One very important component of your drama school auditioning process is criticism.
For the most part, criticism gets a bad wrap. Nobody wants to hear “bad” things about themselves.
Living in this time where the internet is a major part of our lives, sometimes it may feel like there are just too many opinions. Everywhere you turn; every comment, every picture, every post is held under the microscope of public opinion.
For the most part we resist this torrent of opinions and go about our lives doing whatever it is we feel we need to do to uphold the version of ourselves we want to portray. Because no one knows us better than we know ourselves, for the most part we trust ourselves and do our best to ignore the criticis
We need to know that what wto know If we cant be heard or if the story we are telling isn’t coming across.
That is why actors collaborate with directors. It’s the directors job to be critical. To be a sounding board for the actors.
The key is understanding when to take criticism and from whom.
It’s true, a lot of people will not have your best interest at heart. The world is FULL of “haters”; people who are miserable because they have very little control over their lives so they try and make up for that with their opinion. If they cant change themselves, maybe they can change you.
The type of criticism that we should always be open to and on the look out for is constructive criticism.
Constructive criticism is criticism that can be applied to your work with the expectation of it being better. Constructive criticism, even though sometimes it stings, builds you up. Destructive criticism tears you down.
Constructive criticism may be one of the most useful things in an actor’s life. Constructive criticism is objective. Constructive criticism usually has to do with what a person observes as opposed to what a person feels. Constructive criticism usually comes from people who want to see us do well; teachers, friends, mentors etc.
Constructive criticism will probably come from all types of people but the criticism that we take and actually use will come from people that we trust. This true until we learn how to sort through criticism and take what we need.
Finding people we trust to give their honest opinion about our work is very valuable.
Being open to constructive criticism could make or break your drama school audition process.
Working alone is useful, but only for so long. Eventually you will need other people’s opinions.
Constructive criticism after spending productive alone time on your audition pieces will not only be refreshing but crucial. Constructive criticism is great to look for when your feeling stuck or when your monologues are feeling stale or over done.
Sometimes we just need to step back and say “hey, could you tell me what you think about my monologue?”