What To Wear In An Audition

Can your wardrobe choices in an audition make or break you? Kind of...

It can surely break you. Here's some guidelines for selecting what to wear in an audition. Remember that there are no hard, fast rules in acting. Use good judgement and always ask yourself, "Will they be looking at my face or what I'm wearing?" You want them looking at your face! It's ok if your clothing choice is boring. Let's dazzle them with your performance!

Here's what not to wear:

1. Avoid clothing with busy patterns, stripes, polka dots, anything that distracts the viewer. Don't wear shirts with company logos or messages. You don't want them trying to read your shirt.
   • The logo on your shirt might also belong to a competing company with the people who brought you in to audition. Example: Your shirt has a small "Nike" symbol and you're auditioning for Adidas.
   • The viewer disagrees with the message on your shirt. He doesn't want to "have a good day." Lol...you get my point, right?
2. Stay away from bright, neon, shiny, sparkly clothes. Again, it may be gorgeous, but is it helping or hurting you?
3. Make sure you're not showing too much skin. Even when your character is "sexy," that doesn't mean wear revealing clothing. Remember that casting directors and producers will be watching the audition and you don't want to
   • Embarrass them
   • Distract them from watching your face
   • Possibly give the wrong impression
4. Avoid lots of jewelry. Small earrings or a simple necklace would be ok. The point is to not wear chunky, noise, or dangly jewelry that can distract the viewer. 

While we're on the subject, let me throw in a tip on makeup and hair. Keep it simple! Don't overdo your hair and makeup. It's overpowering when all we can see on the audition video is your shoulders to the top of your head. Don't overwhelm the viewer by wearing too much makeup or intense hairstyles. Less is more.

Here's what to wear: 

1. Choose tops with solid colors, or at least tops that don't have a pronounced, distracting pattern.
2. Wear colors that compliment your skin tone. Think of the colors you wear when people compliment you, "You look great in that!" Or is there a color you wear often that makes you feel good. Remember, you need to feel confident in what you're wearing. Hopefully, the colors you look good in are the same that make you feel your best.
3.  Wear colors that compliment your eye color. Don't shy away from wearing a blue blouse to make your blue eyes pop, or whatever the color is that brings attention to your eyes. That's where the most truth and honesty in an actor is revealed.
4. Wear colors that differ from your hair color. I have dark-brown, almost black hair, so if I wear a black or brown shirt in my audition, I need to make sure my hair is up, so it doesn't blend in. Otherwise, I'll look like a dark blob with a face. (I guess that's one way to make them look at my face...but it's the wrong reason.) 🤣
5. Wear colors that contrast, but compliment your background color in the audition. This is controllable only in a self-taped audition. You know what color is behind you when you're taping. If you have a gray wall, stay away from gray shirts. Don't blend into the wall.
   • Side note: if you want to have the ability to change out your background colors, one idea is to use a curtain rod on your wall so you can change out material behind you. Go to your material store and select non-shiny, non-wrinkle, solid color materials that will cover the entire section on your "audition wall." Popular colors are grays, light browns, and blues.
   • I chose to paint my wall a mid-toned gray. It seems to work for all of my auditions...as long as I don't wear a similar gray shirt, I'm good!
6. If the audition you're doing describes your character in a bathing suit or similar revealing clothing,  an acceptable, respectable choice is a tank top and shorts. This is where you get to choose for yourself how you appear. Many times, the casting director will give you some instruction on the appropriate wardrobe choices for these cases. 
   • Of course, if you're ever doing a nude scene, NEVER audition in the nude. Please! Please
7. It's ok to wear small, non-distracting jewelry. If you don't know what that is, start watching commercials. You'll see that most of the time, the actors have small earrings or a subtle chain necklace. Keep is small. It should compliment, not be the center of attention.

So, hopefully you get the point. YOU are the focus of attention. You're not there to sell your clothing, your makeup abilities, your hair product or your jewelry collection. 

YOU ARE SELLING YOU!

Have your "Go-To" clothing choices ready.

Make sure the focus is squarely on your face. Don't freak out over wardrobe choices. Have a select group of outfits for the usual roles you play, and stick to them. Your efforts should be going into your scene preparation, not your clothing.

Know what's important and focus on that. Go get it!

Nancy