If at first you don’t succeed…
“My heroes had the heart, to lose their lives out on a limb”
We’ve all heard the phrase, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” In this business no phrase could be more true.
I have been on countless auditions. Seriously, countless. And I’ve probably only booked about 1% of them. That used to get to me. But I realized pretty recently that in doing all of those countless auditions, I have learned so much. I have gained information about my voice, the audition process, the do’s and don’t’s and the how to’s. How to learn music quickly, how to make a good first impression, how to calm my nerves, how to charm the room, how to take rejection well, how to take direction, how to take criticism well; the list goes on and on. I wouldn’t have gained any of that knowledge if I had given up because I kept hearing the word “no.” The word “no” has helped me to build a firm foundation and even, I daresay, a career.
When the feeling of wasted efforts hits you, as it inevitably will in this business, try to remember that from every audition you attend, you are learning. You are growing. You are gaining more information. Whether it be about yourself, or the audition process, or the casting process. You are constantly learning. And when you’re learning, you’re getting better. You’re getting sharper. You are preparing yourself for that “yes” that you will eventually hear. But in order to get there, you have to put in the work. And a large part of that work is in auditioning. So, if at first you don’t succeed, please try try again. I promise you, it’s worth it.
What things have you learned in your auditions or while preparing for your auditions?
Cheers,
Adrienne
Click here for the YouTube episode of this blog post.