Friday, February 4, 2011

Auditions

I have witnessed a number of memorable auditions, often wondering why young actors and singers try to do stuff that exceeds their abilities while they would be very convincing if they just would show what they actually can do well. The best audition performance I ever saw was that of Wolfgang Pampel, a very experienced actor (he lip-synced J.R. of the tv series "Dallas" for the German screen). He came on stage with a little doll, sat down and, miming an old lady, started singing "O What A Beautiful Morning". We were so stunned that we hired him on the spot to play Duke Max in "Elisabeth".

2 comments:

  1. Due to the numerous guidebooks this is slightly different in business when candidates do the application for employment. In this field there is an overkill of advice. Often the result is a stereotype preparation with a lack of spontaneity.
    Reading about Pampel´s presentation I will add one more advice to job seekers:
    Carry along something stupid (the doll of your daughter, the classbook of your son, the bunch of flowers for your wife), all are objects that you have to deliver after this appointment and all of them don´t have any relation with your job-presentation. Be sure, that the interview will take a more creative course.

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  2. What a beautiful, insightfil flash on a situation belonging to a world, which in german and italian schools is not taught about. A whole sector of our cultural activity is not considered - or even dispraised - by the education system, and the show-business itself does rarely highlight the persons which together are the connective tissue and backbone of this cultural area.

    Very insightful also cs's reflection. Perhaps we do not easily realize our true abilities, because we do not consider special, what is so easy for ourselves. But only if the others do not make us realize our talent we can misunderstand ourselves...

    So why don't they praise us? And if they praise us, why don't we trust those who praise us? This is perhaps the kernel of the problem.

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