How to Prepare for URTA Auditions

“Inappropriate selection of material and poor presentation techniques are the two most common faults in general auditions. Both areas demand objectivity, which is why an audition coach is essential.”

The above quote was taken from URTA’s Handbook for Actors and Coaches (bold letters included), a guide provided by URTA to help you and your coach prepare for your URTA audition. (Go to http://www.urta.com/ for more info on URTA auditions and how to download the Handbook for Actors and Coaches.)

In the meantime, as someone who is very much qualified to be your URTA audition coach, I want to “unpack” the above quote a little bit to get you started on what it means to get the URTA audition help you need to prepare yourself to have an outstanding URTA audition:  

• First and foremost, know your type. As an URTA acting coach, it’s my job to help you select material that is within your age range, your emotional range, and within the scope of your voice and movement skills. This is about showing clear command of interesting and appropriate material, not reaching for something that you can’t quite grasp or that isn’t really right for you in terms of your type. Simply put, do what you do best!

• The URTA audition time limit is three minutes, and that includes the time it takes for an introduction and transition between monologues. Your URTA audition coach should work with you to comfortably do everything you need to do within the allotted three minutes, and to make your introduction an interesting and likable part of your audition. Your audition really begins from the moment you walk into the room.

• If possible, practice your audition in front of a few trusted friends so that you know what it feels like to do them before an audience, and can work with your coach to overcome whatever challenges come up when you’re being observed. Don’t wait until the actual audition to discover what doing them before an audience feels like.

• You want the kind of URTA audition help that increases your ability to make varied, specific and bold acting choices. Another way to put this is that your URTA acting coach should guide you to use different tactics in pursuit of the overall task or objective of your character, and have those tactics be clear, interesting and specific. These tactics manifest in your physical behavior, your voice, and the energy you direct toward the other person(s) you’re imagining in the moment (more to be said later about making the other character(s) real and specific to you and the audience). A good acting coach will also help you to avoid the traps of generalizing, emoting, or playing a single character "quality" throughout the piece.

I’ll continue in greater detail with the elements of a well-prepared URTA audition in future blog posts. Please let me know your thoughts about what I’ve said here concerning how to successfully prepare for the URTA auditions. 

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