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You know that moment in an audition,

when your scene partner says their line

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and you feel pressure to do something,

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you nod, you blink, you shift your

face, you give a tiny actor reaction

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because silence feels dangerous.

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Here's a little secret.

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Sometimes the best reaction

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is no reaction at all.

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Today we're going to uncover one of the

most overlooked.

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Audition skills the ability to listen

without performing

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your listening.

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This is the subtle art that separates

actors who look authentic from actors

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who look like they're trying to look

authentic.

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Let's talk about it.

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This is casting actor's castle.

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Well, hello, I'm, Jeffrey Dreisbach

casting director, author of bookedit

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the actor's playbook for getting cast.

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And your host, forecasting actor's cask

that's very podcast.

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This is the podcast where we dive into

practical,

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real world tools that help you prepare

smarter, act better.

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And yes, book more

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today's topic, secret audition.

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listening

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without reacting.

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That came straight from the audition

room.

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See, I've watched thousands of actors

come in deliverance

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strong lines and performances,

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but lose the moment in the listening.

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They think they're being connected, but

what's really happening is a subtle

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layer of performance

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that says, look, look at me.

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Look at me.

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I'm listening

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in this episode will break down

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why over listening kills authenticity,

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how real listening works on camera,

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the difference between reacting and

receiving.

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And a few quick techniques to make your

auditions look effortless,

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because they feel effortless

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by the end.

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You'll understand how to make silence

powerful and how to trust not tension

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turns your listening into acting.

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Magic

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song.

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Oh yeah.

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But first, this is that moment of the

conversation where I get to say thank

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you for tuning in.

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Please check out the website.

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Casting an actress casts all one word.

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Dotcom there's a form that says, dive

into the talent pool.

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That'll open up some free bees, a book

undoing voice over work.

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It's also going to give you some three

videos.

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And it's also a part there that you can

ask a question.

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There's a space there where you can

simply ask me a question, if you like.

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And i'll feature it on future episodes.

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So, trying to make this a community of

like minded individuals who really

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wants to up their game

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with the casting director.

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So that's why we're here.

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And if you wouldn't mind leaving me a

thumbs up, a, like, a review, let other

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actor friends know about the podcast.

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That would mean a world to me.

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So thank you so much.

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All right, let's get into this big

discussion here about what I call the

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actor face problem.

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So let's be honest.

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Every actor knows the actor face.

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You know what it is?

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It's that slight,

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overly engaged look you give your

reader so they can see that you're in

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the moment.

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I've seen things like actors leaning in,

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or maybe you nod at the right time,

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or maybe they tilt their head like a

puppy who just heard its name

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and listen.

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I get it.

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Auditions can feel like being on

display.

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You're

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sitting under lights, trying to prove

that you're alive, alert and

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emotionally available.

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But guess what?

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There's a catch.

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Here's the catch.

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The camera doesn't need to see you

listening.

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It just needs to believe that you are.

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When you overdo your listening, it

tells me, as the casting director, that

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your focus isn't on the other person,

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it's on you.

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In real life,

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when you're deeply listening,

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your face doesn't do much.

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Your energy shifts inward.

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You absorb

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that's what we want to see.

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Not the surface response, but the

internal event.

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Also.

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Listening is not waiting.

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A common mistake actors make is

confusing listening with waiting.

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They hold still,

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but they're just waiting for the next

cue.

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Their eyes kind of glaze slightly.

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The real listening technique means

you're allowing what you're hearing to land.

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It might change you, but not visibly,

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not energetically.

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It's like letting the other actor's

words hit a tuning fork inside you

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when you're truly listening.

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You're not planning your response.

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You're responding to what's happening

now.

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And guess what?

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That's what makes the difference

between a good read and

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that actor was alive in the moment.

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I've heard that,

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and when you hear, that that's the best

kind of compliment you could get.

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So here's something that you can

practice.

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Here's some tips.

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I suggest that you have someone read

you a, oh, I don't know.

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It can be a monologue or a random

story.

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I don't want you to prepare to answer.

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I just want you to absorb,

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listening to what is being said

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when that's happening.

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Notice how your body naturally reacts

when you're not trying to perform listening

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that's the feeling you want to bring

into the audition room.

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Practice that a few times.

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A switch between being the story teller

and being the receiver so that you can

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mirror each other in that exercise.

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That's really, really useful.

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Now let's move on from there.

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The camera loves stillness.

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Let's talk strictly on camera for just

a second.

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On stage, we, we simply need to fill

space with our bodies and our voices

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and our presence.

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But on camera,

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stillness

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reads as confidence.

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Movement

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often reads as nervousness.

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So excess movement is a very

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tell

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for a lot of characters.

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It's only a very specific choice that

you make depending upon the character

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that you're playing.

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Understand that the lens is like a mind

reader.

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It picks up every micro shift in

thought.

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So you don't have to show it.

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You just have to have it.

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Here's the casting truth.

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If you trust that what's being said to

you matters,

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we will see it even if you don't move a

muscle.

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The best on camera actors let the

moment breathe,

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they're not decorating silence.

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Don't you love that

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decorating silence?

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See, they're just simply living in it.

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So the next time you're in an audition

and the other person is talking, try this.

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Keep your breath active.

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Let the words land

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don't chase the next beat.

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Let it arrive.

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You'll be shocked how powerful that

quiet confidence feels and looks.

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Now let's talk about reacting versus

receiving

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here's the distinction I love teaching

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reacting is external.

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is internal.

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When you react,

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you're responding to the surface.

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The sound of the words, the idea, the

tone,

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when you receive, you're responding to

the meaning.

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What do those words actually mean to

you?

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Reacting is fast.

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Receiving

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takes a beat.

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That's why you've seen it in great

performances.

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You often see a delay, a moment between

hearing and speaking.

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That space is the truth of the moment

arriving.

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So this might help to think of it like

this.

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If someone tells you your best friend

just betrayed you,

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you don't instantly burst into tears,

into crying.

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There's that flicker,

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that moment of disbelief,

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comprehension,

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pain

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you see that's receiving.

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Actors who know how to receive look

real.

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Because real life doesn't happen on cue.

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We've got more all about this,

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right after this.

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Moving on

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let's talk about the trust, your

audience principle.

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One reason actors over perform their

listening is that they don't trust the

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audience to get it.

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They feel they have to help the moment

land.

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But, you know, that doesn't really

quite work.

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But anyway, here's the good news.

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You can let go.

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The audience is smart.

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They'll pick up the emotional current

even when you don't spell it out.

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So instead of showing you're affected,

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just let yourself be affected.

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You don't have to prove your inner

life.

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You just have to let it exist.

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That quiet confidence

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that I don't have to show you

everything.

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Quality

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is what makes actors

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magnetic.

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It's what makes us lean in and want to

know more.

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So let's talk about some practical

tools for audition,

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partition listening.

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Let's call it

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let's make this concrete.

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Here are a few tools to develop the

skill of listening without reacting.

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Here's what I call the echo exercise.

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Have a friend read lines to you, and

you repeat them back, not immediately,

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but after a beat.

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Feel what changes when you let their

words echo through you.

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But I call silentate, do a self tape

where you only listen.

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No lines no responses, and then watch

it back.

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I know you're going to be surprised at

how much expression actually

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happens naturally when you stop

managing your face.

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Then there's the inner monologue

rehearsal

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between your partner's line.

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Ask yourself silently,

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what do I want right now?

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What did that just do to me?

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When you do that, it keeps your inner

life alive without physical effort.

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And most importantly, record yourself

and watch it back with kindness,

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don't judge.

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Learn, listening is a muscle.

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The more you trust it, the stronger it

gets.

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So I think those tips are really

helpful.

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Hopefully you're jotting them down.

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By the way, if you go to the website

casting actor's cast dot com, you'll

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also see a place that's called jeff's

jots.

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Those are the blog and show notes for

each episode.

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So you can get this actually written

out for you very, very easily.

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Just do a little bit of searching in

the website you'll get it.

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So here's my, what I call the call to

action.

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So what we gave you, the secret

audition skill that too few actors practice

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listening without reacting.

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Now if you take one thing away from

today's episode, let it be this

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silence doesn't mean nothing's

happening.

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Silence means

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everything's happening.

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The best listening moments are the ones

that change you.

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Even a little

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that's what makes the work truthful.

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So this week,

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try an audition where your goal isn't

to impress,

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it's to receive,

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don't fill the silence, don't decorate

your stillness.

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Just trust that the story lives between

the lines.

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So if to day's episode helps you shift

your perspective, share it with a

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friend, a scene partner or your acting

class.

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And if you want to keep sharpening your

audition technique, check out my online

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course, next level auditions, or grab

my book.

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Booked it the actor's play book for

getting cast.

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I'm Geoffrey driesback.

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Thanks for listening to casting actor's

cast.

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And guess what?

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00:13:26,439 --> 00:13:28,808

sometimes the strongest choice you can

make

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00:13:29,709 --> 00:13:30,710

is the