Expert: Sean Martinfield - 12/15/2003

Question
Hi,

I am new to acting and have a question regarding cold reading for auditions.  When going on an audition I always do very well with the improv stuff, but I never seem to do well on the cold reads.  I see the other actors can actually emote, play with blocking, and act pretty well while reading the script.  This seems impossible to me.  I am sitting there squinting at the lines, trying to read, and act them.  I always sound flat.  How do the others do all this while reading?  

I do feel that I have some talent at acting, but this is not apparent during cold reads. It is apparent when I have had some time to get familiar with the lines, and I am spending all my energy on acting ,and not reading.

Any tips you might have for me on how to be a good cold reader.

Thanks for being an available expert,
Don Foley

Answer
Don asks about cold readings

Great question!

The answer is simple.  It comes with practice.
Your job as an actor – as an independent agent representing himself to a potential employer whose theater needs to make money – is to go prepared.  Until you find yourself registered at a university with a fantastic Theatre Arts Department or, if you've already done that, are looking for a professional coach who will work with you on an individual basis, here are a few basic tips that will vastly improve your private practice session.

Let's start with the obvious.  Get your eyes checked!
It sounds like you might very well need to get a prescription (for contact lenses) that's intended for reading (or work station) purposes and not necessarily for the drive back home.  As a vocal coach who accompanies his clients on the piano, I promise you the optometrist understands my need to read lyrics and hundreds of tiny little notes on two or more staves of sheet music all day long – and not some freeway sign a half-mile away.  If it turns out that this is part of the problem, then you'll be amazed at the differences the next time you pick up a compactly-printed or poorly-typed script, i.e., being able to read ahead and to quickly absorb larger chunks of text.

Next – get into the habit of reading aloud every day.
Pick up anything and read it aloud – loud enough to be heard from one end of the house to the other and over into the neighbors' yards.  Then you'll start learning about what and where you need to channel more physical energy and emotional revelation come the next audition.  And for everybody, it's a different balance of elements.
You don't have to confine yourself to reading from scripts.  Read from the newspaper.  Understand the differences between reading something objective from the Associated Press, i.e., the voting conditions in Florida, to something subjective, i.e., a "letter to the Editor" from a disgruntled subscriber.  Clearly, you cannot sound the same even though it takes as much energy to reach all of us in the back row.

How many plays did you read this week?
How many within the last month?
The more plays you read – after all, this is where it starts – the more you will understand there are only so many stories to tell and a given round-up of characters to flesh them out.  The rest is only about who, what, where and why and – sometimes – if you fit the costume.  Again, this requires that you set aside a given number of hours everyday for both reading and practicing your vocal skills.

Most auditions require one or two monologues for the first go-by.  Most actors are in a call-back situation when they are reading from the script.  Unless it is a premiere of a new work and nobody but the producers have the script, more than likely you are auditioning for works that are currently in print or can be obtained at the library.  If nothing else, search the Internet for reviews and commentaries of previous productions and the actors' performances.  What else has the author written?  How does the melody of his speech carry over into this other work?  How is it different from or similar to that of another author?
Don't arrive uninformed.  Your more-studied competition will smell you out and dominate your space.

Don't be overly-impressed by the actor who flails around during a scene or seems to have a finished product in the character and could open next week.  For every director who relies upon such commodities to take over their show, there is another director who is either not impressed by such display or is viewing a typical pain-in-the-neck who begins arguing the moment the contract is dry.  Unless advised to incorporate as much animation as possible, your primary goals are: to be heard, to be understood, and to demonstrate an unmistakable sense of Self through the words at hand.  We need YOU to play this role, not some contrived version of You that even your best friend wouldn't recognize.

Bottom line, the dilemmas you are experiencing are easily solved.  If you're around, make an appointment and I'll prove it to you.  In the meantime, get yourself into centerfold condition, read aloud and do a variety of vocal warm-ups no less than an hour every day, and read at least two or three plays every week – choosing from those authors whose plays have been produced both On and Off-Broadway for at least the past ten years.

Best regards,
Sean Martinfield
http://www.geocities.com/broadwaybelters