Do you cook? Have you ever had someone to dinner and they own a restaurant? Or perhaps they are a professional chef?
I have. Wow, talk about pressure.
What is that feeling? Well, in my case, it was almost like I had to prove myself. He is an Italian chef, so I did not tackle pasta. Or Tiramisu. I thought, I have to do something, unexpected. I cannot simply do a barbeque. Or if I do the salads had to be spectacular.
Original, innovative, bold flavour combinations.
This is how you feel performing in front of a drama teacher guru. Or an audition for a director you admire.
But if you are delivering a scene in front of a mentor, are you inclined to be original, bold with unexpected combinations?
Or do you try to grill some sausages and hope they don’t burn.
In a drama class, and in fact in an audition, you have been given an opportunity to be audacious.
My friend the chef had, of course, seen everything and every ingredient in the culinary arts. And trust me, your drama teacher mentor or the casting team in the audition have also seen every way to ……. Play a scene or cook a chop.
Therefore, if you do an audition and follow the tried and true way, it is a recipe for dull (pardon the pun) test. Make sure you do your research, and make your plans but don’t play safe.
After serving up a slow cooked chicken dish with a bit of chilli, roasted almond flakes, I sprinkled cilantro over the dish. I dressed it with fresh slices of peach. I figured that was a good combo of texture, flavour, spice and sweetness. A bit of rice on the side with saffron.
In my honest opinion, it was average. Very average. But it started a conversation about my CHOICES. There was no judgement on his part, just an interest in a different (if amateur) approach to cooking a chook.
If your choices do not inspire conversation, then in effect, you have made no choice at all.
Our friend is currently the head chef at a five star signature Italian restaurant in Shanghai – so yep, he can cook a bit.
The next time he came to our house …. He cooked. Pasta. Like I have never tasted before.
You see being an individual creates an interest in you.
And that must always be your goal in delivering a performance degustation to a discerning audience.
Bon appetite and break a leg.
Have you seen our Audition Masterclass Series? Click here for more details: https://www.theauditiontechnique.com/courses/audition-masterclass-series/
