What makes these few minutes a necessary human encounter?
Audition, by Michael Shurtleff.
What the book addresses
Shurtleff organizes preparation around twelve guideposts, including relationship, conflict, the moment before, humor, opposites, discoveries, importance, events, place and mystery. His casting experience supplies the book's professional context.
How to read it
Use the guideposts as routes into the same scene, rather than twelve effects to insert. Relationship and stakes can make a short audition more specific; humor and opposites can prevent a single emotional color from flattening it. Follow present submission instructions independently of period-specific business descriptions in the book.
An original rehearsal investigation
Prepare a short audition scene and name what happened just before it begins. Identify why this particular person matters and what could change now. Run the scene, then vary one plausible part of that preparation. Ask whether the change clarified the relationship or merely added activity.
Connections and distinctions
Compare Audition with Actions for a focused vocabulary of attempts and with contemporary self-tape guidance for recording requirements. Jason Bennett's Phase 3 business work includes auditions and self-tapes, while the acting still depends on Phase 2 craft. A guidepost becomes useful through the particular role rather than a guarantee of being cast.
This is an original JBAS reading guide with an attributed overview and study questions. Read the complete book for the author's developed argument and exercise instructions.
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