It is audition season! Auditions can be one of the most stressful parts about being a performer, but these six audition tips will hopefully calm some nerves, allowing every actor and actress to break a leg at their big audition!

1. Know Your Material

 Before you walk into an audition, make sure you know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Have your monologue memorized and your song prepared. It is always really helpful to know about the show you are auditioning for. Beneficial information can include the writer and time period of the show. This information will also give some guidelines as to finding your audition song and monologue.

2. Dress Appropriately

Once you have your song and monologue picked out, something great to do ahead of time is choose what you are wearing. If it is a dance audition, wear clothes you can move in and pack all of your dance shoes. For a singing audition, some actors choose to wear clothes that correlate with the character they are auditioning for. In the end, make sure you wear something you feel comfortable in. Auditions can be nerve-wracking, so don’t wear something that will heighten those nerves.

3. Be Prepared

Finally! You have perfected the performance aspect of your audition, and you have your clothes figured out. You’re ready now, right? Nope. There are more pieces to an audition than simply what you do on stage. Make sure you know your audition time and get there early so you’re not rushing, or in case the director is ahead of schedule. If there is no accompanist provided at the audition and a track is used, have your cut prepared and pulled up on your phone or iPad.

4. Smile

You’ve made it into the audition room! Even though you may have butterflies in your stomach and you’re worried about remembering your monologue, always smile. Directors sit through hours of auditions and know that the actors are nervous, so to see a confident, smiling face will make them more interested to watch you perform. Also, faking a smile can actually put you in a good mood. If you make yourself smile, even if you’re nervous, your brain connects smiling with being happy and can help you feel more confident in your audition.

5. Don’t Just Sing. Act!

This is one of the most important things to remember when auditioning for a musical. There are so many people that have beautiful voices, but connecting with the song and acting it will set you apart from many others. There aren’t many tips you can give to act a song because it is a personal connection, but remember your training. You have worked on this song and you know you can sing it. So once you are on stage, think about your character and the emotion, and the notes and technique will come.

6. Breathe

Finally, when you walk into your audition and are about to sing or perform your monologue, breathe. Take your time. The audition is your time. So if you need to take a second to breathe before your monologue: do it! Walk slowly over to the speaker with your track or the pianist to give yourself time to breathe.

When you are preparing for an audition, remember: it is okay to be nervous. It is how you handle those nerves that determines how you do in the audition room. Directors want to see you do well. They are not watching for you to mess up. So take a breath, trust your training and perform! Break a leg!