NYCastings Top Booker's TOP 10! - Part 3 - Lauren Francesca gives tips you can count on - NYCastings

Good things come in 3’s – and so here’s some radiant news – for the last Top Ten Tips from NYCastings Top Booker of 2009… Lauren Francesca reveals her tips for nailing auditions.

HER BIG SECRET WEAPON (drum roll please)…

“I go to an audition coach who I highly recommend,” Lauren says. “I was a reader at an audition where they needed a girl to be topless and beautiful. They had a girl from Scores who was interested and there were celebrities in this web series. Then, in comes a girl who was pretty but not as glammed up as the girl from Scores and she was not willing to do nudity. But she gave such an amazing audition that the entire group was willing to re-write the script and let her do the scene in her underwear.”

“After that audition, I called her audition couch, Herman Chavez.”

“Herman has saved me for auditions. I used to get really nervous, especially when it is a life changing audition and he is awesome, supportive and breaks down an audition so you feel confident and don’t think about the choices. His work is called The Mental Game of Auditioning (http://thementalgameofauditioning.com/)

Based on Lauren Francesca’s success and her recent work with Herman Chavez, here are her…

Top Ten Tips & Tricks for Nailing Auditions

Tip on how to walk into the audition room:

You have to walk right in with confidence. You have to walk right in and to your spot. Casting Directors aren’t thinking about you, they are thinking about the hundreds of other people coming in. So be polite and just get right to the work.

Tricks for reading the mood of the room:

I booked the AT&T commercial because I knew who the casting directors where and did something relating to the demographic of the casting directors. The audition was improv and I picked something to speak about based on what I thought they would be interested in. But, mostly I don’t like to read the room. If the audition is for a sitcom or a film, I just focus on my work so I do not get stuck in my head.

Tip on what NOT to say at an audition:

I wouldn’t hit on the assistants. I have helped out casting directors before and guys have hit on me and the casting directors will get angry. Also, I saw a guy hug a casting director and they deleted his name afterwards.

Trick for using improv in auditions:

I studied improv at Upright Citizens Brigade and that really helped me. I also took Angela Mickey’s commercial class and that helped me realize the points you need to hit and what you come across.

Tip on how to make a unique impression without going too far:

Honestly, I really feel that is something I can’t give advice to because sometimes you can go too far in an audition and really wow people. I’d say be smart about taking chances. Don’t do things that would come across as green, but make strong choices. As an actor, you have to forget about the audition after it happens because you can drive yourself crazy. Just put yourself in the casting director’s shoes and imagine if you were calling people in all day and what you would want to see. Be smart about your choices and what choices can make you stand out.

Trick for seeming calmer then you are:

Focus on the work and be calm. Don’t look at it as an audition, but as a meeting. Think of it as a fun time. A lot of times people hear the word audition and panic but then they will not have a good audition. Go early and make sure you are totally calm. Get into the place of the character and be in the place of that person before you walk into the room so you are calm cool and collected. Because if you are a mess it will show. Which is easier said than done.

Tip on where to look (ie: left or right of cam, back wall):

This is another thing Herman taught me. It is good to ask where to look. Of course, if there is a reader, look at the reader. But if you are not sure, just ask, because if you do it wrong it can mess you up. But generally, I look to the right of the camera and if there is a second person in the scene, I pick a point in between the reader and the camera.

Tip on the 2^nd take:

Unless they give you feedback and tell you to change it, I would say to give them another version or do it the same. If they ask you to do it another time, they will generally tell you a way because they want to see if you can follow direction. Knowing how to take direction and put yourself into the new direction, is what they are looking for.

Trick for how to work the room and make them want to work with you:

Just be yourself. There is no way to make people want to work with you, but if you be yourself and smile and be present – that will make them want to work with you.