Why an actor doesn't get the part

Amy Jo Berman, former VP of casting for HBO had an article in a recent issue of Backstage listing "26 Reasons Why You Didn't Get the Part."  Her point: a lot of what goes into the decision to cast an actor in a certain role is simply out of your control.  So don't agonize over it.

In looking back over some of my own auditions recently I've come to the conclusion that there are a couple of other factors to consider that are in my control, and correcting them might get me moving a little faster along my career path.  Here's what I've been doing wrong:

1. I try to second-guess the casting director.  What I hear again and again is that casting directors are not casting for range, they're casting for type. But instead of going in with my A game - i.e. a clear understanding of my type and how to best present it - I go in and try to figure out what the casting director wants, which puts my auditions all over the place.  Only a handful of actors are true chameleons when they perform.  Everyone else is basically the same person in role after role, based on their height, weight, hair, voice, accent, etc. - the total package.  The casting agent already has a general idea of my type based on my headshot.  I just need to walk in and give him or her the rest of the package.

2. I over think my lines in the audition.  Every time I see a 6 year old turn in a moving performance on screen I ask myself what the heck I'm doing in drama class?  Drama instructors ask you to create backstories for your character, to make lists describing where you are, what your intent is, etc.  Some of that information is necessary sure: Who are you talking to? What is going on in the scene? Where is it taking place? When is it happening? Why are you saying the words?  But too much set up and you fill your head with a lot of information that is not on the page or in the moment.  You can also make yourself a little nuts.

The best acting advice I ever read came from the late actor Eli Wallach, who said that "the big secret in acting is listening to people."  (Which children do very well by the way.)  Acting coach Harold Guskin also tells actors not to over think their roles, to go with their gut and react to the lines on the page.  If the casting director asks you to take it in a different direction, then you can rethink it.  But let the characterization evolve out of your type.

I had an audition today at the Kennedy Center for a play that's going up there in late May. I reacted to my lines in the cold read and I listened and reacted to the reader.  I may not be what they want for "Mama" - they may want someone shorter, grayer, louder, sillier, who knows? - but I will tell you that I came away feeling much, much happier with how I did.