Review
Casting director, Julie Harkin, casts her eye over some of the newest books for young actors hoping to impress…
- Audition Speeches for 6-16 Year Olds: 50 Audition Pieces for Actors and Actresses
- Methuen Drama
Child Star? Part I
Audition Speeches for 6 to 16 year olds is a great book for all those training in drama for Lamda or main school exams.
It offers an interesting and varied range of pieces which challenge the performer. There is opportunity for exploring the individual’s own creative outlet. I think Jean Marlow has collected together an exciting collection of pieces with the right mix of classical and modern; from highly respected and adored writers such as Beatrix Potter, Alan Ayckbourn and Roald Dahl.
As regards the advice section at the beginning of the book, I do have a few areas of concern! In my opinion, I’m not sure that children and young adults need to be given advice about the world of commercials. If students are using the book for the purpose of studying drama as an art, I fail to understand why they need a section of advice on how to behave in a commercial casting. There isn’t exactly a creative approach needed for performing in commercials - or any need to perform a Shakespearean monologue in the casting. I have never thought a great deal of acting talent is required for commercial casting and if this book is aimed towards drama examinations then why is it giving advice in this area? I was also perturbed by the passage from Richard Callanan, titled, ‘Don’t flirt with the director’ Is that the advice we should be giving to children? It puzzled me! On the other hand there is some good, sound advice from Barbara Roberts, children’s casting director for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
