Don’t Say The Words, Do The Words

“So many actors ask, ‘Do I have the right setup? Do I have the right lighting? Do I have the right this?’ And I say, ‘Did you read the scene? Did you make choices?’ That’s what’s going to help you at the end of the day. Show that you’re the kind of actor who says, ‘This is what I think is happening in the scene, and this is the choice I’m making for the character.’” - Destiny Lilly, Casting Director, Only Murders in the Building

You have to brush a lot of stuff out of the way or you get lost in the jungle.

Need to pop. Need to stand out. Need to grab them. Need to be different. Need to impress.

But that’s not your job.

Your job is to create a compelling character that serves the text.

Stop worrying about the lines, the pacing, the eyelines, the scene.

You don’t have to show them the scene.
Show them what you’d do with the role.

When a casting director says to make a choice, they mean, show me your take on this character.

How do you find character if you don’t understand that you’re looking to find her?

I can’t wait to dive in and explore who this person is!
Look who I get to be!

Slow down. Resist the urge to make decisions.

I wanna explore this human, in this human circumstance.

Ask the writer to help you.

Start thinking of yourself as a script interpreter.
A detective searching for clues.

The sides are your road map.

Why did the writer give me that?
Everything is a clue and they all matter.

• People are what they do.
  Find out what you’re doing, suggested in the text, and then ask why.

She tells it how it is.
He’s begging.

Why?

She wants respect.
He wants forgiveness.

• What does the writer imply I feel about the reader? About that memory? About that gorgeous man looking at me from the other side of the bar?

• You’re in relationship to everything. If the writer doesn’t give the answer, make it up.

He’s a son of a bitch.
She’s a traitor.
He’s the man of my dreams.

What’s this moment like for you? Put it in your own words.

I’m done.
You gotta be fucking kidding me.
Gimme gimme!

• Why now? Why does this scene have to happen at this very moment?

Because I can’t lose him ever again.
It’s now or never.
To prove that I still got it.

If you humanize, you’ll never be nervous again.

You’ll be him. You’ll own your words.

It’s you, that way. You are the character.

Working this way will make your auditions specific, powerful, and undeniable.