How to prepare a theatre audition: text, nerves, the day itself

An audition often lasts a few minutes and rests on little: a well-chosen piece, perfectly known, and a candidate who is present. Knowing your text cold is what frees you to act, because memory no longer takes up your attention.

Choose a piece you understand

Pick an excerpt whose situation you grasp and that you want to say, rather than a showpiece that is beyond you. Follow the brief: requested length, genre (classical, contemporary), number of pieces. Reread it several times before choosing, because it changes from one audition to another.

Learn it until you stop thinking about it

Nerves attack memory first. If your text barely holds in calm conditions, it will collapse in the room. Aim for a text you can say while walking, cooking or half asleep. To get there, work aloud, space your sessions and test yourself without the script.

Prepare several versions

You may be asked to play it again with another intention, faster, more intimate. If your text depends on a single intonation, you will be stranded. Practise it in several tones: a text you truly know survives changes.

Rehearse with the partner when there is one

If your excerpt is a scene, the cues matter as much as your own lines. Rehearse with them: a partner, or a voice that reads them, like Tirade, so you never work your part in a void.

Plan the day itself

• Arrive early and find your way around, so you do not add stress to the audition's own.
• Follow a routine: voice and body warm-up, a few slow breaths.
• Say your first line aloud before going in. A good start calms a lot.
• Do not apologise if you hesitate: simply pick up again.

If you go blank

Breathe, stay in the situation and resume from the last idea you are sure of. The panel judges your presence as much as your text, and a calm recovery is noticed in a good way. Our guide on forgetting your lines covers what to do.

Frequently asked questions