Archive for Acting scripts

Cold Reading – revisited

{ March 30, 2008 @ 12:54 am } · { Acting articles, Acting scripts }
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haha… check it out – acting tips from… acting tips

Cold reading, it’s enough to make you scream.

You walk into an audition and get handed a few pages and 10 minutes to read them.

Calm down. Read it through. Think about it. What’s this scene about ? Who are the characters ? What kind of character are you ? Try and get a bit of a feel who you are. Don’t, for heavens sake, try and learn the lines – if you feel compelled to do this, only commit your opening and closing lines to memory

Don’t wave your script around like a prop, the less attention drawn to it, the better. Hold your script about chest level. If it’s too low you have to keep lifting it up to read it, and if it’s too high no one can see your face. Perish the thought !

Don’t sneak a look at your next line while the other character is speaking. Listen. This is just as important as speaking your own lines. When it’s your turn to respond look at your script and memorise the first sentence, If you have more lines than you can manage in one glance, go ahead and repeat the process. Don’t stick your face in the script!

Keep in mind that you’re playing a scene normally and merely taking short pauses to read your lines. This way you stay in character even while you’re reading.

Practice cold reading at home, it’s easy. Got a newspaper handy ? Pick it up and read the headlines. Now memorise them. Look up and speak them. Look down at the first paragraph, memorise the first two sentences. Look up and speak them.

You just completed a cold reading!

How to handle a cold reading explained

{ March 30, 2008 @ 12:51 am } · { Acting articles, Acting scripts }
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Cold readings are part of the job and always expect one when looking for acting work. Do not expect to be given 24 hours to prepare to read for a job. Many times when you show up at the acting audition, a script will be handed to you to read without having time to study, practice or memorize it.

That is the point of a cold read, they want to see how you handle the script and your performance without prior preparation.  Seasoned actors know very well how to handle a cold read so read on and get some acting advice for a script cold read.

In this article we’re going to discuss the very difficult art of cold reading a script you have never seen for a part. Not as easy as you think.

In regular theater an actor may prepare a monologue that he has spent many hours memorizing, for a part that he will also perform at every audition. He’s spent a lot of time on this and has perfected his art and delivery. When going for an audition he is quite comfortable with his prepared lines. However, in a film or commercial audition the actor is expected to perform a script given to him that he has never seen before. This is when the art of cold reading is very important and can be a life saver.

The technical definition of cold reading is the auditioning for a part with a script in hand, one the actor has never seen. The profession says that the actor is supposed to be given the script at least 24 hours before the audition but all too often this just doesn’t happen. This is why cold reading is so important to actors who work in film or commercials.

So, how do you learn to cold read? Brute force. Pick up a script, read the first line, commit it to memory and then say the line without looking at the script. You’ve just done your first cold reading. At first you may only be able to memorize a few words at a time, but with a little practice you’ll soon be memorizing several lines at a time. Being an actor is kind of like being an athlete. The more you work at it the better you’ll get. After you feel comfortable doing cold reading by yourself try it with another actor. This is when it gets fun.

When you’re at your audition it’s very tempting to try to sneak a peak at your next line while the other actor is doing his lines. Don’t do this. How you listen to your fellow actor is just as important as speaking your lines. Wait until it’s time for you to respond and then look at your next line. Memorize as much of your line as you can in a few seconds. Then make eye contact with your partner and say your next line.

If you’ve got more to memorize than you can with just a glance, repeat the process until you have the line memorized. But keep your face out of your script. Never read your lines while looking at your script. This is a sure way to blow the audition. Make sure you stay in character while reading your lines.

When you’re actually at your audition even if you don’t get the script until you get there, try to read the script in its entirety at once and remember as much of it as you can. This way you’ll at least have some idea what the scene is about, who the characters are and how the conversation should go. If you have more time try to memorize the first and last lines. This will give you a strong start and finish, which is what the person auditioning you will remember the most.

When holding your script, hold with your left hand if right handed and at chest level. Never have your head buried in the script. Don’t wave the script around like it is a prop. Make believe it is just a natural extension of your body. The less attention you draw to the script itself the better.

A cold reading goes much slower and feels a lot more awkward than a normal reading. This is normal and there is no need to worry about it. The casting director knows this is the first time you’ve seen the script. He is more interested in what kind of personality you have as the character.

Sadly, you may be the greatest actor in the world, but without being able to cold read well you aren’t going to get many parts as you’ll never get past the first audition. So include cold reading in your training. You’ll find you’ll get more parts because of it.

Duet acting scripts? can’t find one? write your own

{ March 21, 2008 @ 6:40 pm } · { Acting scripts }
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A do it yourself script… hmmm? This article does contain plenty of for example paragraphs.

Duet acting scripts are difficult to find on the Internet. If you’ve done any poking around at all in search of one, you already know this. But there is an alternative. More important, it’s an alternative that will not only help hone your acting skills, but also aid you in understanding your characters even better.

The solution?

Write your own duet acting scripts.

I know. I know. Writing’s scary. But this doesn’t need to be a painful process or even a particularly difficult one. In fact, it can and should contribute to your inventory of acting skills by forcing you to become more in touch with and more observant of the world of characters already all around you. Especially those who might otherwise go unnoticed.

And that’s the key to writing your own duet acting scripts: observation. The better you are at observing, the easier the writing is going to be.

Ready to get started?

The easiest, most direct path to writing your own scripts is to start a swipe file. If you aren’t familiar with a swipe file, this is a term that’s often used in marketing and copywriting circles. A good copywriter will save ads, brochures, and mailers that he comes across so he can learn from them and refer back to them when he’s developing his own ad campaigns. Now, he doesn’t just copy this material and present it as his own. He simply draws upon it for inspiration and guidance.

This is what you should be doing, too. You won’t be looking at ads, of course, but you will be carefully observing the interactions of the people around you and recording your observations.

For example, you’re in the checkout lane at the store, picking up a few groceries, and the checker is chatting with the bagger. They’re talking about the date the checker went on the night before and how it was a dud. That’s a duet script.

For example, you take your dog into the veterinary office for his annual series of shots and there are two other dog owners in the waiting room. One has a dog with a broken leg that’s healing. The other has a puppy that’s tugging on the chain, full of energy, wanting to play with the healing dog. Gradually, you see the tension growing between the two dog owners until it suddenly spills over into a conversation about responsible dog ownership. That’s a duet script.

… continue reading this entry.

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