There is no question that the majority of people wish to avoid a state of conflict and drama. Anxiety, fear, and chaos can often be the result of conflict. However, during an acting audition, conflict is essential to delivering an impressive reading. In order to have a good audition, it is necessary for an actor to find the conflict within a story and within a character.
The majority of persons and characters have internal conflicts between desires and feelings. Persons and characters can also experience conflict externally with fate, the environment, the world, and God. And, of course, relational conflicts exist as well. When an actor reads for an audition, he or she is only given the bare framework such as a story overview and the lines. Conflict always exists in a story, whether on the surface or hidden beneath a complicated exterior. It is your responsibility to locate the conflict and express it in your reading.
Conflict is always interesting. Conflict provides an element of depth and movement to a story and character. After you have gotten a handle on the personality of the character, there are naturally going to be difficulties and obstacles that that character must face. That is the way life is. All obstacles in our lives must be manipulated or overcome until they cease being hurdles and become collaborators. Think about the movie, "Midnight Run". In the film, Robert De Niro is a bounty hunter who has the responsibility of finding Charles Grodin's character. Jack (De Niro) is driven to find his bounty, Mardukas (Grodin), so that he can receive the bounty money. Jack is met with a number of conflicts including his personal insecurities, rival bounty hunters, and the infamous Mardukas.
All of the answers may not be provided to you in the material provided to you at the audition. Improve your acting audition by using the dialogue and the clues therein to create a character full of depth and truth. In this way, you will be more likely to grab onto and hold the auditor's attention and make the performance more real for the viewer. Far worse than creating the "wrong" conflict is delivering a performance without any emotion and depth. With these skills, your auditioning skills are sure to improve.
Keep in mind that conflict typically has more than one dimension. Most people are constantly struggling with numerous inner demons. Keep this in mind when doing your reading and you will be sure to add intrigue to the character you are portraying. Despite what many actors believe, the most important thing is creating a character not merely the lines in the script.
Despite the fact that you may be the only person in the scene, there is no doubt that invisible forces or persons are affecting both the personality and story of your character. To have a successful reading, you as an actor must know how to draw these emotions and circumstances out of the text and take the character to the next level. Another thing to remember about conflict. Conflict should always be slightly comedic. Even the largest conflict will contain some levity. Neglecting to add comedy will make the reading unwatchable. With both conflict and comedy combined, your reading is sure to be a success.
The majority of persons and characters have internal conflicts between desires and feelings. Persons and characters can also experience conflict externally with fate, the environment, the world, and God. And, of course, relational conflicts exist as well. When an actor reads for an audition, he or she is only given the bare framework such as a story overview and the lines. Conflict always exists in a story, whether on the surface or hidden beneath a complicated exterior. It is your responsibility to locate the conflict and express it in your reading.
Conflict is always interesting. Conflict provides an element of depth and movement to a story and character. After you have gotten a handle on the personality of the character, there are naturally going to be difficulties and obstacles that that character must face. That is the way life is. All obstacles in our lives must be manipulated or overcome until they cease being hurdles and become collaborators. Think about the movie, "Midnight Run". In the film, Robert De Niro is a bounty hunter who has the responsibility of finding Charles Grodin's character. Jack (De Niro) is driven to find his bounty, Mardukas (Grodin), so that he can receive the bounty money. Jack is met with a number of conflicts including his personal insecurities, rival bounty hunters, and the infamous Mardukas.
All of the answers may not be provided to you in the material provided to you at the audition. Improve your acting audition by using the dialogue and the clues therein to create a character full of depth and truth. In this way, you will be more likely to grab onto and hold the auditor's attention and make the performance more real for the viewer. Far worse than creating the "wrong" conflict is delivering a performance without any emotion and depth. With these skills, your auditioning skills are sure to improve.
Keep in mind that conflict typically has more than one dimension. Most people are constantly struggling with numerous inner demons. Keep this in mind when doing your reading and you will be sure to add intrigue to the character you are portraying. Despite what many actors believe, the most important thing is creating a character not merely the lines in the script.
Despite the fact that you may be the only person in the scene, there is no doubt that invisible forces or persons are affecting both the personality and story of your character. To have a successful reading, you as an actor must know how to draw these emotions and circumstances out of the text and take the character to the next level. Another thing to remember about conflict. Conflict should always be slightly comedic. Even the largest conflict will contain some levity. Neglecting to add comedy will make the reading unwatchable. With both conflict and comedy combined, your reading is sure to be a success.
About the Author:
Kirk Baltz has been a acting coach in los angeles for more than 15 years. Kirk helps actors of all levels get the roles that they desire. You can read more about acting auditions at the actor's intensive website.