Actors must endure a “litany of misery” when auditioning for roles and the process must be improved, according to a former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Adrian Noble, whose casts have included Judi Dench and Derek Jacobi, said “every actor in the world” has their own “horror stories”.
“These usually involve lack of respect, waste of time, humiliation and discourtesy,” he added. “Directors are rude, look at their iPhones during the audition, run late and don’t apologise, they chat away to their casting director as if the actor didn’t exist, they laugh at private review copy jokes. A litany of misery! Each of these tales is underpinned by the fact that the actor is a supplicant.”
His criticisms appear in a forthcoming book on directing Shakespeare in which he offers advice to directors, on even the most basic politeness, which is too often absent from auditions.
“Do thank them for coming in. Do try to give immediate, clear, positive feedback on what they have done. Do study their CV before they come in and don’t read while they are performing,” he said. “Do have water available and throwaway cups … Do offer them the opportunity to try again if they wish and you have the time. You can judge how they take direction.”
He suggests asking actors about their take on the play and making it clear to them or their representative what the director is “looking to explore”.
He said: “It needs to be made clear to the actor before the audition what is expected. You will certainly want to find out more about the actor, so leave time for a conversation.
“Whether this is before or after the audition is up to you. Some actors prefer to come in, do their stuff and then talk; they can thus maintain their focus. Some prefer an ‘ice-breaking’ chat first.”
Noble headed the RSC between 1991 and 2003. His productions included King Lear with Robert Stephens as Lear. He has drawn on those experiences in writing his book, How to Direct Shakespeare, which will be published on 8 September by the Arden Shakespeare, a Bloomsbury imprint.
He offers advice on what to do if actors become inhibited or stuck: “Ask the actors to run around the room two or three times as fast (and safely) as possible. Then run into the space and immediately play the scene, forgetting about blocking and verse and concept … Ask the actors to play the scene as clearly and as seriously as possible, using the structure of the original, but talking gibberish or a made-up language. This will reveal how well they understand the shape of a scene.”
John Barclay, an assistant general secretary of Equity, the actors’ union, said Noble was raising a serious issue as actors are too often “disrespected” at auditions – from being made to wait hours before they are even seen to not hearing again from producers or casting directors afterwards.
Equity is particularly outraged that actors are increasingly being pressured to sign “bullying and overreaching” non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) before they can audition, which means they do not even know what kind of character they are being considered for, let alone anything about the production. Actors need time to prepare for particular roles.
The union believes such NDAs are “inappropriate and excessive” and infringe UK law, but Barclay said “desperate performers will sign anything”, adding: “There is this whole level of ‘uncomfortableness’ around auditions.”
