A lot of Nigerians want to act, a lot can act; as a matter of fact everyone can act, just that not everyone can act for TV or stage. Acting is as much art as it is a talent, and while I believe there are natural born actors, they are few and far between, as most good actors you find today have spent years training to become even good enough for small parts.
So, my advice is if you are a beginner with no training, the best thing you can do is find some sort of acting class or tutorial. No matter how good you think you are, the last thing you want to do is to go to an audition and not know what you’re doing – which is very common these days, or fall into the wrong hands all in the name of wanting to act. But how do you spot a good audition? The one that will give you that needed platform to truly show the world what you are capable of doing?
So, I call the first category of audition process
“SCAM AUDITION”. In other words, the people behind this audition process are just a bunch of hungry men and women looking for young and unsuspecting wannabe actors to scam. They are not producing any film or any TV series; they are just looking for quick money and some young ladies to have sex with and then disappear right after. There are signs to look for so you don’t fall victim to these scammers; I will tell you a few.
Buy an audition form: When you go for any audition and they tell you to buy a form for N500, N1000 or N5000, remove your pumps or stiletto heel shoes, keep them in your bag, take out your slippers, wear them and run very fast. You might think it is just N500 Naira and it is such a small price to pay for you to become a celeb actor, but N500 in 2000 places is a whooping 1 million naira! So please keep your money and put it to better use.
Register with us: Some scammers will want to get your confidence and reel you in slowly. They won’t ask you to buy audition form, they will let you audition and call you back that you made the cut and then ask you to buy registration form to become a part of the production house. Once they do that, it’s a red flag, it’s a scam. RUN! Remember, you are applying for a JOB! Means, they pay YOU at some point and not the other way round.
Submit “steamy” pictures: Some will ask ladies to submit pictures in lingerie, swimsuits, or even topless. Some will even ask you if you know how to kiss very well and ask you to kiss some guy among them. They will say all sorts of things to convince you, RUN. No serious casting directors (Acting) will ask you any other thing than a “headshot” or “full body shot” (clothed). Don’t do anything out of the ordinary because your steamy pictures or videos could appear anywhere – without your consent.
I can go on and on but I need to touch the other two.
Next category is
“QUACK AUDITION”. These ones are probably not out to scam you, but I call them quack for lack of a better word. These ones call for auditions without any formal document or something to prepare you as an actor or a presenter. The casting director might tell you something like “Assuming you came home from work and find your husband on top of your mother, react let us see” Then you see people rolling on the floor, jumping up and down, doing all sort of rubbish to convince the “quacks” that they know how to act and react.
Some quack casting directors will just look at a lady and cast her for a role because she is light skinned, tall, endowed and pleasing to their eye. But when the real shooting starts, same lady might not be able act to save her life. Most times, they have the actors they plan to use, they are just looking for some easy women to give extra roles to and then take advantage of them at the film location.
The third one is the
“PROFESSIONAL AUDITION” the one I call proper audition and the one I will be preparing you for later on here. For most professional auditions, they will ask you to bring a professional 8″ x 10″ photo called a “head shot” and a resume that indicates your acting experience and training. Though you might still get auditioned without those (depending on how generous the casting director is feeling), it is just professional they ask for a copy of the “head shot” and your resume.
At a professional audition, actors and actresses are given “Audition sides” which are often a few pages of the script with the roles that they are auditioning for. These sides are often given to the actors 1–3 days before the audition and some will provide you with “Character Bible” which contains information about the characters; name, age, sex, personality, attitude etc. This is to guide you as you try to play a character, so you don’t start reading and practicing for a character you don’t fit into.
So, next time, I will tell you what to do and what not do before, during, and after a professional audition as you strive to become that TV presenter or celebrity actor you’ve always wanted to be.
