Casting is a very exciting process for each participant, and in order to be ready for unexpected tasks, it is best to prepare so as not to be nervous once again. Following these tips, you will be able to show yourself and your acting talents from the best side.
Tell us about yourself
When the jury members are watching you, they will most likely ask you to tell a little about yourself. To do this, prepare a little story about you at home. Who are you, what do you do, and be sure to tell us about any interesting abilities and skills that set you apart from others. Even if you do not do anything special and do not have any special abilities, dig into your memory and there will definitely be an unexpected fact that will be only about you.
The most revealing task is to tell a poem or a prose monologue
This is your homework, from which you can understand how much time you have spent preparing for the casting. You need to choose a work or an excerpt from it, but approach it responsibly. If you take a poem just from the school curriculum, which does not cause you any feelings and emotions, which does not hurt you in any way, then this is a bad choice and, most likely, you will not be able to show your talents to the fullest.
It is necessary to choose a work so that, first of all, you are emotionally affected by the story that is described there. Read the work, maybe even several times, understand what it is about, what the author wanted to tell you about.
- Ask yourself questions: why did the author write these words and not others, what did he want to convey to the reader and listener, why are you telling this particular story and what do you want to convey to the listener with this work. Having answered these questions, you can proceed to a more detailed study of the work;
- Mark only one main word in each line of a poem or in each phrase of prose, remember, every word cannot be the main one, and try to read by highlighting only one word in each line or phrase;
- Do not be afraid to make pauses, but only if they are filled with meaning, even if there is a pause, it should not be a failure, so try not to drop the intonation before it. There is a certain rhythm in the poem, please don't break it;
- When you have sorted out the technical part, start working on the acting component. Think about the nature of the work, what emotions should be broadcast to the listener, find moments in your passage that change the mood in other directions, look for suitable shades of emotions and intonation;
- Next, start practicing the speech side of the work. Maybe this is one of the difficult and important aspects of the preparation of the work.
The most important thing is to tell it clearly and distinctly so that every word can be heard, if the listener has to listen to every word, he will quickly get tired and stop understanding what the poem or prose is about.Work on individual words or sounds so that they work out for you and you show your best side.
Train your speech
Clear, clean speech is one of the keys to success, so take the proper time to work on it. Don't talk fast, speak steadily, don't "chew" the sounds, they should come out of you clearly and clearly.
First you need to warm up your lips and tongue:
- Chew your tongue, brush it against your teeth, try to turn it in different directions, reach your chin and nose with the tip of your tongue, run your tongue along the inner surface of your lips with an effort 10 times in one direction and the other;
- Brush your lips against your teeth, make a kiss 10 times and a wide smile 10 times, fold your lips into a kiss and try to make a circle 10 times in one direction and also in the other direction, without moving your lower jaw, for convenience, you can hold it;
- Force yourself to yawn properly with sound «A»;
- Next, select the tongue twisters for your "problematic" sounds that you want to work out. For example:
«Carl stole the corals from Clara, and Clara stole the clarinet from Carl»
«There is grass in the yard, firewood on the grass. One firewood, two firewood, three firewood. Firewood along the yard, firewood in the width of the yard, above the yard firewood, under the yard firewood, will not accommodate the yard of firewood. »
«Senka is taking Sanka and Sonka on a sled. Sledge skok, Senka off his feet, Sanka in the side, Sonka in the forehead, everything in a snowdrift».
«Cook Peter and cook Paul, Peter peck, and Paul soared, Paul soared, Peter peck, cook Peter and cook Paul.»
«On the shoals, we lazily caught burbot, and we exchanged burbot for tench for you, didn't you sweetly beg me for love and beckoned me into the fogs of the estuary».
Remember: tongue twisters it is necessary to speak not quickly, but clearly!!! If at a slow pace you can clearly and distinctly pronounce the whole tongue twister, start increasing the pace.
Work on your acting skills
- Tell a joke or some funny story so that it is funny not only to you, but also to the listener. There is an intrigue in every joke, think about how to tell it so that the listener laughs at the end. Practice at home on your parents and friends.
- Train your emotions. Try to do some simple physical action with a certain emotion. For example, try to crumple a piece of paper with anger and throw it on the floor, or imagine that you are combing your hair or preening in front of a mirror and have fallen in love with someone. Be sure to remember how you feel, it will help you at the casting if you are given some similar task. Remember the brightest moments from your life when you are very happy, very upset, very afraid or very surprised. Emotions should be bright. You can train them at home yourself.
- Force yourself to laugh harshly, and then immediately cry harshly, and then laugh harshly again.
- Tell a poem from someone else's face. For example, how would a poem be told by a president, a school teacher, an envious person, an evil wizard, in general, any image that you come up with. Try to change the images throughout one poem.
- Pay attention to the behavior of your body. Straighten your back, breathe calmly, try not to worry. Pay attention to what your hands and feet are doing. You should stand on two legs, your hands should be calm and not make any unnecessary movements. Try to do this exercise: stand on two legs, at one moment strain all the muscles of the body: legs, hips, stomach, arms, shoulders, neck, head and face muscles. Count to 5, on the count of five, strain everything-everything strongly and relax. Feel the freedom of the muscles and start telling a poem.
Following these tips, you will be able to prepare well for the casting and feel free and confident. Good luck to you!