Breathing Corpses By Laura Wade

So I'm currently in an ISDA (Irish Student Drama Association) play called Breathing Corpses, written by Laura Wade. For those of you who don't know, ISDA is a national competition for all student drama societies. They each choose two or three plays to go to the host university to represent their college. At the end of the little festival, there are awards for all sorts of categories from Best Actor to Best set design to Best Prostups.

So It's been a very long two weeks in preperation for our show. We have performed it for 5 nights about 3 or 4 weeks ago to the UCD campus audience, then we got chosen to represent UCD in ISDA... so now it was all hands on deck in order to construct the set in a much neater, cleaner way, to rework scenes so that everything is specific and intentional. It's been amazing, but it been VERY exhausting....

We've spent three days painting the entire set white, right after the two weeks it took to rebuild it! So now we are off to University College Cork tomorrow for our get in at 3! and then we're on first thing in the morning at 10am in the Firkin Crane in Cork! This is going to be so fun! It's been hard work but it will all pay off, and if we win an award then that would just be a bonus!!

It's been so interesting to do this play and work with a dear friend of mine, Lisa Carroll, who is directing. She's been amazing and everything she says in terms of directing our acting, is so clear and precise, she just wants us to be natural, to be an extension of ourselves. It's been brilliant and later on I'll post about an amazing book for everyone to read... but more on that in a later post!

I will keep you all posted on how ISDA goes and how it feels to perform in a 'competition'... because I have definitely never been in that kind of an atmosphere!

Pics to come!! GO 'BREATHING CORPSES'!

https://vimeo.com/59905438

Peach Out!

what to do in an audition (from experience from audtioning in ireland)

So I thought I'd start making more of these posts that a lot of people want to know about. so if anyone has any questions they'd like answered please tweet me @appeleyes2 and I'll put up a post or I will reply to your tweet with the answers.

So let's begin with, what to do in an audition and in this post I will include the preparation and the actual audition.

Scenario 1:
Ok, so lets presume you were asked to attend an audition, and lets presume they have asked you to prepare a monologue:

Find a monologue that suits your age and your characteristics. So if you're more into comedy do something funny. And likewise if you think dramatic monologues are more comfortable for you to perform then choose a dramatic one.

There are plenty of male monologues out there, and there is loads of ones for women too. Males I'd suggest anything from Shakespeare's plays (likewise women) but also some good monologues can be found in Howie the Rookie and Terminus (Mark O'Rowe-irish actors), also there's Enda Walsh's Disco Pigs and Conor McPherson's Rum and Vodka.

Women there are two characters in Terminus (Mark O'Rowe) a young(B) and older character (A). Also there are good monologues in Brian Friel's Faith Healer. But I'd definitley recommend Sarah Kane's works (mostly 4.48 psychosis) and also Caryl Churchill. She rights brilliantly for female actors. and Billy Roche too writes amazing female roles.

Those are just a few suggestions.

Then read the monologue and learn it off.

Do it in the mirror. 100 times. or a 1000 times. however long it takes until you stop acting and actually start being the character.

The most important thing I can offer here is to learn your lines. Know your character. Read the whole play. This will help greatly!!!

Your audition starts when you walk in the door. Be confident. Find something in your character that you can identify with and so you will be that character. The director/casting director will introduce themselves then they will chat a bit and then they will ask you to start in your own time.

Do it. Do it with confidence. Do it with Style.

and then they will thank you. and you will leave. that is the end of your audition!!

Good luck!!

Scenario two: Getting sides from the script.

if you have an agent they will no doubt have sent you sides (pieces of the script with your character's lines on it for the audition).

learn your lines! always always learn your lines!!!!

Then it's pretty much the same as above. Practice loads and do it with confidence!

90% of auditions you will go on will reject you. For not being the right height, weight, body type, hair colour, eye color, anything at all!!!

This game is all about rejection. The best thing to do is to stay positive, relax and enjoy your experience. Try feel good after your audition and put it to the back of your mind, maybe even treat yourself afterwards! I find this helps loads! get yourself a lil desert or ice cream or whatever you want. you've earned it after all that work!!


Best of luck!!!!!


Peach out!