Tips for Cold Readings (mostly) by Mike Doggett
TRAIN FOR IT
It’s something you’re going to spend a lot of time doing. For that reason, you need to prepare for it. But what preparation can you do? Practice! You can cold read a ton of things at home, pick up anything and practice cold reading it, the TV guide, a novel, a play, the Bible, it doesn’t matter, just practice picking up things and reading them aloud. It helps!
SLOW DOWN
People tend to garble when they’re nervous, they speak really, really fast and it damages their audition because no one can understand them. While the panel will expect you to be nervous, speaking too quickly will kill your articulation.
RAPID ANALYSIS
Make an analysis of the scene as quickly as you can. What does the character want the other character to do as a result of hearing the words? If you can answer this question, you will give yourself a tone for the scene based on context. If you have time to work out an Essential Action for your character in the scene, such as ‘To bring someone down a peg’ or ‘To get someone to crown me Queen’, or ‘To get what I deserve’ – you’ll have something strong to act in your scene, not just the words.
WARM UP
If you can, do a quick warm up before you start (obviously not in view of the panel). So before they bring you in, have a good stretch, do some spinal rolls, have a few good deep breaths through your mouth to slow down your heart beat and make yourself more comfortable. Warm your mouth up with a couple of tongue twisters to prevent yourself from getting tongue-tied in the audition.
LEARN TO READ SENTENCES NOT WORDS
One of the keys to cold reading is the ability to take in a sentence at a glance, and then while you are acting that line, you scan ahead to see the next line. This is not easy, so practice it as part of your regular old reading practice. While you speak and act one line, scan ahead to the next.
READ
Spend your time that you have with the script reading it over and over, don’t work out how you’re going to say the lines, just read it over and over until you’re comfortable with it, until you just have a feel for it and the words are easy with you. This will help you live in the moment when the audition comes.
RESEARCH
If you know what show they are doing, read the play in advance. … Actors who read the play and scene ahead of a cold reading audition will have a HUGE advantage over actors who do not and a leg up on getting the role of their choice. If you can’t put your hands on the script, use the Internet and read about the script and its author(s).
TRAIN FOR IT
It’s something you’re going to spend a lot of time doing. For that reason, you need to prepare for it. But what preparation can you do? Practice! You can cold read a ton of things at home, pick up anything and practice cold reading it, the TV guide, a novel, a play, the Bible, it doesn’t matter, just practice picking up things and reading them aloud. It helps!
SLOW DOWN
People tend to garble when they’re nervous, they speak really, really fast and it damages their audition because no one can understand them. While the panel will expect you to be nervous, speaking too quickly will kill your articulation.
RAPID ANALYSIS
Make an analysis of the scene as quickly as you can. What does the character want the other character to do as a result of hearing the words? If you can answer this question, you will give yourself a tone for the scene based on context. If you have time to work out an Essential Action for your character in the scene, such as ‘To bring someone down a peg’ or ‘To get someone to crown me Queen’, or ‘To get what I deserve’ – you’ll have something strong to act in your scene, not just the words.
WARM UP
If you can, do a quick warm up before you start (obviously not in view of the panel). So before they bring you in, have a good stretch, do some spinal rolls, have a few good deep breaths through your mouth to slow down your heart beat and make yourself more comfortable. Warm your mouth up with a couple of tongue twisters to prevent yourself from getting tongue-tied in the audition.
LEARN TO READ SENTENCES NOT WORDS
One of the keys to cold reading is the ability to take in a sentence at a glance, and then while you are acting that line, you scan ahead to see the next line. This is not easy, so practice it as part of your regular old reading practice. While you speak and act one line, scan ahead to the next.
READ
Spend your time that you have with the script reading it over and over, don’t work out how you’re going to say the lines, just read it over and over until you’re comfortable with it, until you just have a feel for it and the words are easy with you. This will help you live in the moment when the audition comes.
RESEARCH
If you know what show they are doing, read the play in advance. … Actors who read the play and scene ahead of a cold reading audition will have a HUGE advantage over actors who do not and a leg up on getting the role of their choice. If you can’t put your hands on the script, use the Internet and read about the script and its author(s).