Why do actors fear auditions? In a word, uncertainty. When I first came to Vancouver and got pressed into teaching by my agent, I started an audition skills class. It didn't take me long to figure out that the problem with almost every one of the actors in the class wasn't with their auditioning skills, but it was the fact that they didn't have an acting process. They had no idea how to create a character, understand the nuances of relationship ,and most importantly, had no, or incomplete control, over their instrument. Which, for an actor, is their body, voice, and inner emotional life.

By far the posts on our MDS Instagram account showing auditions of actors for roles that made them famous have drawn the most attention and gone viral. Why? The one common denominator has been the emotional commitment of the actor involved. There have been many comments on the performances, but what is really being reacted to is the believability of it because there was real, true, human emotion underlying the performance.

In 98% of the actors I train, accessing their true emotional center is, and has been, the biggest block in their development. Acting; real, truthful acting, is nothing without emotion at its core. And if an actor can't access it in all its variations and facets, they will be limited in the roles they'll get. How does this impact auditioning? It's what separates the gifted from the mediocre. And if you don't have control of it, I believe, in your gut, you know it. I say this all the time to my kids, “If you have to ask, “How'd I do?” you're in trouble. When you learn how to control your instrument completely, voice, body, and especially you're inner emotional center, you'll be amazed at how much better your auditions will be. Imagine never having to ask “How'd I do?” again. And instead, knowing.