Auditioning and Voice

Types of Auditions:

Traditional Audition - where an actor performs a classical or contemporary monologue in front of a casting panel

Duologue - an audition piece performed by two actors

Self-Tape - an audition where the actor records themselves doing the audition and sends it to a casting director 

Virtual Interview - where the actors performs live however on an online platform

Callback - where an actor returns to read for either the same role or another role, receive direction or work with another actor

The self-tape and virtual interview audition styles have recently become more popular due to the lockdown from COVID-19 because actors were unable to audition in person therefore they could still obtain work during those times. 

These types of auditions have also become more popular due to its accessibility for the disabled and those who are unable to travel to the audition. 

The audition that I attended at Gloucester College was in the style of a more traditional audition and a duologue. I originally auditioned for the role of the 'Landlady' for the production 'Two' however, after the audition I was given a callback and was given redirection to read for the roles of 'Mrs Iger', 'Lesley' and 'Roy'. This was different to the original audition because this was a duologue with another actor who was also not on the panel. 

Before I read for those roles, I was prepared because I was already familiar with the script and therefore already had an idea of how to portray those characters for the audition. I was originally asked to read for 'Lesley' during her scene however I was then asked to swap with the other actor so the roles were switched. I felt that was interesting as I was reading for a male role and I felt it was a challenge because of the character's nature and emotions.

During casting, I was given the roles of 'Mrs Iger' and 'Lesley' which I found to be a challenge due to the contrast of the  characters however, I was given positive feedback from the panel showing my versatility. I prefer the character of 'Mrs Iger' because I find her to be a lot more fun and interesting to interpret whereas I find 'Lesley' to be a challenge because her emotions are most notably shown through body language, this would be a challenge because I would need to focus more on my physicality rather than the use of my voice. 

How I Used my Voice during the Auditions:

There are many techniques I used during the auditions for example for 'Mrs Iger', during the monologue, I used a light-hearted and pensive tone to convey her thoughts during her monologue which contrasts with her later lines of dialogue where she is more harsh and intolerant towards 'Mr Iger' because he is the opposite of what she wants and spoke about during her opening monologue. In this scene, I used a more stern tone to show how she felt towards 'Mr Iger'. This changes again towards the end of her scene where she feels pity for 'Mr Iger' and tries to empathise with him, using phrases such as 'my compact chap' and 'little man' to try and cheer him up as best as she can. To achieve this, I used a softer tone and lowered my volume. 

For the character 'Lesley', I found it very challenging to use some vocal techniques because of the use of short and one-word responses and I also found it difficult to keep my volume at a level where, the audience would still be able to hear but keep it so her responses are still quiet because of how she mumbles or quietly says some of her lines. 

For my audition for the 'Landlady', I used a more light-hearted tone to convey the simplicity of the monologue even though her feelings during the scene constantly deviate. 

Here is a link to my work for Voice Acting 1: