How to arrange an AUDITION

I have written a drama series called S.I.K.H (Silence, I Killed Her) and I was holding auditions for actors/actresses. I have never held an audition before until this, I have learnt a lot from this experience of what worked and what didn’t work. I would like to share my experience and some helpful tips on how to arrange an audition.

1)      The first thing is you need a space to hold the auditions. I held my audition at Pineapple Studios for an hour which was not the best of ideas because when holding auditions you need the whole day. Even get creative and hold a mini reading session at a Coffee shop like Starbucks. I found that this is a great way to hear the actors read their lines and a great way to see that they can adapt to any situation.

2)      Once you have your space start advertising your audition date, location, characters ethnicity, age, what your project is about and any other relative specifics. Use social media like Facebook, Twitter, Gumtree and make posters to advertise. Advertise as much as you can this is important to make sure you have a lot of actors/ actresses to come along. I would say advertise for a good 3weeks, a month or even longer.

3)      When you are holding auditions it is good to film the actors/actresses to watch back and to decide who is best suited for the role.

4)      Make sure you have a list of questions to ask the actors/actresses. Such as their availability for rehearsals, filming etc.

5)      I would also suggest to have an understudy for the main characters, just in case the main actor/actress is unable to attend a rehearsal/filming/stage least you have someone to fill in and the production is not put to a hold.

6)      Hold as many auditions as you need until you have all your actors/ actresses to play the role of your characters.

I hope this helped these are the things that I have learned from my fail attempts of holding auditions and only few people turning up. Be patient it takes time but you will get there in the end. If you have any tips or been to an audition yourself leave a comment I would love to know!

Thank you, until next time...

Simran xx