Page 1 of 1
Learning a script
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 11:39 pm
by leopoldo
hi all

I am looking for some advice
I applied to a casting call for a feature film on Starnow for my 7 year old last week. He has been on modelling jobs but he has no acting experience to date and I did mentioned that in the application. ( has had some castings for TVC but never got the jobs)
I had forgotten all about it until I got a call from the CD this evening asking if I could take him to the casting this coming Friday. He has to learn a 2 page script for the casting and he's never done anything like that. How can I make it fun for him? Any tips?
Thanks!
Re: Learning a script
Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 12:05 am
by supamum
My daughter is a bit older then your son but this is what we do. We break the script down and learn a small bit at a time, take a break and dont continue on the next bit untill that part has been fully learnt, then she learns the next part and once that is learnt she practices both parts together and so on. Also is she has to learn it in a certain way then we learn the whole script first then work on the character. Good luck to your DS

Re: Learning a script
Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 8:50 am
by Flosmom
When Flo was 7 she could learn and memorise stuff far better than I could, she just has that sort of brain, so your DC may be capable of that anyway. My advice is to feel your way and find out.
But start as you mean to go on. This isn't about reading or memorising a script, it's about playing a role. So how about having conversations about who the character is, how they have got to the point where the script starts, what mood they might be in, whether they are friends with other characters or don't like them very much and so on.Then change it around - what if they were sad instead of happy? What if they were angry, or distracted by a butterfly, or feeling hungry, or in a big hurry to be somewhere else? In other words, encourage your DC to play with it and create the story - or many versions of the story - in his head. That way, he'll start to understand how to be another person rather than just read out words from a page, which might help him to give a good, natural, performance for the director and for the camera.
Oh, and this may be all too obvious, but it's not just about the words. The pauses, the facial expressions, the speed and tone of voice are all there to have fun with. And kids love to be videoed, so if you have a camera take clips and play them back so he can see what he is doing. Some may be astonishingly good, others may be hilarious - it's all part of the fun.
Hope this is helpful. Good luck to your DC and please let us know how he gets on.
Deb x
Re: Learning a script
Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 10:25 am
by pg
Depending on the experience of the team behind the venture (you mentioned Starnow...) - you may find that those auditioning/running the casting have very little experience of working with children. They may be brilliant or they may have no idea how to bring the best out of young actors - so do be prepared for the fact that they may not give particularly good guidance. The best auditions and the best CDs and directors make things really easy for actors to show what they can do.
I think Flosmum's advice is terrific! (Are you Pandy's 1st AD?) Especially the bit about it not being about memorising the lines but being about the role - brilliant.

If you do have the chance to film some goes at it, he can also practice keeping his eye line up and not looking straight in to the camera (unless they ask him to do that in the audition). It's useful to have someone or something for him to look at slightly off camera so that he can address his lines to them. That is probably what will happen in the audition. It's important that the camera can see his eyes - some of the time, because that is the main area the audience reads someone's thoughts from. That doesn't mean he can't look anywhere but at the eye line or the person he's speaking to - that looks totally false - but just to be aware of not looking down at his hands the
whole time he's talking or listening

The important time to have your eyes up is when you are listening. Actors sometimes make the mistake of looking at their lines in auditions when they are not speaking - they lose a great chance to make an impression this way.
On screen, reaction is just as important (maybe more so) than action. If the scene has lines from others in it, then the "listening" is even more important than the speaking. It helps if you can work on what is going on in the scene. It may be as well not to talk about listening being important (but for
you to be aware of it) because he mustn't "act" listening - he just needs to listen, absorb what has been said and then respond. You may have seen actors that anticipate their lines, where you can see them waiting for "their turn" - it's always off-putting!
If it is well written (that's a big IF as well) - then learning the lines by responding to what is going on may come quite easily. I have had scripts at short notice that I have been able to learn in less than half an hour (short ones! my memory is NOT what it was) because the writing has been so brilliant. I have had others where the writing has been so clunky and awkward that, despite every effort, I have felt uncertain of it right up to the "action" moment.
Auditions are not memory tests. A few hesitations or fluffs of lines will not mean he is unsuccessful - it's the whole package someone is assessing at a casting/audition.
Best of luck!
Re: Learning a script
Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 1:23 pm
by leopoldo
Thank you all so much for your replies!! I have taken all your advice on board and hopefully we'll be able to nicely work on the script once he's back home this afternoon.
The CD is a big one ( games of thrones, king's speech and more)and I have spoken to someone whose kids has had several casting with her and she said she is brilliant with kids.
The character is quite a complex one so I will have to make sure he understands it first, which might be a bit difficult!
Will give it a try though cause the movie's director is a huge one and some fantastic actors have been cast for it. I think that chances like this don't come very often!
Re: Learning a script
Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 2:11 pm
by pg
I've been thinking about this - it sounds like a wonderful opportunity. If it's with an experienced CD, I honestly think you can relax more about it. I re-read my post and it looks like a lot of instructions - I hope you'll just read it as "thoughts to consider". I could imagine that if you followed it all to the letter you could end up making him panic about all sorts of things he need not worry about at all - because the CD will give him guidance.
Although I'm sure chatting about it with him will be helpful, I shouldn't worry too much about him truly understanding the character at this stage. They will be interested to see whether who he is matches what they want. Going in and being relaxed enough to just be himself is what the team will be hoping for.
I wish him lots of luck - and fun!
Re: Learning a script
Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 4:11 pm
by leopoldo
thanks PG, I've just sent you a pm
Re: Learning a script
Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 4:12 pm
by leopoldo
Flosmum, thank for suggesting the video part! I did take a couple of videos while he was practising and he loved watching himself
