There is no question that the majority of people wish to avoid a state of conflict and drama. It can inevitably lead to anxious feelings, fear, and chaos. However, during an acting audition, conflict is essential to delivering an impressive reading. In order to have a good audition, it is necessary for an actor to find the conflict within a story and within a character.
Internal conflicts are rife in personalities, where the psyche struggles between certain desires. External conflicts can also permeate a person’s life in the form of struggles between man and God, fate, the world, and Mother Nature. Relational conflicts can also plague a person’s life. Before an audition, the actor is only provided with basic information about the character and the story. Conflict always exists in a story, whether on the surface or hidden beneath a complicated exterior. It is your responsibility to locate the conflict and express it in your reading.
There is no doubt that conflict is interesting. Conflict provides an element of depth and movement to a story and character. Once the desires and needs of a character have been discovered by the actor, obstacles are inevitable. That is life. Our life’s hurdles must be overcome and manipulated until they become collaborators in our lives. “Midnight Run” is a perfect movie to consider. Robert De Niro plays a bounty hunter who is responsible for the capture of Charles Grodin’s character. Jack (De Niro) is driven to find his bounty, Mardukas (Grodin), so that he can receive the bounty money. Jack is met with a number of conflicts including his personal insecurities, rival bounty hunters, and the infamous Mardukas.
The script may very well not have all the answers you need in order to create great conflict and emotion. Improve your acting audition by using the dialogue and the clues therein to create a character full of depth and truth. Doing so will add more dimension and life to the character, thereby grabbing and holding onto the attention of the auditor and improving your chances of making a good impression. Even if the conflict you create is not “correct”, it is far worse to have no conflict at all during your reading. If you are able to flesh out a character in this way, your auditions are sure to be more successful.
Make sure that the conflict you create is multi-dimensional. The average character will have several different desires and feelings that are in constant struggle with each other. Keep this in mind when doing your reading and you will be sure to add intrigue to the character you are portraying. The lines being recited are not nearly as important as the character that is created by the actor.
Although your character may be the only live person in the scene, there are doubtless other hidden forces affecting his or her life. Being able to bring these hidden elements to life is what will separate you from the other actors and make your audition a success. Another thing to remember about conflict. Conflict should always be slightly comedic. Even the largest conflict will contain some levity. Neglecting to add comedy will make the reading unwatchable. With the proper combination of conflict and comedy, the character is sure to come to life.
Kirk Baltz has been a acting coach in los angeles for more than 15 years. Kirk helps actors of all levels get the roles that they desire. You can read more about acting auditions at the actor’s intensive website.