From audition guidance to tips for playwrights and the things you really need to know when you enter the industry, here’s a round up of some of the best advice from theatre figures interviewed by The Stage in 2023
“Really interrogate the script. When asked: ‘What was your response?’, give your honest response. I am looking to see how a person’s brain works and what they’re passionate about.” — Nancy Medina, artistic director, Bristol Old Vic
“Respect yourself. I have seen many young women come for auditions dressed in a highly sexualised way. It’s never a good idea. Also remember there is no right way of doing acting. Offer something and be prepared to do something else if asked. Remember they are not just choosing you, you are choosing to work with a director. I know the economic power sits with the director, but if you go into a room and someone behaves disrespectfully you don’t have to take the job.” — Brigid Larmour, director
“The script is not your enemy. It’s your best friend. It loves you. It needs you. It can’t come to life without you. So don’t see it as the enemy. The best auditions I’ve seen are where the actor doesn’t come hoping they will be the one who is picked but who arrive with the attitude that they are here to solve your problem.” — Roy Williams, playwright
“It’s to be flexible and open. To be prepared, but not too set. What I’m looking for is somebody I can work with. I mean, if somebody comes in and nails it, great, but what I’m looking for is someone I’m going to enjoy working with, where we have a creative rapport. And for the audition to be a bit more like rehearsal, to bring that spirit in rather than: ’Here’s my offer, and that’s it.’" — Sean Holmes, director
“Come with your viewpoint on the play and talk about it. Find the space to be yourself. For me, actors are magicians, and directing is about helping them find the tools to make magic. It is collaborative. So an audition should be a two-way conversation.” — Pooja Ghai, artistic director, Tamasha
“Tell people how you feel when you go in. Tell them if you are dyslexic or are terrified. Don’t waste energy trying to mask it.” — Matthew Dunster, director
“This is an interesting one now, isn’t it? Because so many auditions are now on tape, which I think is making it much harder for young and unknown actors to make an impression. Bring your own take and don’t second-guess what the director wants.” — Tom Littler, artistic director, Orange Tree Theatre
“Treat them as a rehearsal. Prepare, of course, but it’s not a test, it’s a try-out. Don’t try to second-guess. Be present, be open.” — Rebecca Frecknall, director
“There has to be this meeting point of things for a person to work with us: a really insatiable curiosity, a hunger for work, a love of theatre and live interaction and the community of an audience. You need conviction.” — Es Devlin, designer
“Make a choice (as bold as you like as long as it’s rooted in the words and music) and go for it. Even if the director disagrees, I’d always rather see a risk taken.” — Robin Norton-Hale, general director, English Touring Opera
“Treat it as a rehearsal. You’re coming in with your interpretation of what that part is and you’re there to share it. It should be a dialogue with the person opposite you. Not that you’re auditioning them, but you’re working together and it’s about testing how this collaboration could work. Treat it like the first day of work.” — Esh Alladi, actor
“Having been on both sides of the table, I always tell people it doesn’t really matter what you do beyond the fact that you’re doing what you do. In other words, try to enjoy it for what it is.” — Mike Birbiglia, actor and writer
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“It sounds like a trite thing to say because, of course, it doesn’t always happen for everyone, but I would try to impress upon a person not to give up. I was a boy in a council estate in Hull. Don’t think it’s beyond your reach. Don’t let yourself be knocked back. Someone will eventually see you.” — Reece Shearsmith, actor and writer
“How to do a tax return. But also, that you are enough. Having done loads of auditions for this show and sitting on the other side of it, the thing that I love about actors is when they’re really in their own body and really celebrating who they are.” — Charlie Josephine, writer and actor
“No one will ever tell you that you are ready. It’s about belief, training and taking on work that challenges you and being ready for the opportunity.” — Cameron Menzies, artistic director, Northern Ireland Opera
“At my age, young people ask me: ‘What can you recommend as a way to get started in the business?’ I say: ‘The best thing you can do is write a musical with Steve Sondheim.’ And I did. After that I had a conversation about whether this was something I really wanted to press on with, and that if it was, I really needed to go back and learn how to do something I was making up as I went along.” — John Weidman, writer
“You don’t have to seek perfection. Instead be happy to rehearse in the truest sense of the word. Just give things a go.” — Clare Slater, artistic director, HighTide
“This is more for theatres rather than individuals: allow people the space to learn the craft, and open doors so people can understand how theatre works. I’ve been learning as I go along.” — Rabiah Hussain, writer
“It is a tough and challenging road to travel – but have confidence in yourself and keep on keeping on.” — George Takei, actor
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“Write what could only happen in a theatre. Write from the place in you of greatest urgency, trust that the thing that lights a flame in you is the thing that only you can say. Leave room for actors.” — Erica Whyman, director
“It’s so trite and obvious, but read and watch as much as you have the capacity to.” — Chris Bush, playwright
“Write for yourself. Even when you achieve what you want to, it probably will not be quite what you expect. So the work itself has to be the thing.” — Marcelo Dos Santos, playwright
Realise that you are a hypnotist of the highest order. And that the things that come out of your mouth go directly into your ears. So be mindful of what you say about yourself.” — Suzan-Lori Parks, playwright
“Do a degree where you learn stuff about the world. Don’t do a creative writing course. If you show enthusiasm, let alone talent, someone will recruit you to a playwriting group and teach you things for free.” — Gary Owen, playwright
“It’s hard to give advice because everyone’s process is different. So maybe this is advice to myself. Get something, anything, down as soon as possible. What Hollywood calls ‘the vomit draft’. When there is nothing, it’s terrifying, paralysing. But once you’ve got something you can start to craft, adapt, and turn it into something that isn’t embarrassing to show someone else. It is graft, time, and energy. It is not a mystical process and the more we demystify it the better.” — Ben Power, writer
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