The Ultimate Audition Cheat Sheet 

By Kurt Yue 

 
Hello my fellow actor! Let’s talk about auditions. Acting and auditioning are two 
different skill sets. Learning how to act will help you become a good actor. 
Learning how to audition will help you become a working actor. 
 
Here is the ten step process I use to create a killer on-camera audition. This 
approach has helped me book over 50 movies and television shows including 
Marvel films, Netflix projects, HBO shows, and many more. I hope it helps you 
knock your next audition out of the park! 
 
1. Research 
Before you memorize a single word, research as much as you can about the 
project, the story, and your character. Who is the director? Writer? Producers? 
Production company? Are any actors already attached to the project? All of this 
information can help you make more informed choices.  
 
If there are sides for other characters available, download and read those. If the 
project is a show that is currently running, watch an episode or two. If the 
project is based on a book, find a synopsis of the plot. If there are sections of 
your sides that are crossed out, read them to get a better understanding of the 
overall story. The point is, you can never have too much information. Become a 
detective on CSI and find all the hidden clues.  
 
2. Find Your Character Objective 
What defines a character is what the character wants. After doing your research, 
and with all of the new information at your disposal, ask yourself: What do I 
want? Why do I want it? And what am I willing to do to get it? The great acting 
teacher Sanford Meisner said “The foundation of acting is the reality of doing.” 
Knowing what you are doing in each scene will give your words purpose. It will 
give your words life. Find your objective and do what you can to achieve it.  
3. Find the Story Objective 
Often, especially when you are in the early stages of your career, you will not be 
auditioning for the main character of a movie or television show. That’s nothing 
to be ashamed of because supporting characters play vital roles in every story. 
Understanding the purpose of your character’s role in the story will help you 
decide how to act the scene. 
 
Ask yourself: If my character is not the lead, how does my character and my 
scene serve the story for the lead? For example, if the lead is supposed to be 
frustrated in the scene, you may consider playing your role in a way to agitate 
him/her. Your acting choices should serve the story, not your ego. 
 
4. Know the Relationships 
After determining your character and story objectives, it’s time to examine the 
relationships. Ask yourself: Who are the other people in the scene? How do I feel 
about them? And are they helping me or preventing me from achieving my 
objective? Don’t forget about characters who are not physically present in the 
scene. For example, your character’s mother could be in the story but not in the 
scene. Yet, your relationship with her may impact your behavior in the moment.  
 
5. Flip the Script 
Breaking down objectives and relationships shouldn’t stop with the role that you 
are auditioning for. Flip the script and do the same thing for all the other 
characters in the scene. This will help paint a more complete picture of what is 
actually happening in the story.  
 
6. Work the Transitions 
One of my acting teachers always says, “You will book in the transitions.” A 
transition is the organic process by which a character’s behavior and/or emotion 
changes from one state to another. Some people call these beat changes, or 
events, or moments of discovery. If your transitions are good, your audition will 
look real. If your transitions are false, your audition will fall apart. 
 
A transition can be big or small. Consider the following scene: A woman walks 
into her living room and finds her husband sitting on the couch. He is home two 
hours earlier than usual. This moment of surprise should trigger a transition for 
the actor playing the woman. Now consider a slightly different scene: A woman 
walks into her living room and finds her husband sitting on the couch. She thought 
he died three years ago. This moment of surprise should also trigger a transition, 
but the behavioral/emotional change will be very different than in the first 
scenario. Find the transitions and be able to live them truthfully. 
 
7. Play with Choices 
Ok, now we get to use our creativity and have some fun! When I look at a script 
for the first time, I try my best not to fall into the trap of thinking I know exactly 
how I should play my character. Sure, the obvious choice may end up being the 
strongest choice, but how will you know unless you try some things that are not 
as obvious? In his famous book ‘Audition’, Michael Shurtleff talks about the 
power of opposite choices. If your instinct is to threaten the other character, try 
flirting instead and see how that comes out. Brilliant performances aren’t made 
up of a bunch of obvious choices. Explore. Play. Have fun. 
 
Another thing I like to do is test out different levels of urgency. For example, 
using the written lines, try to convince the other character that you’re in a life or 
death situation. After that, do it again but convince them that everything is 
totally chill, nothing to worry about. This may seem ridiculous on paper, but it 
will help you think more creatively about your character and the story.  
 
8. Find the Scene within the Frame 
This is where we really zero in on the “on-camera” part of the audition. Now that 
we’ve done all of the ‘homework’ and made our choices, we need to figure out 
how to bring the scene to life within the confines of a fixed camera frame.  
 
One thing that will help you create the scene is to visualize your environment. 
Really know your eye-lines for every character and object in the scene. The more 
you believe in the environment that you are in, the more the audience will as 
well. Help the audience see what you see by telling the story with your eyes. And 
make sure to cheat all of your actions and dialogue towards the camera. Think 
about all of the acting choices you made in the previous steps and figure out 
how to perform them without turning too far one way or the other. The camera 
should see your face and especially your eyes at all times. 
9. Record and Review 
This goes hand-in-hand with the previous step. Record and watch your auditions 
so you know if what you are doing is working and if you need to make 
adjustments. If your audition is a self-tape, you are going to be doing this 
anyway. If you are preparing for an in-person audition, you MUST do this as well. 
Hollywood audition coach Lesly Kahn says, “Every single audition that you go out 
for is on tape. For you to not know EXACTLY what that tape is going to look like is 
an error in judgement on your part.”  
 
What good is that brilliant choice you came up with if it doesn’t make sense 
when you watch it back? Use your phone. Use the webcam on your laptop. Use 
whatever recording device at your disposal so you can see exactly what the 
director and producers will see when they make their casting decision. And no, 
the mirror is not a substitute for recording yourself. When you practice in front 
of a mirror, you are half performing and half reviewing. You cannot focus on 
either task 100%. Get in the habit of recording yourself. You won’t regret it. 
 
10. Let Go of the Outcome 
The last step is a reminder to reframe your thinking. Do not think about booking 
the job because that is out of your control. Instead, think of the audition as an 
opportunity to perform. Actor Bryan Cranston said it best during an interview, 
“You’re not there to get a job, you’re there to do a job.” In other words, stop 
trying to get something; try to give something. The audition is your job. Take the 
pressure of booking off your back. Thinking this way can also calm those pesky 
audition nerves. Go in there and perform and forget about the outcome.  
 
 
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I hope you’ve found this cheat sheet helpful! By no means is this 

the only way to approach an audition. Play with the strategies 
I’ve listed. Experiment. Add your own flavors into the mix. Over 
time, you’ll develop your own process that works best for you. 
The key is to practice, practice, practice. 
- Kurt Yue http://imdb.me/kurtyue