The audition starts the moment you enter the room and not, as many would think, when you start acting. Some of the industry’s biggest production teams and casting directors will actually interview you as a person before they audition you the actor. The slate is often the first time the producer, writer, or director will encounter you, as they are not typically in the room during pre-reads with casting. The slate marks the start of your audition.
I advise my clients to make a genuine connection with the production team by bringing their empowered and aware selves to the slate—their best selves in the moment. Any attempt to impress or force yourself into an emotional state can, and often will, put an abrupt end to your audition before you start acting. Slating with confidence, presence, and awareness—your version of it—can win you the role before the scene starts.
This article was originally posted on Backstage