![Pantomime Audition Tips [i_322] Pantomime Audition Tips from Actor Hub](http://www.actorhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/pantotipsimage1.jpg)
Preparing for your first, second, third or even one hundreth pantomime audition is similar to any audition, though you have to turn up the volume and energy levels to the max! Here are Actor Hub’s top tips on getting prepared and nailing that panto audition.
Actor Hub Pantomime Hints and Tips!
Pantomime Audition Top Tips
-
Be prepared and be on time!As with all auditions, you must be on time. Some pantomime auditions may be solo performances, so make sure you are there, warmed up and ready for your time slot. Your audition may also be a group audition where they let people go after each stage of acting, singing or dancing. Don’t be that one actor who walks into an audition late, apologising to a group of fifty auditionees and the casting panel. Awkward!
-
Work with Kids!It’s a good idea to get some experience working with some kids if you haven’t done so already. Most actors have done Theatre In Education in schools or drama workshops so have picked up a great deal of experience interacting with kids. It’s a good idea to find out how modern children tick. Working at a kids birthday party or kids drama workshops can get you lots of experience in a short amount of time.
-
Get yourself in Panto Mode!Do you remember attending your first ever panto? Remember how you sat there in awe watching a grown man dressed up in colourful womens clothes and a mop cap. How you laughed at the bumbling cow that belonged to Jack make his way across the stage. The boos, the hisses, the cheers and the belly laughs all around you not to mention the sweets that got pelted at you from the colourful characters on stage. No other show offers such a variety of emotions and feeling as the pantomime. Take all that knowledge and the memories in with you.
-
Do your warm upNow is the time when your physical and vocal warm ups are essential. More often than not your audition will be held in a theatre or large rehearsal room. Remember that you will have to fill the auditorium with your character, banter, songs and personality. Project your dialogue, sing out that song and reach the back of the rear stalls with your audience address. You will need to be high energy if you are to perform in front of hundreds of shouting kids.
-
Be BrightAt pantomime auditions they will be looking for a performer who has a bright, vibrant personality with good level of energy. Panto auditions are not like the other theatrical castings. You have to play a complete different ball game here. It’s a bright and bouncy two hour Christmas extravaganza after all.
Don’t ever go into a pantomime audition with a negative attitude, no matter how bad your journey was. Those interviewing you don’t want to hear the troubles of your difficult journey or how difficult it has been to find work over the past year. Be bright, sparky, full of fun and be positive! -
Do your ResearchWith any casting you need to get yourself familiar with the panto story, characters, the director, the theatre and even the location. Find out about the previous pantomimes that they have produced. You will be surprised how much of this research can guide you with your own preparation. Some theatre companies may have their own pantomime style or even staging. Even the director might have a unique way of creating the Christmas show. Get yourself familiar with the fairy tale and it’s characters. Do you know your Ali Baba from your Mother Goose?
-
Be ConfidentAny actor will tell you that when they attended their first panto audition, it’s a nerve wracking experience. You may find yourself in a room full of seasoned panto actors comparing recent roles and gossiping about the panto world. If you are a newbie to pantoland, don’t let it put you off. Every pantomime actor started off as a newbie. Be confident. If you have been asked to attend, then THEY have every confidence in YOU. YOU have every right to get the part.
-
ENJOY it!It’s both a great and a unique experience to audition for and perform in a pantomime. The more you enjoy it and throw yourself into all the conventions of panto, the more it will be appreciated by the casting panel and audience. And no show is ever the same, each performance is different. There will be good audiences, bad audiences, quiet audiences and audiences that will raise the roof. It’s an experience you’ll never forget. And the audience will never forget their visit, especially as it’s the most fun time of the year. And who knows how many youngsters might be so enchanted by their first visit to the pantomime that they will become a theatregoer for life….or even an actor like you!
-
Audition SpeechIf the casting panel have not already sent you a piece to learn, it’s a good idea to get a good pantomime speech under your belt. And make sure it’s a good one. It should be no more than five minutes and be full of good traditional pantomime jokes and gags. Even though you may be performing to an empty auditorium, the casting panel should respond to your patter. Just imagine the theatre is full of hundreds of children loving your performance. And don’t rush the speech, just because you are not getting the responses. Give the panel time to take in your dialogue and especially your gags.
-
Double UpYou may have to double up or read with a casting assistant if you are auditioning for a double act. Get used to reading with another person well before your audition. That way you’ll get a feel of the flow of the dialogue. Also be prepared to be seen for another part. It’s happened to many actors and it’s quite common for the baddie actor to be asked to read for an ugly sister or dame. If they like you as an actor they may want you in their show or you may even get to play more than one part.
-
SongsYou will have to sing at a pantomime audition. All the panto actors sing. No doubt about that! You maybe asked to bring up to three songs, but it’s usually around two. Always choose an up tempo number. And make sure the songs are ones that you can sing, are GOOD at singing and within your range. Many actors use songs from Disney or from other kids films. These songs also have to show you off at your very best.
As part of the audition, you maybe even asked to “pitch,” that is, to reproduce a note or notes played on the keyboard or piano. If you are not a trained singer or not even sung before, why not invest in a singing lesson? You will be surprised how much one hour with a trained singing teacher can help.
If you are being seen as Prince Charming or Snow White a love ballad is also a good choice. Or if you are up for a dame, make sure your song is full of energy, bouncy and humourous!
Panto auditioners have seen so many ‘dull actors’ just stand there and sing a song. As with any audition a song needs to be ‘sold’. And you need to be sold at the same time. Convince the panel that you are the very best person for this job, you have all the skills they’re looking for and that you will be up for performing this role twice a day for upto eight weeks!
Also make sure that you bring the correct music along with you. If they have asked you to bring your own backing track or sheet music, make sure it’s good quality. It’s always a good idea to bring additional songs with you, in case they want you to sing something else. Always look and be prepared for anything at a panto audition. -
DancingNo pantomime would be a panto without the musical dance numbers. You may be asked to bring some suitable movement clothing so that they can put you through your paces on the dance floor. Don’t worry if you have no dance experience. The choreographer will just want to see whether you have good coordination and that you can pick up a routine. Any actor with two left feet can pick up a routine when it’s been taught and rehearsed well. If you are not asked to bring any movement clothing, pack some anyway.
-
There is no Fourth WallRemember that, unlike most conventional plays or performances, with pantomime there is no fourth wall. All the principal characters, especially the dame, the comic lead and the villian will have to address the audience directly and interact with them. So make sure your audition speech has an element of audience interaction within it. New actors to pantomime should always be aware on that first entrance on stage you will suddenly have a wall of sound greet you as you go out there and say, “Hello boys and girls.” It’s one big great wake up call, it#s also letting you know that you’ve got to be ready to entertain. And in panto, the audience are allowed to voice their opinions! Never ever try and fight them back, or even try and top them – especially if you’re playing a villain, you’ll never win. Never! That’s where the art of how to control an audience comes in to play. That skill can’t be taught as it can only be discovered and learned by experience.
-
Be Spontaneous!Although you will learn a script, the panto characters will most probably have to ad lib occaisionally during the panto run. No one ever knows what will happen when the show starts, especially if the audience is encouraged to interact with the actors. Always expect the unexpected. Prepare for faulty props, costumes and slip ups. The audience will notice such things and expect you to humourously deal with them rather than ignore them. The lead characters should all brush up on their ad libbing skills.
-
It’s hard workPlaying in pantomime doesn’t come easy to every actor and many fine actors say that they would never perform in pantomime. It’s a very demanding and intensive art and it requires a fit performer in more ways than one. You will be performing a two and a half hour show every day for up to eight weeks and some days you will be doing the matinees also. The weather is cold and there are dark wintry nights. You may also be away from your loved ones for Christmas. Mental, physical and vocal fitness is required not to mention the ability to plod along at close quarters with the same group of actors day in, day out.
-
Always learnIf you are new to panto, you may not get a lead part straight away. But whatever part you get, learn all you can from your time with the actors and crew. You can’t pick up some panto skills from just reading a book but you can by actually seeing it or doing it for real. The skills you pick up one year will get you further ahead the next and so on. And those seasoned actors love nothing better than imparting their panto knowledge upon younger actors. Learn all you can.
-
Read all about it!Nearly every panto actor has read ‘The Pantomime Book’ by Paul Harris. If you are entering into the world of panto for the first time, this book is a perfect introduction to the art. Paul Harris is one of the country’s top panto dames and has also written and produced many pantomimes over the years. Paul knows the panto business inside out and offers a comprehensive guide to panto’s history, it’s development and the gags. He introduces you to many panto routines and sketches which have been used in nearly every panto to date. It’s worth getting hold of a copy and reading it even before your first panto audition. Actor Hub wishes you the best of luck! Go out there and knock their socks off!