moment.
Well, a friend of mine noticed the frog when I reached in to my bag to get a pen. The next thing I knew I was performing Kermit for about ten to twenty of my friends while waiting for our turns to audition. Performing and laughing with my friends calmed me down immensely and allowed me to enter in a completely collaborative mindset. Not only was I able to give a great care-free, relaxing audition, I think I helped a bunch of others to do the same. I believe Kermit would be proud.
And as an added bonus, I got cast in the play and in the part that I wanted.
Thanks Steve Lowell. And thank you Kermit. I still have that puppet all these years later.
Leave a Reply