How to Pace Acting Auditions

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Auditions in which you must have a prepared piece ready to perform usually have a time limit, from 30 seconds to four minutes. Some directors are extremely strict about these limits. Others are willing to fudge a little, and will not frown upon an extra few seconds. Many directors plan for a few extra minutes to allow for conversations with the actor or request another reading. However, it's in your best interest to adhere to the limits imposed by the audition notice. Here is how to pace your audition for maximum effect.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Time to rehearse

Step1

Identify and experiment with pacing. Pace is the internal heartbeat of the piece. It's not simply how fast or slow you perform the monologue (although that can be true). Think of pace as a drumbeat playing softly but consistently under your performance. Just as music follows this tempo, so does your monologue. Where are the big cymbal clashes? Where are the drum rolls? Are there single bass beats several seconds apart? Pace is not monotony. It is symphonic, with several swells and lulls throughout the performance. Try performing your monologue to many different kinds of music. Jazz, rock, classical, hip hop or R&B--whatever you have access to. Use your mind, voice and body to try new rhythms that match the music, and you may discover new ways to interpret your audition piece.

Step2

Keep the following in mind if you have a prepared monologue. Pacing does include time. You only have a few moments of the director's attention to win the role, so timing is crucial. Preparing a monologue for a strict time limit is like editing a newspaper article. Choose the most important ideas of the piece, and eliminate the excess. Do the same with extra words. This will allow you to reduce the length of your piece, and should also give you room to take dramatic beats.

Step3

If you are doing a cold reading, be sure to be prepared. In a cold reading of the script, alone or with a partner, you frequently have more time available than you do during a prepared monologue. If there's time to go over your script, identify the key action points--anything that moves the plot forward or reveals character--and make them the focus of your read. There are usually "throw away" lines which don't require much emphasis; don't spend so much time on every line that you miss key beats in the script. You can "bank" time by finding places where your pace can pick up, and use that saved time for a well-placed "dramatic pause."

Step4

Rehearse. Not only should you time your audition pieces, you should get feedback from at least two people on your performance before you go to your audition. Ask them if there were places where you went too fast or too slow. Did they follow what the piece was about? Did they get a sense of who the character was? Use this feedback to identify areas that can be strengthened by adjusting the pace of your performance.

Tips & Warnings

Always time your rehearsals. Experiment with different pacing, and always check your time.
Pay attention and obey the time restrictions posted on an audition notice. Even if you are over by just a few seconds in your rehearsals, find ways to cut those few seconds. The director or an assistant might not be timing you; then again, he might. Don't risk a bad impression by going over your allotted time.