How to Prepare for a Callback

 

Hi actors, CALLBACK! Yay, you got a callback! Wait, says the actor. How do I prep for that? I love the question of how to prepare for a callback. It’s really a super problem to have!

 

Let’s give you some pointers so that you not only head into your callback with confidence, but also have the fun you should be having with these wonderful opportunities!

Really, it boils down to this dilemma in a callback: do I repeat what I did in the first audition OR do I change it up?

Well, the first thing to really understand is that there is no humanly possible way to do exactly what you did before! It’s literally impossible—your moment to moment is going to change, your mood will be different, the chemistry in the room will change, your feelings on lines will shift, and more.

 

 

#1 Tip: Simply start preparing for a callback by accepting that things will be different.

 

Then you are free! Free to discover and create new moments!

The freshness of your work is not only what’ll keep it alive, but also pique the viewer’s interest.

The creatives love to see your work grow and to feel your aliveness in the work.

 

 

#2 Tip: Look in the script and find NEW moments that you didn’t catch or feel before.

 

Discover freshness in the material. Here is a list you can run through to make sure you feel as prepared as possible!

 

• Pick apart your delivery of your lines. How many different ways can you say that line? Stretch each line as many ways as possible!
• Deepen your listening so that you are truly being triggered by the fresh info you are receiving in the scene. Find key words in what the other person is saying that inspires your reactions.
• Try a different start on the scene. Then, try yet another way to start. And another! Changing up the way you start a scene will naturally shift how it unfolds. It also prepares you to take quick redirects during a callback session.
• Add new physicality in a moment. Making physical adjustments alone can freshen up a scene.
• Try pausing in new places. Or try going faster in new sections. Vary your rhythms to get you off a plan and to make new discoveries.
• Get an outside eye from a coach or peer to shake up your set-in-stone ideas. This is not to change your awesome instincts, but to add to your sense of play. This will get you ready for any (sometimes really surprising) feedback from a director or casting director! They often give adjustments that we can never predict! Play on the material in advance so that you’ll be ready to play with them in the callback!

 

These are some quick tips to apply while preparing for your callbacks. For practice, more ideas, and opportunities to do the work, join me in class, coachings, or my Acting Collective!

I am excited for you to bring all your creativity to your callbacks! Enjoy the prep of your callbacks!

Your biggest fan,
xHeidi

 

Image: MAN ON FIRE (2004), dir. Tony Scott (via Shotdeck)