Jack Plotnick has spent the last decade as a working actor in Los Angeles. In film, he has appeared opposite Ben Stiller in MEET THE FOCKERS, Ian McKellen in GODS AND MONSTERS, Renee Zelwegger in DOWN WITH LOVE, and Sally Field in SAY IT ISN’T SO. Jack was a series regular and supervising producer on the Lifetime Television comedy LOVESPRING INTERNATIONAL (12 episodes on the air), which he also occasionally directed. He was also a regular on the Comedy Central cartoon series DRAWN TOGETHER and the FOX TV show ACTION. Other television includes recurring roles on RENO 911, JOAN OF ARCADIA, ELLEN and RUDE AWAKENINGS and has guest-stars on HOUSE, EASTWICK, THE MENTALIST, among others. Jack executive produced and starred in the feature film GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS, released theatrically by IFC Films, and now on video by MGM. Along with his two co-stars, he won 2003’s BEST ACTOR AWARDS from LA’s OUTFEST Film Festival and the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival.

The following is a chapter from his free ebook New Thoughts for Actors. He teaches regular workshops in Los Angeles (and periodically in New York) and coaches privately. Email info@jackplotnick.com to get on the mailing list for his weekly $20 drop-in cold reading workshops and monthly $5 Lecture for Charity.

To rehearse, or not to rehearse?

That is the question.

I recently had a new student come to my workshop in which we do “cold readings” (I give each actor about 15 minutes to study a scene, and then they perform it). While performing his scene, he appeared to be stiff and self-conscious. Afterwards, he expressed that he was unhappy with his experience.  He felt that, because he was accustomed to doing theater, he “needed” more time to rehearse a scene before performing it.

That same night, many of the other actors, who have been regularly coming to my workshop, had wonderful experiences performing their scenes. So while it was true for him that he needed more time, it wasn’t true for the other actors.

I explained to him-

“If you believe that you need lots of time to rehearse a scene in order to perform it, then that will be your reality until you change your mind about it.”

That actor has the power to change the way he thinks about preparing for an audition or performance.  And it is in his best interest to do so! You see, there will be occasions when he doesn’t have much time to prepare for an audition, either because it was a last minute appointment, or he’s just too busy.

And, as far as performances go, in filmed projects there is almost never any rehearsal.  I know that sounds crazy, but there are good reasons-

1.   It is so expensive to shoot a film that, as the cliché goes, “Time is money”.

2.   In filmed projects, the camera must capture spontaneity or “unplanned behavior”, so most directors choose to not fully rehearse the scene so as to keep it “fresh.”

So, here’s an actor who wants to “make it” in a business where there is often very little time to prepare for anything.  Therefore, you can see how it is in his best interest to let go of his old way of seeing things and embrace a reality wherein he needs very little time to prepare or rehearse.

Okay, so we’ve established that it does make practical sense to create a reality wherein you can trust yourself to be able to perform without much preparation…

But you’re probably thinking-

“If I have the time, then why would I choose to not spend lots of it preparing and rehearsing for my audition?”

Why indeed?

Consider the following:

When I first moved to Los Angeles, I would wear myself out working on (and worrying about!) auditions. I picked up this way of doing things in college, where I was taught that there are countless ways in which an actor can, and should, prepare for a role.

I don’t fault my teachers for this; it’s just part of an actor’s education. However I used it as a weapon against myself by believing that I, and my instincts, could never be enough.

(A sidenote:  I’m happy to say that my college wasn’t nearly as result-oriented as some of the highly-paid acting coaches I’ve heard about from their wounded students.  These coaches are not interested in empowering actors, but instead they instill fear and doubt. If you’ve had a coach that made you feel that acting was something joyless and difficult, please remember that teachers in general must convince you that they have something to teach or how else can they continue taking your money!)

So, like many actors, I would spend extensive amounts of time planning how I would do the scene, wracking my brain for the answer as to how it should be performed.  I would somberly read the entire script, demand that I know my lines word-for-word, and desperately try to plan the perfect performance.  I had a tremendous need to control the scene and “get it right”.

All that planning and rehearsing would kick me into “student/soldier” mode.  The whole process felt like schoolwork or military orders, and it really took the fun out of auditioning.

All the work I did was joyless because it came from a place of fear.

Fear that I wouldn’t do well in the audition unless I worked very hard.

Fear that I would fail.

And what I began to discover was that most of the jobs I tended to book were the ones in which I had the least amount of time to prepare!

For one job I booked, the casting director had given me the sides just moments before my audition, and I was only able to read through the scene once before going in!  On that particular day, I didn’t have time to plan out my choices ahead of time, so I was forced to “go for it” with a balls to the wall attitude.  I wasn’t afraid of making “mistakes” because no one expected it to be “perfect”.  Instead of shrinking back and doubting myself because of my lack of preparation, I had a great time playing in the world of the scene.

I was able to approach the scene that way because I had been given permission to.  Everyone watching my audition knew that I had only had a few minutes with the material, so I was “off the hook” for any so-called “mistakes” I might make.

After I booked that job, I finally got it:

It wasn’t how much time I spent preparing my audition.

It was about me releasing my control, and playing in the moment!

I knew that I needed to find a way to give myself that “permission” to play in a fearless and joyful way.

All this made me realize that the way I had been preparing for auditions was unhealthy.

You see, as I would memorize and rehearse, I would be inadvertently planning exactly how I was going to perform the piece, which took out all the spontaneity.

And it was those joyful moments of spontaneous behavior that the casting people seemed to be responding to so favorably!

So, for some time, I completely stopped working on audition scenes all together.  But I only did this in order to break myself of my bad habits, for, in the end, my goal was to discover how I could spend time preparing for auditions in a healthy way.

So how much preparation should an actor do for an audition?

I believe there is no single answer to that question.  Each actor must find what works best for himself.

Once in awhile an actor at my workshop will misunderstand what I teach and think that I am saying to “not work on the scene”.  Consequently, he will only read through the scene once before performing it, and when I ask why, he’ll say, “I didn’t want to control the scene.”

Let me clarify that “releasing your control on the scene” only refers to the performance of it.

I liken the audition process to “jumping off a diving board”.

It’s as if all your preparation is the act of walking up and onto the diving board.

But, when the scene begins, you just jump!

Personally, I am a big believer in preparing for auditions.

However, I believe actors should not be concerned with the result of the scene, but only with “comprehension and memorization”.

In my opinion an actor should ONLY spend the amount of time he requires in order to–

·      comprehend the scene and its circumstances.

·      memorize the scene enough so that he is able to be off the page for the most part.

And that’s it!

The exact result of the scene should be something which the actor discovers in the actual performance of it!

Why is scene comprehension important?

How can you play in the world of the scene without having absorbed all of its circumstances?

There is a healthy way to study the scene for comprehension, wherein you are only interested in absorbing the scene’s circumstances without being concerned about the result of the scene.

Why is line memorization important?

Memorizing your lines allows you to be up, off the page, and play in your audition.

However, I feel that actors must make sure to distinguish between “memorizing the lines” and “memorizing the performance”.

Many actors make the mistake of planning how they will say the lines as they memorize.

You mustn’t build your performance into the line memorization.

(For more about memorizing lines in a healthy way, check chapters  SEE THE LINES AS IDEAS and ISSUES WITH LINES in New Thoughts for Actors.)

In the end, prepare as much as you care to.

But when you’re done, you’re done.

Don’t question whether you’ve prepared enough.  You have.

What’s so bad about planning your performance?

Here’s what well-known British actor, Rupert Graves, has to say on the subject:

“I used to concentrate and over prepare.  I find all that makes me feel wooden.  So I just try to be loose and say what you say and think as you’re thinking on the moment as much as I can.”

– Rupert Graves

I know actors who will rehearse a scene full out in front of a mirror before an audition!

I’m not saying this can’t work for someone, but how is that fun for their inner child and artist, who just wants to play and experience a new life?

And talk about result-oriented!  By doing that they are putting all the emphasis on the result and none on the journey.

Besides, what is this “answer” to the scene that they are looking for anyway?

There is no 100% correct way to do a scene.

It should look different on you every time you do it.

And it should look different on every actor who does it.

Therefore, there are thousands of ways a scene could look!

Consider this:

When an actor strives to “figure out” the correct way for a scene to look, he is putting himself into a “catch-22” situation.

On the one hand, he is trying to create the “correct” performance…

…and on the other hand he has no idea what the “correct” way to do the scene is!

He is stuck in a no-win situation and all it does is create fear, frustration, and heartache in the actor.

That’s why I say the affirmation-

“I release and destroy my need to control this scene.  I know I’m not strong enough to control it, and therefore ask my higher power to lovingly guide me though it.”

I believe that my job is simply to understand or “comprehend” the scene, so that I may be able to discover the result of it in the moment of performance; in the room and in front of the casting director.

Drew Barrymore once said in an interview-

“All I want to do is surprise myself.”

I feel that should be every actor’s motto when approaching an audition or performance!

When you over-rehearse or “plan” a scene it’s like you are laying down the tracks for a roller coaster ride you will be taking later.

What’s the fun part about going on a ride you built yourself?

It’s not exciting when you know exactly what the ride will do-

“Ho-hum.  Now the ride will go left, and now it will go right.  And here comes a little hill.”

Boring.

Playing a scene should be as exciting as going on a roller coaster ride you’ve never been on before-

You think it’s going one way, and WHAM; you’re shooting down a hill! Whee!

Just like life!

A lot of actors prepare for an audition as though they are creating a finished product that they will then present to the casting person at a later time.

For them, it’s not much different than:

·      Writing a book report in high school and handing it in to the teacher.

·      Building a model car, and giving it to someone all wrapped up with a little bow.

The actor seems to be saying to the casting director-

“Here you go, here’s my model car.  Is it the prettiest, the best color, the most ‘correct’?  …If so, I get the job, right?!”

But you see, when you deliver an audition in this way, it’s as if you are handing them a “dead gift”.

The scene must be ALIVE!

An audience’s experience can only be your experience.  Therefore, if you’re not having fun (excited) then they won’t be either. Instead, I want you to see an audition as, for instance, the act of building the model car right in front of the casting person. It’s as if you enter the room and throw some wood on the table and cheerfully say, “I’m going to build a model car in front of you, and however it turns out it was meant to turn out.” The casting person should be a witness to your joyful discovery of every facet of the process of building the model car.

You’re not turning in a book report.  You’re playing in front of them.

They don’t want you to hand them a dead idea of a scene in a little gift-wrapped package.

They want to witness you discovering the scene in the moment right in front of them.

As if you’ve never done it before.

As if you have no idea what is coming up next.

JUST LIKE LIFE.

Remember the terrific quote of Christopher Reeve’s-

“…A film is only as good as a collection of…the best lucky accidents that they happen to catch on film.”

The casting director is looking for actors who allow things to happen spontaneously in their audition.

When you plan how you will perform your audition, it creates a check-list of things you must do in the audition room.

How fun is it to have to complete a check-list?

When you drive home from an audition, I don’t want you to be going over a laundry list of things you were supposed to have accomplished in the room; anxiously thinking-

“Okay, I did what I planned to do with the first line.  CheckP.  Line 2, che-e-eckP.  Line 3…”

-and so on, and so on, and so on.

Miserable.

On the contrary, I want you to drive home as though you just did something crazy and unplanned… like had sex in the park!

I want you to be laughing to yourself, thinking-

“Oh my god, I didn’t expect that to happen!  …Or that!  And sure, I dropped the script in one moment and couldn’t find my place, but when I did, it brought up all that emotion that I wasn’t expecting which made me do that thing that made everyone in the room laugh (or cry)!”

Isn’t that a more joyful way to leave an audition?!

When you get a script, don’t immediately try to figure out how an audience expects to hear it.

Just get into the head of your character, and the way it comes out will be correct in that moment.  There are a many different ways it could sound, and they would all be correct depending on your whim of the moment.

Christopher Walken says that when he gets a script, he crosses out all the punctuation; commas, periods, etc.  He knows that people don’t think so neatly.  They may put a pause in the middle of a sentence in order to find the right word, or they may rush right from one sentence to the next, as their ideas tumble on top of each other.

Remember:

When you have chosen a scene to do, it already exists in the air around you, and it’s just waiting for an honest vessel to funnel through.

The scene can’t funnel through a vessel that has made a bunch of pre-planned choices which are deemed to be “correct”.

There is a multitude of ways it could look, depending on whose vessel it is being channeled through, and there are thousands of ways it could look when it is being channeled through you.  Every time it may be slightly different, depending upon your mood, and thoughts in the moment.

You don’t make a scene happen; instead you jump in and allow it to happen.

Don’t make the mistake of approaching the audition as if you are going to show the casting director how you think the scene will look in the finished film.

All that will do is kick up your need to:

·      Get it right

·      Keep it moving

·      Say all the words correctly

·      Make it look polished

The casting director is interested in the “water you’re swimming in,” not in the final product you deliver. He knows that any “mistakes” can be fixed in editing.  He is looking for an actor who wants things to happen spontaneously.

Is there ever a place for “planning”?

Yes!

There are times, especially when auditioning for a comedy, that I feel it can be healthy for an actor to envision in his mind how a part of the scene might look.

I strongly believe that some amount of “controlling” is okay in comedies, and especially sitcoms!

However, I, personally, never “rehearse” an audition scene.

The reason being that once I’ve enacted the scene “full out” then I experience the scene as “quantified” (mapped out, measured and formulated).  After which, it can be difficult to let go of my image of the scene as happening in that way.

I don’t want to go into an audition with the goal to “re-create” something I deemed appropriate at an earlier time.  If I do that, I will be handing them the “idea” of a scene; something dead.  I want the scene to be “alive” and “happening” in front of them.

I much prefer imagining the scene in my head (versus doing it “full out”) because at least that way I haven’t truly experienced it yet.  Therefore it will be easier in the audition to experience the scene as if it’s happening for the first time.

When it comes to preparing for something, an “inner experience” can be just as helpful as an outer one.

If you are deciding whether you want to rehearse the scene “full-out”, consider the following:

There was a study done once wherein two groups of school children were asked to see how many basketballs they could shoot through a hoop.  Each group was given some time to prepare.

The first group spent the time practicing shooting the baskets.

The second group spent the time sitting quietly and envisioning themselves shooting baskets.  They visualized themselves shooting the ball through the hoop.

When it came time to actually shoot the baskets both teams did equally well.

So, you see, you don’t necessarily need to physically rehearse a choice you have planned for your audition.  All of your preparation could be done internally.

And the best part is that you will not have to act like you have never done the scene before.  You haven’t!  Just like the character, this is the first time it is happening for you.

It’s a freebie moment of real human behavior.

That is a gift you can give yourself.

For a long time I had a hard and fast rule of never speaking the lines out loud until I was performing my audition.

The idea being that the character has never said these words out loud before so why should I?

Therefore, by waiting until the performance to speak the lines out loud I was given a freebie moment of real human behavior – the character had never spoken the lines and neither had I.  This really guaranteed that I wouldn’t control my line readings.

Now I am able to say the lines quietly to myself while memorizing, because my vulture understands that I am not interested in how they will sound later, but only in absorbing the “ideas” of the lines.

If an actor wants to get “coached” on an audition, is that considered rehearsing in an “unhealthy” way?

It just depends on how you approach it.

Getting a coaching on an audition is a fine idea if you want one.

However, make sure that it doesn’t put you into a controlling head-space.

I feel the best thing a coach can do for an actor is:

·      Help her to clarify the circumstances.

·      Give her permission to trust herself and play!

When people come to me to work on an audition, what I don’t do is walk them through the scene; giving notes on how to approach each line.  Remember there is no “correct” way for a scene to look.

You could convince yourself that there is some specific result that a writer is going for when he writes the scene, and it’s up to you figure that out and make it happen.  But I feel that if you don’t block it with your controlling choices then it will all happen automatically, as long as you understand the circumstances of the scene.

What I do in a coaching is to help the actor to get “out of the way” of the scene.  Get them to stop “Acting” with a capital “A”.  Remind the actor how it is that they really think and communicate.

If I gave a bunch of controlling, result-oriented notes, it would just kick in their “student/soldier”, and they’d feel compelled to show me how well they can do what I’ve asked for.

Instead, I want to make sure they understand what is literally happening in the scene, so they can have fun, selfishly playing in the world of the scene.

I want to empower the actor and nurture her authentic self.

I never end a coaching saying, “Let’s do it one more time to really cement these choices.”  And then, after they do, say, “That’s it!  Freeze it!  Do it just like that at the audition!”

Instead, when I feel they are ready, I will say-

“Okay, let’s not do it again.  I feel you are ready.  You understand the scene.  Go have fun.”

How do you prepare?

I thought it might be helpful to describe exactly what I do to prepare for an audition.

Let’s pretend I receive materials for an audition which I’ll have the following day…

In a nutshell:

I read the scene once.

I memorize the lines as ideas, and only enough so that I feel I can be off the page for the most part.

The next day, I arrive early enough to have time to read through the scene several times for comprehension of the circumstances and situation.

Then I perform the audition as if it were an improv about those circumstances.

And now, the long version:

Between you and me, my stomach always sinks for a moment when I find out I have an audition.

I think, “Oh god, now I’ve got to memorize this, and deal with my demons.”

I am briefly unhappy that I have to “work on/memorize” the sides, and I am more unhappy that I have to face the things my vulture will say to me in the process; things like-

“I’ve got to play something I’m not right for.  How can I pretend I am right for it?  How can I make this better than everyone else?”

I acknowledge these thoughts, but they don’t bother me because I know they’re an illusion; anything fear-based is.

I immediately find solace in the following thoughts:

·      I only have do the amount of work that I desire to do.

·      I will say the affirmations that will release the anxious thoughts that my vulture is spewing.

·      I remind myself that I do not need to control the audition.

I read the scene once or twice.

Once I’ve done that, I “get it”; I understand the scene enough for now.

If I am sent the entire script, I may read a part of it as well, but only if I feel the information therein affects my scene.  For instance, if there are facts about my character in other parts of the script that I should know, or if the script is “stylized” and I need to understand the “world” of the script.

I’d say I read the script only about 10% of the time and usually only part of it.  Once you read the first half of a script, you “get it”.

My feeling is that once I know that they are seriously considering me, then I will read the entire script.  Until then, I have other things in my life that take precedence.

Then, I memorize my lines enough so that I will be able to be up off the page as much as I want to be.

I like to do this by slowly writing out my lines on a separate piece of paper, putting all my focus on the idea of the line.

As I am writing them, and when I am done, I will keep attempting to say all my lines in a row.

This usually takes around 20 minutes, depending how long the scene is.  After this, I am pretty well memorized.

I only write out my lines because that’s all I need for my audition.

I don’t put any focus on what the other character’s lines are.  I want to really listen to and re-discover their lines in the performance.

Some actors feel they should know their “cue” to speak, but why should I worry about my “cue”?

When the reader stops talking – it’s my turn to speak!

I keep the piece of paper that has my lines on it in my pocket, just in case I want to go over them again while I’m out and about.

For the average audition I won’t begin to memorize any sooner than two days before the audition; trusting that my short-term memory is enough for an audition.

Your short-term memory is very powerful, and you can learn many lines quickly and probably not even be able recall them in a few days.

At this point I have still not made any choices concerning the performance.

This is because I know that anything I come up with the night before will be coming from a glum and fearful place.

How creatively joyful can you be while sitting in your apartment, with the weight of the audition on your shoulders?

Instead, I trust that inspiration will come to me once I have arrived at the audition, at which time my heart will be beating fast with excitement, which will plug me into my higher power.

I go to bed and trust that my unconscious will work on the scene in my sleep.

The next day, I may continue to memorize as much as I care to.

I choose an appropriate audition outfit.

I think this is very important, as your clothes affect how you behave and can do quite a bit of the “acting” for you.

I make sure to never appear to be wearing a “costume”.

There is a line you don’t want to cross between a selfish outfit and a “needy costume”.

If you’re unsure of where that line is, simply ask yourself-

“Am I wearing this for me (selfish) or for them (needy).” *For more on this see Jack’s previous post on The Selfish Actor.

For example:

If you are auditioning to play a “house painter”, it might make sense to wear overalls…but there is no need to have paint wiped on your face!

The “overalls” you are doing for yourself, but the “paint” you are doing for them.

Remember, everyone wants to eat at the lunch table with the kid who doesn’t need anyone to sit with him.

I make sure to arrive at the audition at least 15-20 minutes early so I have time to look at/study the sides.

Invariably, I will see some actors running their lines quietly, rehearsing the “performance” which they will give in the room.  When I see them I remind myself that this is just a last ditch effort to control the scene.  I say to myself, “There but for the grace of God go I.  Poor things, they’re going down the wrong road.”

I simply read the scene.  It is during this time that I will put all my focus on what is literally happening in the scene.

I’m not looking for some deep, hidden, subtextual meaning; but instead just the shallow actuality of it.  This is how I can discover all the circumstances.

This can be more difficult than it sounds, because many actor’s visions of the text are clouded by fearful concerns.

The average fear-based actor reads a scene, and wonders-

·      Who would be better in this than me, and how can I behave like that actor?

·      What scene does this remind me of?  Where have I seen a scene like this, and how can I make it look like that scene?

Concerns like these lay like clouds over the text, and keep actors from seeing what is literally happening in the scene.

Imagine that you fan away these concerns and really see the text.

Make sure to read all the stage directions, for they can help illuminate what the circumstances are.

Once I understand what is happening in each moment I will be able to approach each moment as an improv.

Because my heart is beating fast I feel as though I am “plugged into” my higher power, so any ideas or “choices” for the scene that come to me seem as though they were heaven sent, and will be fun things to try in the room and see what happens.

Since arriving at the audition I have been intermittently saying my affirmations; listening to my vulture and releasing/destroying his negative thoughts.

In the last moments before I begin performing, my sole focus is on the affirmations.

When the audition is over I cut the string and move on.

The affirmation-

“This, or something greater, for my highest good, and the highest good of all concerned.”

-is a great help with that.

And that’s pretty much everything I do!

I’ll finish with a word from a legend:

“Sometimes under-preparation is very good, because it instills fear and fear is galvanizing. It makes you break out of yourself. If you’re prepared, then you think you’re ready, and if you think you’re ready, then you’re not ready.”

-Meryl Streep

(I love that quote.  However, when she says “fear” I believe she is talking about that feeling when your heart is beating fast and there are butterflies in your stomach.  In other words – “excitement”.  …And when the actor is excited, so is the audience!)

For more on all aspects of auditioning, preparation and career perspective, visit Jack’s great ebook New Thoughts for Actors. To get on the mailing list for his weekly $20 cold reading workshops and monthly $5 Charity Lecture, email info@jackplotnick.com.