Keeping the Casting Director Awake…

“Novelty recognition is a hard-wired survival tool all humans share. Our brains are trained to look for something brilliant and new, something that stands out.”Dr. A. K. Pradeep

They’re only human, you know? Casting Directors. They sit there all day watching people like you give it there all (or not) and looking for the one or two that really stand out. But like any other human being, they do get bored, they lose interest, they have finite stores of attention even when they are happy to be there and looking for the next big star of a major commercial, they are only human, and they can and will switch off if they aren’t given a reason to stay switched onto your performance. There is something that we can do about that, it’s very simple but it’s also very overlooked. We can use something called Novelty Recognition against them (not in a nasty way, they’ll like it if you do it right) and it will help you make a killer impact.

Bombard the brain with new things. Sound simple?And yet most monologues that I see delivered without some help or coaching do the very opposite. This is how most monologues are delivered: Right, I am a serious actor, take a moment, right, start strong, have I found a state that approximates the emotion that the character might be feeling? Yes. I sound angry good, now I have to maintain that anger for the rest of the monologue, show them angry, I am angry, show them how angry I am, and I'll finish BIG with loads of anger, and come out of the ‘zone’ quickly and look a bit sheepish about what I have just done – like a dog that pee’d on the rug. Watch a dozen monologues and sadly 90% of them will roughly have that shape. And that’s not how you get their attention or keep it. You need to intrigue their brains into staying interested, into engaging. And that takes novelty. That means your monologue or scene needs be filled with attention grabbing variety that asks the brain to not only stay awake, but also pay serious attention. You need to make bold choices that trigger the novelty recognition.
This is the Casting Director’s brain during the above monologue:“Oh she’s taking a minute, that’s good. She should. Right! She’s off… Great, she’s started! That’s very believable! Right. She’s angry cool. She’s angry. Yep. She’s angry. Uh huh. She’s… Did I pay the electric bill?”Your monologue or scene should be broken down into chunks that can each introduce novelty. A change. A change in pace, in energy, in intensity. A change in pitch, or volume, a moment of silence – something linked to the journey of the character through the piece. Through novelty, we stimulate the brain. Through consistency, we send it to sleep. The choice is yours, but this one little trick, understanding the brain’s need for novelty may just land you your next big job.