How To Reverse Engineer Your Audition .. And Stand Out!

Reverse engineering an audition? Goes against how actors are supposed to approach things. Against what all creative people are about.

Apparently, rumour has it Bill Gates created Windows after he saw the Apple OS. He saw what a product could be and it inspired his thinking and creation.

Script analysis is what the vast majority of drama schools will have you do. You build the character from the ground up.

Reverse engineering in any form starts with the end result and works backwards. Reverse engineering.

So you don’t need script analysis, you need CD analysis. Producer analysis. Project analysis. And sure, script is part of that. But only a small part

How does this work?

At the moment you look at the script, break it down with the character’s intention perhaps, with the key dramatic moments of the scene. Something like that.

Building your character from the ground up.

Let’s build it from the top down. The script – and even the sides because they are a microcosm of this character. A moment in time of this character’s journey.

So read the script and visualise the film. The other things that build this vision is built upon what you know of the CD, the film maker, the studio.

But then you add your secret ingredient. That part of you, those unique qualities that create a version of the character that is your creation and not the writer’s.

Think of it like this. The script does not have the answers. It only gives the actor questions. It is you that provides the answers.

Think of the memorable screen characters that drive the current crop of subscription TV series. How many of them are series derived from a character. A character created by an actor. Fleabag, Russian Doll, there are so many.

These series evolved from the character. The character came first and the story and script followed.

So look at the sides. What can you see on the screen.

What energy do they have? How do they relate to the other characters. And the big one? How do they fit in with the community around them.

I use community because as a CD that is what I am creating. The community.

How does your version fit with this community? You are building a character based on what is on the screen and not solely what is on the page

Script analysis has its place – but less importance in the audition space. Why? We are not looking at the script. Or the scripted character. That is not what is the vision and focus of the CD.

There is, no doubt, a vast difference between artistic styles and techniques – the actor’s craft if you like - but the bottom line is ‘do I like the finished art?’

And that is how reverse engineering, is the foundation of building an audition, is the platform to start all auditions. Visualising the end result and working backwards, rather than starting solely with the script.

Ten art students paint the same landscape, whose creation is best?

Big clue in that line ….. creation.

Think of those ten art students, as a new graduate, or as a struggling artist, they strive to show their ability, their craft, their creative ……. readiness and worthiness.

But if they are all painting the same setting, and all have the same skill set - which is exactly the situation you the actor are in when you do an audition – you are chasing the same goal of IMPRESSING the viewer. With your ability. With your skill. If everyone in the audition is doing that, then who is remembered?

Let me choose a real life example: I was listening to Bing Crosby over Christmas. Of course. I found out some interesting facts about him. Now this is from the net so don’t dump a bucket of poo on me if there are errors.

He recorded over 1700 songs, received 23 gold and two platinum records. Interesting fact, he has more number one records than Elvis or the Beatles. He won four grammy awards and an Oscar in 1944! Go figure.

Yes, Bing Crosby.

He is the only person who has built a career out of singing Christmas carols. I mention his name and you all immediately can hear his voice, know the kind of saccharine lyrics and delivery he has.

I don’t know what his singing range is – his top and bottom notes, but I know his acting range covers all the emotions from A right through to B.

He has a great voice. He can sing. It is his choice to do low rent, cellar dweller beige songs for the masses. But he found a career in cornering the Christmas market.

And you can apply this assessment to any number of singers. And actors. They found a brand – in CCC we call it an identity – and so the producers know exactly when to cast him.

And this is how a CD looks at actors. Because this answers the big question: when do I audition you.

You must look at a role and picture yourself on screen. You have imagined, visualised – dare I say engineered – what the role looks like when you see yourself on screen in that role.

What are the steps? Well like old Bing – or any creative person – they worked on who they were. They looked in the mirror and discovered which version of them has traction. Traction in the current casting audition market place. A marketplace where there is less and less need for strong good looking aspirational characters. And more need for individual, quirky off the wall versions of a person.

That is what drives subscription shows. So that is what drives the auditions that I do, that I give to my clients.

Stay close to our website – our new website. We will be announcing some plans for KLA people and our service in general.

Personally, I think the whole idea of acting audition training being marketed right now is insensitive and crass. So we will be coming up with ideas to support you rather than ourselves.

Starting with weekly Instagram workshops for the next month. For the month of January we will be delivering one of our famous Sunday lives every weekend not just today.

Will the industry in LA recover? Production is already leaving Hollywood. Australia, Canada, the UK etc have all benefited.

But hey Donald Trump is on the case using the skills of Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voigt. Hmm, watch this space.

And if you are going to be part of that journey, then you need to create audition characters that break rules, that take the scripted character and put a big stamp on it. A stamp that says ‘this is MY version of this character’

Because that version is what sticks in our mind. These are the actors who get regular auditions because they are creating versions of the character I want to consider.

Come back same time next week when we share how you create that unique eye catching version of yourself. You may look like the perfect candidate to play a doctor or a detective ….. but what sort of detective is owned by you.