Acing the audition -- you can do it!

It's the absolutely inevitable, totally unpredictable, most nerve-wracking part of the business. And it can make or break a theatre artist's entire career.

The audition.

There's no way around it if you're a serious member of the industry. However, there are ways to ensure that you walk off that stage leaving the director with a smile on his face and a clear idea of who YOU are as an actor.

1. Dress appropriately. It is always acceptable to dress for the part, but it is never OK to do it in an unflattering way. The directors are looking for your personal character as an actor or actress above anything else. It's perfectly acceptable to add some edge to your outfit to portray a character trait, but do it tastefully.

2. Make eye contact. Especially during the deliverance of your monologue or song, it is essential to communicate to everyone else in the room that it should be you in this role and no one else.

3. Act professionally. Just as dressing professionally is essential, so is acting like everyone should take you seriously. Charm only goes so far in this business; overconfidence gets you nowhere. Your work and your professional attitude are all that matters.

4. Starting over is OK. We're all human, and therefore we all make mistakes. Losing your place is a natural side effect of your nerves; if you need to, ask to begin again or perform a different piece. The worst that can happen is the casting directors will say no. If so, politely thank them for their time and walk out of the room proudly. There will always be another audition.

5. Don't freak out when the audition is over. You did your best at the time. The directors have the final say, and nothing you do after your performance will change their minds. Do not seek them out or call to ask for an evaluation of your performance; just wait it out. Whatever happens, you'll learn from every audition and improve in all your future ones.

(Compiled from Essortment.com and Actingbiz.com.)

And here's my own little two-cents: Arrive early! Nothing screams that you don't take yourself or the project seriously more than arriving late for your audition. And although you may come prepared with a headshot and resume, there will often be forms for you to fill out before your audition, and if you're doing cold readings, there will be sides (small portions of the script) for you to quickly rehearse. In show business, early is on time, and on time is late.

Happy auditioning. Break a leg and all that jazz (and all that jazz...). I feel a jam session to the Chicago soundtrack coming on.

--DQ

Five questions for an aspiring playwright

Last month, I mentioned my friend Janet Jiacinto, who was in my Playwriting class and who will soon be staging her self-written play, Chapstick Smells Like Fish. She recently gave me some insight into the process of writing a play and having the opportunity to perform it.

How did your concept for the play evolve in your head, before, during and after Playwriting class?

I was taking an EMF class where we were required to keep a dream journal. That was when I first started thinking about the concept of unspoken dream logic. This is the way, in dreams, you can be in what looks just like your living room, but it's not actually your living room -- it's a swimming pool or something.

Dream sequences happen all the time in movies, but I'm not sure I've ever seen or read something where the entire thing is a dream. I thought it would be cool to try to find a way to stay true to the world of dreams without becoming so convoluted that no one understood the story.

When analyzing a play, one of the first questions you should ask is "Why is this day different from all other days?" because if it isn't, not much is at stake. It's the same with writing. So, I stole some characters I liked from another play I've written and picked a day in one of their lives that they could never forget.

The feedback in Playwriting class and Playwriting Laboratory was absolutely vital to Chapstick's development in that it helped me to shape the characters and shifts in logic so that they made as much sense as possible without perverting the nature of the world.

When did you know that you wanted to potentially produce it?

I sincerely doubt the existence of professional playwrights who work on plays with the idea that they'll never see a stage. I can't write a play without visualizing it in a certain space. I've been working on Chapstick for roughly a year, it's gone through three workshop readings, and I reached the point where I had a script and wasn't sure how else to make it better.

Since the setting is so minimalistic, it is an extremely easy play to produce. The challenge is in making the world something easy for the audience to understand. The production will be more like a workshop in that I want to stage it to find problems in the script that wouldn't be obvious for a reading.

Do you think that since it's a bit abstract to most people, students will respond positively to it?

I certainly hope so. The story walks this fine line between ludicrousness and realism and in doing so finds this place where we can believably say and do things we never would in reality.

Has any particular play, playwright or other person or thing inspired your work?

Every character in the play is based, however loosely, on someone I've really known -- even Ashu, the character who ranges from Sean Connery to a cartoon.

What do you hope to do by producing your play at TU?

By putting a play into the hands of actors and designers, new things will be found in the script. A lot of things the playwright didn't intend to put in the play suddenly become unspeakably important. Stage directions are a whole different world when they're no longer words on a page. Unless the story is completely antiquated, a play is not meant to be read but seen. That's why I believe every play should be forced through at least one workshop performance before it's declared to be a final draft.

Janet's play will be performed as part of Towson University's 2009 Fall Season. (Photo courtesy of Janet's facebook page.)

--DQ

Backstage at "Bug" - Part 2

It's opening night for Bug, which runs until Saturday in Towson University's Ruth Marder Theatre. Tickets are $2 for students and $5 for general admission.

Here are a few more behind-the-scenes tidbits from the production work this week.

First: deciding on colors for a door. It's a process, I kid you not.



Last: the set finally begins to take shape.



If the desire strikes you, enjoy the show; I'll be there Friday and will see you right back here afterward.

I remain your DQ.

Backstage at "Bug" - Part I

Tech week is in full effect for Towson's production of Bug. I spent some time there on Sunday doing production work and captured some of it to share with you here.

First: welcome to the Ruth Marder Theatre as you've probably never seen it.



Second: meet the director!



Third: experiments with blood capsules.



This is just a preliminary glimpse into what goes into putting together a production. Part 2 of behind-the-scenes footage to come!

--DQ

The cast is great, the script is swell, but this we're telling you, sirs...

A couple of entries ago, I mentioned that each theatrical season at TU involves not only the larger Mainstage productions, but also student-directed shows, where theatre majors have the chance to cast and direct a show of their choice rather than perform in it.

I spoke with graduating senior Andrew Peters, an Acting student who is directing a play called Bug this spring, set to open next month. As a young theatre artist, he gave me some insight into the directing experience.

What drew you to Bug and why did you have an interest in directing it?

I first read Bug a few years ago and I've always been drawn to how visceral and gritty it is. It's a love story, a thriller, a piece of science fiction, a dark comedy...all of these different genres all wrapped into one. As a student director, I wanted to direct something challenging and gritty, but something that would allow me to also flex a creative muscle so to speak. It also came down to what I thought would not only interest theatre artists, but the Towson student body as well. With most of its Mainstage repertoire, the Towson theatre department puts on shows that I feel are good learning experiences, but I don't always feel that they are chosen due to what students our age actually want to see. So I wanted to do something very raw, provocative, and fun, but still doable in a college environment.

Author Tracy Letts is also responsible for the Tony Award-winning play August: Osage County. Did this success have any effect on your decision to direct Bug?

The fact that Letts is becoming a huge name in the theatre world definitely influenced my decision. In general, I wanted to do this to get his name out there to a younger audience because I think he's going to be someone who continues doing work for years, and if I can spread his work around to as many people as possible, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

As a theatre student, how valuable is it to have this kind of behind-the-scenes, hands-on experience with a show?

You learn a lot about the process that certain things like classes and such won't teach you. I've been in a good amount of shows here at Towson, but directing a show has taught me so much more than I could've gotten from actually being on stage. You learn about the process and the ways to adapt to it.

What have been your favorite moments so far?

Sometimes, we've stumbled into territory I never expected. For instance, I love it when the actors take a risk with a way they deliver a line or an action they perform, and it completely makes me rethink my original ideas. Also, seeing the show on its feet as it progresses is incredibly exciting each step of the way. The first time we put together Act 1 in one night, I really got a sense that we were well on our way.

Do you have any advice for future student directors?

One, don't be afraid to take risks. Jump in head first! Second, think around the box. With Bug, there are a lot of technical things that I am working around now that I've been able to brainstorm solutions for, and I'm really excited to see how those choices will pay off when the performances start. It's a thrill to be able to see how you can play with a concept and adapt a piece of text to it.

Bug runs April 2 - 4, 2009, in the Ruth Marder Theatre at Towson University.

--DQ