Audition preparation
Audition preparation, from the first email to the recall
Castable is not a casting board, and it does not list auditions or jobs. It is a place to find someone to prepare with once an audition has come to you. This page sets out a simple plan for the days between the invitation and the room, whether that room is a studio or your spare bedroom.
Day one: read everything twice
Read the full brief before the sides. Note the deadline, the format, what to slate, whether they want an ident, and any instruction about accent, wardrobe or lines that can be held on the page. Then read the sides for story, and again for your character only.
- Who is the scene really about, and where does it turn?
- What does your character want from the other person?
- What has just happened before the first line?
- Is there a script or synopsis you are allowed to read for context?
Build an action plan you can follow
Break the time you have into learning, exploring and polishing. Learn the lines early enough that you can stop thinking about them. Explore with a reader or a coach while choices are still open. Polish only in the last stretch, and decide in advance when you will stop.
A coach can help most in the exploring stage, when there is still room to change your mind. Book a reader for the polishing stage if you are taping.
Preparing for a recall
A recall usually means something in your first read landed. Keep what worked, and prepare to take direction: casting may ask you to try it differently. Practise making a clear adjustment quickly, which is a skill in its own right and one a coach can rehearse with you.
If new pages arrive, give them the same day-one read you gave the first set.
Afterwards
Write down what you learned while it is fresh: what helped, what you would prepare differently. Then let it go. Outcomes depend on far more than your performance, and no coach or platform can promise one.
Working with someone through Castable
Actor accounts are free; each coach sets their own rate per service. Castable intends to take 0% commission, with card processing fees separate. Sessions currently run over an external video service such as Zoom, and live payments are still being prepared for beta.
Questions
Asked often
- Can I find auditions on Castable?
- No. Castable does not advertise castings or roles. Use your agent, Spotlight or other casting services for that, and Castable for preparation.
- How much preparation is too much?
- When extra runs stop changing anything, or start making the scene rigid, you are probably done. Leave room for direction on the day.
- Is coaching required to do well in auditions?
- No. Many actors prepare entirely on their own. Coaching is an option for when a second perspective would help.
Castable is in early access for adults. Live payments and public professional profiles are still being prepared.
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