Casting Director Roger Del Pozo gives a new perspective on commercial auditions
By Roger Del Pozo
Q: Should I make eye contact with my commercial casting director while auditioning?
A: Never play to the casting director. This makes them feel awkward and uncomfortable and will make you more nervous too. Pick a spot on the fourth wall, see it, and play to it. The more you believe it, the more the casting director will believe it. This will ground you in your monologue and make it more realistic.
Be specific. 90% of acting is imagining. If you are detailed about your imagination during the audition, then you will have more success making your audience believe in the scenario you are imagining.
If the audition calls for you to talk to only one person, keep your eyes on the spot you've chosen. If you’re supposed to be talking to a group of people (like a jury or a talk show audience), you should pick several specific points and talk to those spots as if they were actual people in the audience.
Q: Have commercials changed over the years? Are there trends I should be aware of?
A: Nowadays, with new technology and globalization, the medium of commercials has changed. Now, commercials range from ad campaigns for the internet to 30 second shorts that represent a slice of natural, real life. Furthermore, commercials are open to a large ethnic range, whereas, in the past they did not encourage diversity. Today, the more mixed the better.
Commercials reflect the trends of the world. The world is encouraging the ethnically ambiguous, whether it's in actors, model, or politicians. Today, commercials reproduce a slice of life and are not as performance-based and stagnant as they were in the past.
Q: Is there one major piece of advice that I should always remember?
A: Audition, Audition, Audition! Did you know that Jack Nicholson auditioned 200 times before he even landed a part? Let this be a lesson to you: It is your job as an actor to audition. You will audition more than you act. You need to be able to handle rejection and never give up.
For more advice from commercial casting director Roger Del Pozo, don't miss Q&A with Roger Del Pozo: Commercial Audition Basics.
Roger Del Pozo - Commercial Casting Director. Roger worked as a casting director at Beth Melsky Casting for over six years. He has since left that office to work as an independent casting director at some of the largest and busiest casting offices and advertising agencies in the city.
His most recent work includes commercials for Adidas, Aflac, American Express, AT&T, Budweiser, Coke, eBay, ESPN, FedEx, Gatorade, Geico, HBO, Herbal Essences, iPod, Lowe's, Macy's, Maytag, McDonalds, MTV, Nike, Pfizer, Sony, Verizon, and Volkswagen. He has also cast feature films, theater productions, industrial films, video games, and music videos.
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