"And tell me a little about yourself...."

Ah, those dreaded interview auditions. What ARE we looking for in those?

These are usually print auditions, and in addition to taking some stills, we usually do a quick little interview/chat on camera. Generally speaking, we're looking to see some personality from you. Clients want to see how you speak naturally, and what your movements are like naturally. We get to see how comfortable you are just being yourself. Since there's no script or anything to physically have you do in an audition like that, we chat with you.

We usually ask some kind of open ended question, in hopes that you'll talk for like 30-60 seconds. Often it's something along the lines of "what's something you're looking forward to in the next couple months" or "what's your favorite thing about x season" or "tell us a little about yourself". We want a little glimpse into who you are and what your life is like.

What we AREN'T looking for is to hear about acting and modeling. We know you act/model, you're at this audition. Tell us stuff we don't know about you. Talking about acting makes it seem like you're very one dimensional, and that outside of this industry you have no interests.

Things that ARE great to talk about:

*OTHER jobs you have, is there something cool happening in your "day" job?

*Do you volunteer anywhere? Tell us where and why you volunteer at that specific place.

*Are you in grad school or on a PHD track? While it seems academic and boring to you, it's interesting (and makes you look smart) to us.

*Do you have kids/grandkids/nieces/nephews? What kind of things do you enjoy doing with them? What is special about those things?

*Travel plans, are you planning a vacation or trip somewhere? Why did you choose where you're going, or where are you in the planning stages, what are you hoping to do while there? Who are you going with?

* Family stuff, do you have family parties or weddings etc that are coming up that you're excited about? What's the event, and why are you excited about it?

*Hobbies. What kind of stuff do you like to do when you have free/down time? Do you fill that time with athletics? Are you outdoorsy? Do you like to cook? Are you a crafter? Are you a big reader? What drew you to that activity, or how did you get started in it? What do you love about it?

*Is there something else that you've been super interested in recently? Talk about that! Someone recently was in and telling me about research they've been doing because they got interested in learning more about something they'd read about. That's interesting!

It's all about getting you loose and relaxed, and seeing some of your real self and real personality shine through. These are some of my favorite casting sessions because i get the opportunity to just chat with people, and i learn some truly interesting and fascinating things about everyone.