Conflict is a state which most people find unpleasant and wish to avoid. It can lead to fear, anxiety, as well as chaos. Conflict during an acting audition, however, is completely essential if you wish to impress your auditors and obtain the role. 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. Persons and characters can also experience conflict externally with fate, the environment, the world, and God. Relational conflicts are yet another form of personal conflict that are in present in almost every person and, therefore, character’s life. When an actor reads for an audition, he or she is only given the bare framework such as a story overview and the lines. Some form of conflict always exists in a story and personality. It is your responsibility to locate the conflict and express it in your reading.
There is no doubt that conflict is interesting. Instability in a character or story adds depth and movement. After you have determined the personality, desires, and needs of the character, there is no question that obstacles will arise. That is the way life is. All lives have hurdles which must be shaped and worked with until they cease to be difficult obstacles and become helpful participants. For example, consider “Midnight Run”. Robert De Niro plays a bounty hunter who is responsible for the capture of Charles Grodin’s character. Jack (De Niro) is required to track down Mardukas (Grodin) in order to collect his bounty. He experiences many conflicts in his quest including other bounty hunters, FBI agents, his insecurities, as well as Mardukas himself.
The information provided for your reading may not have all the answers in regards to the character’s desires and conflicts. To strengthen your acting audition, you may need to create a character yourself, one that has conflicting desires and needs. 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.
Real conflict is rarely one-dimensional. The average character will have several different desires and feelings that are in constant struggle with each other. Using this to your advantage during an audition will make for an exciting reading. Despite what many actors believe, the most important thing is creating a character not merely the lines in the script.
Despite the fact that you may be the only person in the scene, there is no doubt that invisible forces or persons are affecting both the personality and story of your character. Understanding these circumstances will allow you to improve your readings and auditions. There is another thing to remember about conflict. Conflict should always be slightly comedic. Levity is a part of even the deepest conflict. Neglecting to add comedy will make the reading unwatchable. With both conflict and comedy combined, your reading is sure to be a success.
Kirk Baltz has been a acting coach for more than 15 years. Kirk helps actors of all levels get the roles that they desire. You can read more about improve acting auditions at the actor’s intensive website.