Continuing the theme of posts relating to how to audition in theatre, today's post answers the question "But what do I wear?"
Think about what the purpose of an audition is. The director or casting director is looking at you and wondering whether you are someone they want to work with for the next few weeks of rehearsal. Or the drama school faculty is wondering whether to admit you to their school. Basically you should be trying to give the impression that you are someone who is hard-working and professional.
Again, as with choosing a monologue, there aren't really any hard and fast rules, so this post is just attempting to give you some guidelines.
The most important guideline is that you should avoid wearing a "costume". A costume is basically anything that would make a stranger on the street say "what the heck are they dressed like that for?" For example, you do not want to wear something that comes out of history, or goes with a specific profession or situation (like, say, an astronaut's spacesuit). Nothing screams "I am an amateur!" more than wearing a costume. It makes it look as though you are trying to make up for poor acting abilities by dressing up. And the time you spend creating your costume would have been better spent working on your monologues. You may also get it wrong--perhaps you show up to your audition for Hamlet wearing a perfect replica of an early seventeenth century Danish courtier's outfit, only to find out that this director plans to set his production in nineteenth century China!
One of the other problems with wearing a costume is that will distract attention from your acting, which is another thing you want to avoid doing when you are choosing how to dress for audition. Similarly, you want to avoid other distractions, such as "dangly" or otherwise extravagant jewelry, or slogans or distracting artwork on t-shirts (or any clothing for that matter). Avoid "loud" patterns or too much bright color. Some color is okay, it will help the auditors tell you apart from the other auditioners, but don't go overboard.
Another distraction to avoid is too much "sexiness" with your audition outfit. This might include neglecting to wear proper underwear, or showing too much skin, or an outfit that makes folks worry (or hope!) that you are about to have a "wardrobe malfunction". These things can be just as distracting as wearing a "costume", and might also make the auditors wonder if you are trying to hide the fact that you are not a very skillful actor.
The "hard-working and professional" look is a bit of a balancing act. On the one hand, you want to make sure that you don't look like a slob (or worse). But on the other hand, you don't want to dress so fine that you don't look like someone who is ready to start the work of reahearsal right away. Also remember that you may be asked to do some sort of movement exercise or improvisation at your audition. A traditional request, and I have actually known actors to be asked to do this, is for the auditors to say "please do your audition again, only while stacking up those chairs." So at a minimum, make sure that you can stack chairs while wearing your audition clothes!
A more specific point is that the auditors will want to see your face. So make sure that you have a hairstyle that keeps your hair out of your face, and also that you do not wear any sort of hat.
If you are giving two contrasting monologues, or are auditioning for more than one role, you want to find a "neutral" look that isn't specific to either of the monologues/roles, but can work with any. Neutral colors are best for this--blacks, greys, browns, with just a bit of color to help tell you apart from the other auditioners.
On the "recognition" issue it is also a good idea, if you get a callback or the audition otherwise goes on longer than a single day, to wear the exact same outfit throughout the whole audition process. The auditors haven't met you before, and they may well be thinking of you only as "That really talented girl in the green top", so if you don't wear that green top the next time they see you, they may not remember who you are.
If you know for a fact that you are auditioning for a specific role, or for a number of roles that are very similar, you have a little leeway--but just a little!--with the "avoid wearing a costume" guideline. You should still make sure you don't wear something that gives strangers a "what the heck?" reaction, but you can "tweak" your outfit a bit to get closer to the character. If you know, for example, that your character is a doctor or a lawyer, you can go for a slightly more "professional" look, but if the character is a construction worker, you probably want to get out your jeans and otherwise go for a more "blue collar" look.
I'm sorry there aren't any hard and fast rules about "you MUST wear this item, and absolutely MUST NOT wear this other", but I am afraid that is how it works. If everyone came to an audition dressed absolutely alike, the auditors would seriously have trouble remembering who is who, so some variety is important and necessary.
Best of luck with all your auditions!
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