Ten Things for Actors to Bring to the Audition!

Congrats! Your child has an audition! More than anything, you should be ready to have fun and do what you love. But there are a couple things that can get in your way and STRESS you out. Here’s a list of MUST BRINGS when you’re going to an audition:

10.  Quarters – In Hollywood, most of the casting offices have parking—on the street. Don’t run the risk of running late to an audition because you are looking for available, free parking. Go to your local bank, and get a roll of quarters to keep in your car. These will turn out to be a lifesaver when you’re trying to park. If you’re worried about finding a parking spot, look on the casting office’s site. Most of these web pages have available parking areas listed or mapped out for you.

9. A Change of Clothes – It’s always a good idea to have a change of clothes in your car – one dressy and one casual. If you get a last second audition, spill something on your clothes, or simply don’t have time to go home and get a change of clothes before an audition, you will be ready for anything if you have a change of clothes in your car.

8. Snacks & Napkins – At theatrical auditions, you usually are taken right at the time of your audition, but at commercial auditions, there is normally a wait. Having a ready snack can calm nerves and fill hungry bellies. The healthier the snack, the better! Ready to go carrot or apple bags are perfect for auditions. For your messier eaters, be sure to have napkins or even baby wipes on hand!

7. A Working Pen & Pencil – You will want to have a working pen to write down any important information, add yesterday’s credits to your resume, or make any notes.

6. Gas – There’s nothing more stressful than getting in your car to go to an audition and seeing that you need more gas! Are you going to be able to fill up and still make it on time? Don’t put yourself in this position. If you’re an auditioning actor, try to fill up your gas when you’re at half a tank. Then you’ll never have to worry about this problem again.

5. Mints – Keep it fresh! But stay away from gum. Chewing gum during an audition is very unprofessional.  Don’t risk chewing a piece of gum in the waiting room and forgetting to take it out of your mouth for your audition. Use a mint instead.

4. A Hygiene Bag – This is a big must for actors who are teens and adults. You’ll want to have a bag in your car that has a backup of deodorant and powder to cover blemishes–especially if your teen is auditioning and you are coming from a long day at school. Being the smelly actor could cost you your audition. So don’t let it! Have that backup of deodorant and some baby wipes. 😉

3. Time – this is a big one! You’ll want to have enough time to drive to your audition–IN TRAFFIC. There most likely will be traffic. A great way to see the length of your drive with traffic is on Google maps. They list the time it will take for you to drive in current traffic.  If you’re driving during rush hour, it’s always a good idea to try to leave before rush hour or double the amount of time it usually takes. Then, you’ll want to have 10 minutes to park—just in case you can’t find a spot right away or have to park further and walk. Having more than enough time to park will definitely make things easier. Lastly, you will want to have 15 minutes to yourself in the casting office if you haven’t gotten the sides beforehand. This way, you’ll have ample time to prepare.

2. A Working GPS – This is something you will absolutely want to have!  Not only do you want to know where you’re going, but it helps to get traffic updates and alternative routes, especially if an accident happens on the freeway. Plus, if you make a wrong turn, printed out directions won’t get you back on track or let you know that you’re going the wrong way.  And always be sure to double check the address of the casting office. You don’t want to be in the wrong place at the time of your audition.

1. Headshot/Resumes– It happens that you get to an audition, reach in your bag, and are absolutely shocked that your headshots are missing. Oh, no! You took them out when you changed bags. Never be at an audition without a resume again. Always have a couple backups in your car.

Video Transcription

Hi there. I’m Miss Mae Ross from 3-2-1 Acting Studios here in Los Angeles, and you are actually at tophollywoodactingcoach.com. Today, I’m going to give you 10 tips for your auditions, and this is specifically directed towards parents of actors, of young actors, and teens, and young adults too.

So, quarters. Where am I getting at? Well, you’re going to need quarters because there are a lot of parking meters, and casting offices really don’t provide parking for actors, so you’re really going to need those quarters. So, make sure you have a bunch of quarters with you, so that you’re not late for the audition when you get there, and there’s not parking and you don’t have a quarter.

A change of clothes is really important for young actors to keep in the parent’s car, or your car, teens, if you’re driving. That would be a dressy outfit and a casual outfit, and remember that you’re sticking with bright colors and staying away from really busy prints on camera.

Think it’s important for children and teens and young adults to be sure that you’re either well fed before your audition. Parents, I really would suggest to bring some snacks with you, because you never know when you’re going to actually going to go, your child is actually going to go into the audition room, and there’s a lot of downtime sometimes when you’re auditioning, and a little snack would really pick up the kid’s energy, so, if you’re waiting there for awhile.

So, snacks and of course bring a little napkin along so you don’t make a mess. Working pen and pencil, you’ll never regret having a pen or pencil. Sometimes I know myself, I’ve been there, and the casting is out of pencils, and you’re looking around for one and I’ve used mine many times.

There’s nothing worse than running out of gas, so parents and teens, if you’re driving, please be sure that you keep a full tank when you’re out on your auditions. It’s really important. You don’t wanna be late because you ran out of gas. Talk about how stressed you’d be then.

I like the idea of having some breath mints with you so that you’re not … have bad breath, you don’t have bad breath when you’re in the audition, and you never know how, maybe a smelly audition could have cost you the job. You never know, but let’s stack the deck in your direction.

So, let’s also bring a hygiene bag, and that would include baby wipes for the children if they’re eating a snack and they’re getting sort of messy, or maybe you’ve just picked them up from school, moms and dads, and they are dirty from school, so you just wanna do a quick wipe on the mouth or wherever it is.

Then also, deodorant, teens. Deodorant’s important, something that’s going to make you smell good, so that you don’t, again, smell up the audition.

Time is very important. Time, yes. Make sure that you have given yourself ample time to get to the audition, and that means really Googling the location the night before, and seeing how many miles it is and how long it takes, and the routes to get there.

A working GPS, this is something that’s such an advantage today than many actors in the past. So, you have a geography map in your car that is telling you when to turn right, left and to get there.

Again, you don’t want to be stressed out when you get to an audition, and your children don’t want to be stressed out, and teens, you don’t either, because you want to give yourself the opportunity to be relaxed and not stressful, so that you can give it all and give them a great performance.

Of course, last but not least would be your headshots. Headshots and resume on the back, of course, so that they know who you are and they know about your special skills. You do want to keep extra headshots and resumes in the car so that if they need more than one. If you are looking to train, we have wonderful classes here at 3-2-1 Acting Studios, and we offer a free class, so we’d love to have you in. Thanks for stopping by and come back again.