Small Talk & Audition Rooms

By Jenna Pastuszek

This month, I'm taking Seth Godin's altMBA. As part of the program, we received a giant box of books about business. I've decided to read these business books from the actor's perspective. Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing some of the concepts from the book and my spin on using this information in our industry. 

I'm currently reading The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier. 

He says: 

“Small talk might be a useful way to warm up, but it’s rarely the bridge that leads to a  conversation that matters.” 

This has me noodling on audition room banter. Maybe it feels slightly jarring to the people  behind the table for an actor to waltz in and choose to begin their audition by telling the table why they're here and why this piece matters to them, instead of following suit of the previous  100 people who walked in talking about mundane topics like the weather or lunch. 

...maybe it’s time to be jarring.