Audition - Guide to Finding Acting Jobs
Have your Resume Handy
Before even beginning to look for an acting job audition, you should remember that, like any good job opening, it all begins with your resume. No stint in acting should be overlooked, even ones in your high school or college drama club. Formal work with any theater will help pad your resume, and most importantly, if you've actually got stage acting experience list the plays you've done and the theaters you've worked with. Character references from any old contacts you have in the industry will be helpful, too.
Know Where to Look for Auditions
The simplest and easiest ways to look for auditions is to check common public information sources. Newspapers and the internet are the easiest and fastest ways to find any openings in your area. These openings will usually, but not always, be casting calls for a certain role on the stage. If your acting repertoire is limited by inexperience be sure to pick the roles that you know you can handle.
Do Research on the Role
Once you've got a set of potential auditions to go to, don't just jump into the car or hail a cab and run off to the theater. Do some research on the role that the audition is being held for. Remember that you'll most likely be competing with dozens if not hundreds of other hopefuls trying to land a place on the stage. You have to be able to slip into the character role in a heartbeat. You have to know how the character thinks, dresses, walks, and talks. If you can look and act the part before you actually start the audition, so much the better! There have been instances where a stage or movie director actually canvasses the line of applicants incognito, looking for someone who will jump at him out of the line screaming "pick me!" by his or her bearing and demeanor.
(Read Acting Is a Job: Real Life Lessons about the Acting Business
When all Else Fails, Get an Agent!
Lastly, if you're having trouble finding an audition or getting booked for an opening in one, you should consider getting an agent. Do your research so you can find a decent and reliable agent. Call your local Screen Actors Guild office and you can ask for a list of any and all registered agents they have. Guild registered agents have to adhere to the rules and regulations set by the guild, and as such are completely reliable. A bonus to this is the fact that they will have contacts who are already established in the acting industry, and they can put in a good word for you to help you along.