Different Types of Auditions

There are many different types of monologues that you may come across as an actor and you need to know the difference between them.

1. Sight Reading - Where an actor is given a text that they possibly haven't seen before, and asked to play the part of a particular character, whilst member of the audition panel, or another actor reads the other part. 
2. Workshop Audition - Where a group of actors take part in a range of activities that may be based on drama, vocal or physical skills to not only judge their performance abilities, but also to see how well they work as a part of an ensemble or team. You may be asked to perform monologues that you have prepared, (possibly in front of each other).
3. Standard Audition - where actors are individually invited to perform one or more monologues for a director/casting director/producer or other industry professionals, with a view to being cast in a specific role, or in order to gain employment/training. 
4. Open Audition - where a production team is generally looking for a range of actors to take on specific roles, and specific individual are not singled out to attend. This can be described as a 'Cattle market' in the industry, where hundreds turn up. During this type of audition, the production team may have a vague idea of what they are looking for, and may discount actors based on appearance before they even get into their individual monologue auditions. 
5. TV/Film Casting - where an actor will be invited to 'read' (perform) the part of a specific character, using a script that they are possibly sent up to 48 hours before, or as a sight-reading. During this style of audition, you will rarely be asked to perform a monologue, as theatre acting techniques are very different to screen acting techniques. You can expect to see a director, casting director and/or producer in your audition, which will be recorded so that the panel can look back over your performance and see how well you perform the role for the screen. 
6. Drama School/Stage School/ Uni Audition - where an actor is aiming to be offered a place on a specific course or training programme of their choice. You would generally be expected to prepare three audition pieces lasting 2-3 minutes each, which are contrasting. Most places will expect you to perform a classical (Before 1800) and a contemporary piece as part of your choices, to show how versatile, knowledgeable and skilled you are as an actor. Some institutions will choose the monologues that they want to see, and will post these out for you to learn, research, develop and perform - and they may only give you a week or less to do this.