Mastering the Audition

Book excerpt: Frustrating, nerve-wracking, job-winning or job-losing, flawed yet necessary - auditioning is a maddening business for everyone involved. The people behind the audition desk are looking for a killer audition (often under tremendous pressure), but most of the auditionees walk into the room feeling nervous, unprepared, and unable to control their own performance. Although the idea of creating 'winning performance strategies' is common in business and sports studies, no one has ever really attempted to bring the psychology of creating a winning performance to a book on auditioning. Drawing on some fascinating, cutting-edge research into how the brain copes and responds in high-stress situations, Mastering the Audition looks closely at the effects of fear, at our flawed ability to assess or really know ourselves, at what really drives us, and at what it really takes to master the audition experience. Applicable to all areas of performing, including reality television, musicals, stage, film and commercials, this book helps you hone your performing skills and develop the mental toughness that can keep you going through the inevitable ups and downs of the audition process. Where other books advise you to 'be confident' and 'be prepared', Mastering the Audition tells you exactly HOW.