Hi, my son has an audition possibly for next week (tbc). This will be his first ever, but I have no idea what to help him prepare. Has anyone got any ideas for an audition piece, and also what will be expected of him. I don't want him to be put off by his first experience. Ps- it may be a Skype audition.. Is this common practice nowadays?
Many thanks
X
Please help...Audition pieces for 5 year old boy?
Moderator: busybusybusy
Re: Please help...Audition pieces for 5 year old boy?
Hello. Try not to worry 
Skype is not uncommon - and might be quite good for one so young. It would be good to get him used to talking on Skype beforehand with friends/family if he's not used to it, so that he understands what is needed - he'll probably take it in his stride.
It depends what it's for - have you had any indication of what they are looking for? Sometimes very young people are invited to do a poem or a joke or silly story and then have a chat. If it's for a film - there may be lines to learn, if so I would expect them to let you know well in advance. If this is via an agent then I would ask your agent to find out what the audition will involve. If it's not via an agent I would ask whoever you have contact with to give you a clue what they are expecting. Hopefully it will be good fun for him.
If you want to look for a drama audition piece then I'd recommend something really short from a favourite story - but choose dialogue rather than description. It really only needs to be 3 or 4 lines to be useful (you can put several bit of dialogue together and miss out other characters or description as long as it still makes sense).
I would advise against too much preparation - they will be looking for his personality principally, so he just needs to be himself. Hope it goes well!
Skype is not uncommon - and might be quite good for one so young. It would be good to get him used to talking on Skype beforehand with friends/family if he's not used to it, so that he understands what is needed - he'll probably take it in his stride.
It depends what it's for - have you had any indication of what they are looking for? Sometimes very young people are invited to do a poem or a joke or silly story and then have a chat. If it's for a film - there may be lines to learn, if so I would expect them to let you know well in advance. If this is via an agent then I would ask your agent to find out what the audition will involve. If it's not via an agent I would ask whoever you have contact with to give you a clue what they are expecting. Hopefully it will be good fun for him.
If you want to look for a drama audition piece then I'd recommend something really short from a favourite story - but choose dialogue rather than description. It really only needs to be 3 or 4 lines to be useful (you can put several bit of dialogue together and miss out other characters or description as long as it still makes sense).
I would advise against too much preparation - they will be looking for his personality principally, so he just needs to be himself. Hope it goes well!
Re: Please help...Audition pieces for 5 year old boy?
Pg is right, as always, Skype is becoming increasingly common, which s great because its really convenient and cuts out the expense of travelling to an audition.
When my girls have auditioned over Skype they have either been sent specific instructions about what to prepare in advance, or they've just been asked to respond to direction. For example, being given a line and asked to deliver it with different emotions. For a little one, the seven dwarfs can be helpful - how would Grumpy say this? How would Happy say this? How would Sleepy say this? And so on...
My advice is also not to over-prepare. Just keep it fun and interesting for him. For you - if it is Skype - check and double-check your technology!
Good luck - and let us know how you get on.
Deb x
When my girls have auditioned over Skype they have either been sent specific instructions about what to prepare in advance, or they've just been asked to respond to direction. For example, being given a line and asked to deliver it with different emotions. For a little one, the seven dwarfs can be helpful - how would Grumpy say this? How would Happy say this? How would Sleepy say this? And so on...
My advice is also not to over-prepare. Just keep it fun and interesting for him. For you - if it is Skype - check and double-check your technology!
Good luck - and let us know how you get on.
Deb x
Re: Please help...Audition pieces for 5 year old boy?
Thank you pg and flosmum! Really helpful advice. The role is just for a short film about a child whose parents fight and argue all the time (something light and joyful for his first time! Lol!) but everyone has to start somewhere I suppose!
I'll have a look for some stories with good dialogue in- and will have to get to grips with Skype myself!
Many thanks! X
I'll have a look for some stories with good dialogue in- and will have to get to grips with Skype myself!
Many thanks! X
Re: Please help...Audition pieces for 5 year old boy?
I wouldn't worry about it at all, unless they have asked for an actual "audition piece" I quite agree to get some Skyping practice in beforehand, if you have two computers/ipads/laptops you can set up two accounts then Skype each other from different rooms in your house which he should find great fun and you can help him a bit by showing how to stay in view of the camera. As he's only 5 and from the description of the film I would think they just want to see he will actually talk to them (not shy) and will probably ask him to do a few simple directions, maybe pull a face, pretend to be angry, pretend to be sad (prob most definitely) and just have a little chat with him and ask him about what he likes doing (ie football, playing with friends etc etc??). Don't coach him or get him to say how much he enjoys "drama" or "acting", he is a 5 year old little boy. The more calm and laidback about it you are (whilst prepearing Skype etc beforehand behind the scenes) the more he will enjoy it all and see it as a game which it should be.
Would also suggest you ask for a sensible time for a 5 year old Skype casting, ie maybe about 4.30 when he's had time to come home from school and had something to eat beforehand and a little chill etc etc, not 8.30pm when it is past his bedtime. Adults sometimes forget that little people need their sleep and perform better at some times of the day than others
Good luck
Would also suggest you ask for a sensible time for a 5 year old Skype casting, ie maybe about 4.30 when he's had time to come home from school and had something to eat beforehand and a little chill etc etc, not 8.30pm when it is past his bedtime. Adults sometimes forget that little people need their sleep and perform better at some times of the day than others
Good luck