There are several schools of thought about what an actor should do when asked, “Do you have any questions?” just before an audition officially begins.
You’re in the room; you’ve reviewed your sides; you did your research ahead of time about the character, the writer, the director, the casting director; you’ve made choices that you feel comfortable with; and you’ve prepared yourself for this very moment. Then the casting director asks, “Do you have any questions?” You freeze. Why?
It’s likely because you’ve been told so very many different things about what to do in that moment, when asked if you have a question, that you don’t have an opinion of your own about what to do. So, what should you do? You do what feels right — to you — in that moment.
You should have an opinion about what to do in that unique situation. If you’ve done your preparation for this audition and you still have a question (meaning, you’ve actually read all available information about the project, read the whole script if it is available to you, made choices about the character in the sides you will use for the audition, and researched the people you’ll be meeting at the audition), it is absolutely fine to ask that question before you begin, when given the opportunity to do so.
Wait. Does this mean I have to have a question, in order to take advantage of this moment in the room? Absolutely not! It upsets me that some acting coaches actually advise actors to have a “fake question” ready so that they take advantage of the “discussion time” available to them, when asked if they have a question. Wow! Do the folks that advise such things actually believe that you will come off looking good if you ask a question — any question — in that moment, even if it’s a question that’s been answered if you did even the most basic amount of research? Wow. Bad advice, for sure.
But I’ve seen actors follow that advice. I’ve provided every possible bit of information I have about a project, its crew, the script, shoot dates, locations, rate of pay, union contract details, everything… and still had an actor ask, in that, “Do you have any questions?” moment, “Yeah. When does this shoot?” or “Is this guy like his brother or something?” Wow. That is not good use of that moment!
What is good use of that moment? Actually getting a question you really have answered before you begin. Of course, if the question is about how you should approach the material and I give you a piece of information that changes everything you’ve prepared for that read, you’ve got some quick adjustments to make and that’s probably not going to work out well for you at all. So, choose wisely the question you ask, if you’re not prepared to make a quick adjustment in that case.
Examples of good questions include, “Am I angry with him or more intrigued by what has just happened?” “Do I know that she has stolen the key or not, by now?” “Is it okay if I deviate from the scripted words a little bit in the second scene?” “Do you want this very real or a little over-the-top?” or “I’ve prepared this a couple of different ways. Do we have time for me to show you both ways?” Those are all appropriate types of questions you could ask, in that moment, assuming those questions are not answered in the material you’ve been given before your audition or in information posted at the sign-in sheet in the hall.
Also appropriate is the phrase, “No. All of my questions have been answered. Thank you. I am ready to begin.”
Why do casting directors ask if you have any questions if we fully expect that you should have no questions, based on the details we’ve provided prior to the audition? Here’s why: We want you to feel that, if you do have questions, we are open to hearing them and ready to answer them. We want you to know that we’re aware that not every possible question could be answered by your research and our information sheets and we’d like for you to feel that you have the option of getting your questions answered before you read for the role. That’s your right! And if having a question answered before you read would help you feel more comfortable in your audition, taking the time to answer that question helps us all out. You have the benefit of having your question answered and adding that information to your choices in your read, should that apply. If that improves your performance, we all win!
Note that we often use the phrase, “Do you have any questions?” as the buffer for the official beginning of the audition. You’ve walked in and done a little chitchat, now it’s time for the real audition to begin. We pose a question that serves as the “on your mark, get set, GO” for your read. Sure, we could simply ask, “Are you ready to begin?” and some CDs certainly do that. But in case you have questions, most of us give you that lead-in. Then your audition begins.
It’s just like, “That was great, thanks,” doesn’t necessarily mean, “That was great, thanks,” but it always means, “The audition is over. Now go.” 😉
So, do you fine folks have any questions? Let’s jam in the comments section, below!
Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!
Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/000054.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.