One of the most important parts about understanding what's going through the panels head is getting the chance to be in their position and be part of the casting team yourself, and that's exactly what we did this week! We got given a speech that's part of a play and we could turn it into any kind of production and cast for that role, and when you're looking for something very specific in the actors, it can feel quite hopeless at times but you have to stick with your gut and what you envision the production to be like. Over the past few days, I've learnt that it's important to look at how well the actor can interpret the character and what they can bring to the table that is rare, but also how well informed these choices are and if you feel like they are someone you can work well with, we had several actors audition for us over the past few days that were brilliant actors and understood the character very well, but I knew I wouldn't be able to work on such a demanding and long project with them. It's also interesting to learn that there could be lots of reasons for why you haven't been cast for this production,and most of the time it's not about whether you're a good actor or not, it can be about the way you present yourself, if your personality shines through or you're just trying to be a carbon copy, or they may already have someone like you in their company, and this is the main reason for many drama school rejections. Being on the other side of the bench meant I learnt so much about myself and other actors, and it gave me ideas of what I might be doing wrong and how I can potentially fix these problems.
We were given the play 'Holes In The Skin' and we were auditioning for the role of Lee, an eighteen year old who was constantly in trouble with the police and spent most of his childhood in a young offenders home, and growing up with an alcoholic mother meant his trouble brother ended up being his father figure. We decided that we wanted an actor who was open to shaving their head and smoking on screen, and we needed someone who was proficient at a Yorkshire accent as that was where the show would be set. I realised that this is a lot to ask for, especially in a first round casting, but we had a specific vision and we wanted to see every actor possible that might fit that brief, some of them had so much talent but just weren't what we were looking for, and then there were a few actors that didn't act professional enough to consider them for this role. I was very disappointed with both Reuben and Ben due to their approaches to this task as I didn't feel like theu took it serious enough. Once Reuben walked into the room it felt like we were just watching our friend and the way he addressed us was too casual for a professional style casting, I was impressed with the monologue and the character choices and he did the accent very well, I just wish he took it more seriously and presented himself the way he would if he was put up for a real casting, which I know he has experienced before. Ben was very disappointing as well, as he walked in uninvited by any of us and ended up leaving before we got the chance to find out more about his experience and what kind of actor he is. It was such a shame as I was really impressed at his monologue and by looking at his headshot, I could imagine him playing the role as he's got the right features for it. I want him to look back at this audition and work on his professionalism so he is more disciplined and hopefully with more experience like this, his attitude will be as good as his speeches.
We eventually cast Mitchell in the role as I loved his character choices and you can tell he's had lots of experience with castings as he was very professional in the audition and he knows how to show off his personality well, especially in interviews. We also spent a lot of our time talking about the adverts and short films he had done before and he seems very knowledgeable about many areas of the industry and he knows how to keep disciplined on set, his speech and the accent were both incredible and he was open to shave and smoke for the role which made it even better, I could completely envision him on screen and I know he's got a bright future ahead of him! I didn't get the opportunity to apply for any other castings happening on the day as they weren't right for me. Many of them were looking for male actors, but the female lead ones were looking for actors who look old enough to play adults and I know that my playing age goes up to 18 so looking back at what we've learnt about typecasts this half term, I wouldn't be right for those roles. Aside from casting this role, it was fun coming up with the logistics of the production and making it as realistic as possible, and I loved getting to envision our chosen actor on screen. I really enjoyed getting to be a panellist as it gave me ideas of what I need to work on before auditioning for any drama schools, and I now understand how well the directors want you to do well and they aren't trying to trip you up!
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