It takes more than memorizing a few lines. I would rather go in and not know any instead of coming in with a half learnt monologue or role. The director has enough on his hands than to deal with an actor who pretends he knows his lines. In the French system in Montreal it is expected to be off script; I learnt that the hard way going into Teatro Quat’Sous for a play audition with Wajdi Mohammed years ago. In the Anglo world you are not expected to have the script memorized for auditions but you have to know your stuff if there is going to be a rehearsal before the film date.

Directors and their producers want to see dynamic people, not sleepy heads or lethargic sorts when it comes to audition. If you’re going to come in moody and pouting because you have not had a fair deal along the road to success, that won’t help either. It is tough to stay positive but it pays to at least pretend to be so if you want to leave a good impression of your professionalism and talent.

It is always better to come in with a hard copy of your resume and a decent head-shot that does not hide parts of face or is obscure. The resume should be in an acceptable form and there are free templates on line the novice can use to fill out and hand in casting agencies. In Europe the system is quite similar to what is done for LA or other North American cities. As long as you list the name of the production, the role you played and the director or studios name you are alright as far as listing film credits in North America nut care should be made to separate the categories of credits into film and art milieus. In Europe listing clearly your information is also a plus but the studios name is not required. There they are lmore interested  to see what principal parts you ahd and which ones were supporting or just smaller acting roles.

Auditions may require you to do a cold read or to act out a part on or off camera. For the most part the director and perhaps an assistant will have you either sit in front of camera and have you say your name and perhaps your phone number or some other personal information like agent’s name in order to classify you on video. It cuts down on paper chasing and looking up contact numbers when their is a time shortage. The cold read requires no previous knowledge of the part you are about the play. A role play with another actor allows you to exchange lines with another actor so that the director can get an idea of the dynamics that could be developed further on set. It can also allow him to test for a range of emotions between two characters.

The cold read is not to be taken for granted just because you did not have to remember any lines. It gives the director a change to hear your intonation. If emotion has to be expressed along the way, he will see if the actor has to be coaxed along or not. Being spontaneous and able to intuit a change of character is a plus for the actor.

Once the actor is done, he should never ask when the director will get in touch with him. Usually the director will say something bland like he will call if the par has been granted but asking is a little bit to informal to do and the director may not have a clear answer because the casting may be extended.

A good actor will not criticize an audition process in front of the people he is going to work for even if it is going to be a freebie. This will ruin chances of being chosen again, unless of course conditions are so bad that it is not worthwhile for the actor to pursue working there.