If you’re an aspiring actor looking to get your big break in Nollywood, gather round and listen. It’s hard out here in these acting streets. There are quite literally thousands of people trying to achieve the same dreams as you and, if you pay attention, you will run into them at every audition you go to. The best way to snag roles is to stand out from the crowd. Here are 5 ways you can do this.
1) Go possessed by the spirit of the character you’re auditioning for.
Nothing shows commitment quite like coming for an audition already in the mood. If you’re auditioning for a lead role, be the lead character from the moment you walk in. Will people find you annoying? Yes. But will you stand out? Yes. And that’s the goal. Before you roll your eyes, remember that Beyonce showed up at her audition for Dream Girls dressed as the character she was auditioning for. If Beyonce can do it, who are you?
2) Emotionally blackmail your way to a role.
Tell the casting directors that it was your dying mother’s last wish to get this role and that the only thing that will dull the pain of your mother’s passing is if you get the part. Also, let slip that if you don’t get it, your mother’s spirit will never find peace in the afterlife. The fact that your mother is indeed alive and well doesn’t matter. You have to tug on those heartstrings to get what you want.
3) Turn your audition into a one man/woman show.
We don’t mean a one-person show in the typical sense. Go up there and act out a scene involving 6 characters, with you playing every single one. Show them that Eddie Murphy has nothing on you. The casting directors will be too scared by you running across the stage and doing different voices that they’ll have to let you finish.
4) Threaten the casting directors with juju if they give the role to anyone else.
Take it a step further and threaten the other actors auditioning too. Tell them that if they get offered the role and actually take it, you’ll trap their soul inside a groundnut bottle. When you brandish an elephant tusk decorated with cowries and vulture feathers, everybody will act right and do the needful.
5) Just walk into the room and ask:
Before you try this, make sure that you’re dressed accordingly. Whoever said dress how you want to be addressed, was not lying. If you want to be treated like a rich person, dress like one. This will involve borrowing clothes, accessories, a phone, a car, and a whole new accent. Don’t worry sha. You’re up to the task.
In the upcoming Inkblot productions movie, Superstar, the protagonist, Queen (Nancy Isime), shows us what it’s like to make your time at an audition count. Catch Superstar in cinemas around Nigeria from the 29th of December 2021.
