The Complete Professional Audition: A Commonsense Guide To Auditioning For Musicals and Plays

By Michael Perilstein, Daren Cohen, Dashka Slater

In the United States, there are 300,000 actors; 100,000 hold union cards. There are 184 college theater programs and 108 performing-arts high schools. There are 578 acting schools and coaches in New... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0823076830
• ISBN13: 9780823076833
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Back Stage Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.9" x 0.5" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Fantastic

This book is much more informative and essential to the working actor than the countless others you can find on a bookshelf. Instead of giving the same advice (which usually isn't good to use in an audition situation), it expounds on the idea that you already have some idea about what you need and gives you real, nose-to-the-grindstone advice on how to tighten things up and give a real whammy of an audition. As well as advice on choosing the appropriate 16 bars or monologue, it gives advice about representation, Actors Equity, resumés, headshots, you name it. Here's a hint: This book is soo worth it, we used it as a textbook in a collegiate course about auditioning.

Simply invaluable

Actors, whether seasoned or new, who regularly audition for musicals and plays should not omit taking at least a peek at the advice in The Complete Professional Audition: A Commonsense Guide To Auditioning For Musicals And Plays: it's a 'must' for would-be pros and provides an edge over the competition in both musical theater and regular play auditions, from locating the right music or monologue to demonstrating unique talents in a mere 2 minutes. An added bonus: chapters which discuss the realities of a working actor's life beyond the audition, from union regulations and the roles of agents to further reference tips, including web sites. Simply invaluable.

If you plan on a career in theatre

If you plan on a career in theatre, this book is a must. Not owning it, is like a hairstylist not owning scissors. It is a necessary item in really owning and excercising one's craft. I have had the pleasure to work with Darren Cohen personally, and can only describe it as an actor's dream. This book is the next best thing. Everything is simple and down to terms that agree with an actor's mind and allow us to understand the delicate creature that is "the audition." I only wish this was around when I was still in college. A Must!!!!

great tool for auditioning

I have read a few books on auditioning and Darren Cohen's book is by far the most informative and gives you the most effective tools for great auditions. Since reading it my auditions have gotten so much better and I am much more comfortable in the audition room. This book is a must for any actor or musical theatre person!!

An Excellent Guide for Young Actors

The Complete Proffessional Audition, by Darren Cohen and Michael Perilstein, is a terrific, fresh approach to an auditioning book. As a young actor myself I found the ideas and suggestions in this book to be most helpful. The exercises given in the monologue section has helped me find new life in my monologue, and has actually made me excited about performing it. The practical information section was equally beneficial it gave some great advice on a wide variety of subjects such as, representation, taxes and getting experience among others. For those of you who can carry a tune the musical theater audition section is filled with advice and suggestions for the perfect singing audition, and for those of us who are not (myself included) I recommend reading that section anyway, some of the suggestions given can also go towards non-singing auditions and are very useful. Darren and Michael have done an outstanding job of putting together a great book filled with wonderful tips that every actor should know and utilize in every audition. Commonsense starts with buying this book.