Advice from CD Paul Schnee this morning in Back Stage. The bold is my emphasis. and something I stress in my book.
Q: What are some typical audition room mistakes?
“There’s nothing really typical since every project we do is different. But in general it’s nice to see people come in who can read the room. If I’m not in a chatty mood — or certainly if you come in for the director and he or she isn’t chatty — then go with that. I can’t stand hearing actors hold up their sides and say, “I just got this last night/this morning.” I get it. You don’t always get a lot of time with material. But when you say that — or that you have a sinus infection or your allergies are acting up or you had food poisoning last night, all things I’ve heard — you are apologizing in advance for not being good. And who knows? Maybe you’ll be great. So don’t apologize ahead of time. My advice is always, always, without fail, be polite and pleasant to every single person you ever meet anywhere. You never know if that assistant stage manager working on a crappy showcase you are in is going to be working at Warner Bros. in one or two years. We all live in a very, very, very, very small world.
Don’t apologize and always be polite. Easy rules to remember and live by.