San Diego City College – Acting for Radio/Voice Overs

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Audition Instructions from one Audio Book Publisher/Recording Studio

This was written by audio book voice artist Bill Dufris - http://www.dufris.com/

Auditionees must prepare a 3-4 minute excerpt from any ‘bestseller’. Please bring TWO (2) copies of the reading selection! It must be written in the 3rd person (allows the producer to assess your natural voice), and include a fair measure of dialogue between characters who are quite distinct from the ‘narrative voice’. Work on that which demonstrates your talents rather than your willingness to take on a challenge – please employ accents/dialects ONLY if you can sound like a native. What follows is a list of ‘tricks’ or tips which will reduce wasted time in the studio, along with unnecessary edits.  Please employ them when preparing and narrating your book.

READ BOOK AT LEAST TWICE The first read is for you to get a feel for the material. A third time prior to recording session will always stand you in good stead. During your second perusal...

MARK THE BOOK Initial or Color-code characters for dialogue sequences. Note mood and/or signpost with adverbs. Writing in remainder of incomplete sentence, or at least to a natural break, eliminates potential noise from page turn.

MONITOR THYSELF You will be wearing headphones and will be expected to be aware of any slips, fluffs, gaseous emissions, page turns, fabric rustles, etc. The engineer/producer, too, will be monitoring the recording, but it is far better for you to stop yourself, give a couple of beats, and then pick up at a convenient point, rather than have an external interruption disrupt your performance.

Onus is on the reader to research and ensure correct pronunciation of foreign words, geographical names, etc. Any questions, then contact the producer/engineer BEFORE recording session.

DIET & HEALTH Avoid dairy products and chocolate, get plenty of sleep (daily sessions run over 6 hours – with breaks – and a book can take 4 to 5 days), and NO SMOKING! Your voice is your sole instrument – why sabotage it?!? Side note: For comfort, wear loose clothing. NO jewelry!!!

LISTEN TO AN AUDIOBOOK In training to be an actor, one would certainly attend a film and/or a play, yes?

ENJOY! If YOU enjoy the reading (no matter how trashy the book), the CUSTOMER will enjoy your performance... and the PUBLISHER will continue to employ you.

Reprinted with permission from Bill Dufris -- http://www.dufris.com/

12/3/03