Dear Bonnie,
Hello! I am kind of new to the acting world and was wondering about something. I was hoping that you could help me. I was wondering, where do you look when you are auditioning, and someone is just reading the lines with you and not acting out a scene, do you look at the camera, or the person?
Thank you for your time and all of your help! I appreciate it very much!
– Donna
Dear Donna,
When you audition for an on-camera job, there will be a camera in the room, most of the time. You should ask the person for whom you’re auditioning whether she would prefer that you look into the camera or at your reader. It is always preferred that you ask what they prefer than make a mistake and have to start over (also, that could throw you if they ask you to start over, and nobody wants that!)
Usually there is a reader (and sometimes that person is the casting director, but usually it’s someone who is there JUST to read with you) who may or may not have any acting experience, so you’re expected to “act with a wall” sometimes. It’s good practice to be able to act with no one helping you out, since that way you won’t be ill-prepared, when in the room auditioning. If you’re auditioning for a commercial, many times there will be a need for directly-into-the-camera reading. That’s true especially when there’s a pitch about the product in your script. If the pitch-person would be talking to the viewing audience, rather than to someone else in the commercial, your best bet is to prepare to deliver your lines to the camera, as you would in the actual commercial.
Good luck, and do good work!
– Bon