Audition Advice from Josef Brown: Lessons learned from both sides of the table.
Success is the line of preparation, meeting the line of opportunity.
I enjoyed a blessed career. Due to luck, timing, and a body that seemed to absorb – for some time – all manner of suffering I inflicted upon it, I was able to remain fully employed, and relatively injury free until I was in my early 40’s. After that time, with my dancing shoes proverbially hung on the wall, I limped on, continuing as an actor in TV for another few years.
I didn’t audition a lot when I was young. I vaguely recall unsuccessful auditions for NIDA, and for the musical Cats while in my late teens. Yet soon after, I auditioned and was accepted into The Australian Ballet School, which led into The Australian Ballet and later into Sydney Dance Company, though reflecting now, I see that I was engaged in an ongoing, informal audition process. For while those years flowed without the formality of the obvious audition, in a sense every day was a kind of audition. Every class and performance you’re working to discover and define what “your best” is that day and under those conditions and to find ways to reveal more of who you are, in part for yourself, and in part so others might see you in new and different ways and potentially cast you based on their new perception, be they the company Artistic staff or a visiting choreographer. In short, securing a full-time company position doesn’t mean auditioning stops; it simply changes structure and intensity.
After The Australian Ballet and Sydney Dance Company I auditioned, first for Musical Theatre and later for TV, film, and commercial opportunities. It was in these years that I spent a lot of time in audition rooms and later still, putting down audition tapes as the industry increasingly capitalised on technological improvements to simplify the audition process and increase access for those not living near traditional audition spaces.
Now 55, I’ve learned a lot about how and how not to audition, from both sides of the audition table, and here in short, are what I consider three important pieces of advice.
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
- The Serenity Prayer
1 Audition like you’re not auditioning.
One of the biggest mistakes I made time and again was to care too much and spend too much time imagining where an audition might lead, at the expense of remaining focused on the audition itself. That is, care about the work for the sake of the work. Enjoy the craft and the opportunity to work on a dance, a script, or a song etc. and to perform, and not because you’re hoping and wanting for it to lead to something beyond, that you think might be even more engaging, even more important to you i.e., a job, money, celebrity, adoration, respect.
Embrace the moment as an opportunity to perform. Focus on that, and chances are you’ll be your best version, and the future will take care of itself.
2 When chopping wood, chop wood. When carrying water, carry water.
I’ve forgotten the exact origin of the sentence above, and I’ve probably mis-recalled a line from a book on Zen or Taoist meditation. Yet the point is, the line again implores the reader to be in the moment.
I’ve always had a very high energy. Much of the time, during long seasons, this was a blessing. Yet there were instances such as high-pressure opening nights, or first auditions, when this could be a curse. I often found it very difficult to reign in that energy, which would express itself as anxiety in higher pressure moments and so, even when I did manage to keep it in check, it was usually due to an immense force of will, which impeded me from being fully engaged with the work, as so much of my focus was spent trying to stay relatively calm. I would often come across as aloof and disengaged socially due to this internal struggle.
I wish I’d learnt to meditate earlier, to be more focused on the moment, to trust myself in the moment, and not let my creative energy go walkabout into a multiverse of possible futures.
Once I hit the stage this energy was typically a blessing as it would bring an all-encompassing focus to the moment. Yet in the minutes, sometimes long hours leading up to performing I could experience an energy sapping nightmare of anxiety as a myriad of scenarios played on ever faster and increasingly dramatic repeat, with stress flooding my body.
Yet for auditions this was even worse, as most audition settings could be hell. There’s typically no clear timeline for the “curtain up” moment, and you’re sitting on a cold, hard wooden chair in a waiting room, not knowing when you’ll be called, what the audition room will look and feel like, who and how many will be behind that door, what they’ll ask of you, and once you get in it will usually be a start/stop uncomfortable process and/or too fast to allow you to prepare as you’d ideally like.
So, learn early to meditate to help remain calm, keeping your body relaxed, be fully open to listening; to those around you, the music, your body, and the energy of the moment.
The trick … is in not minding that it hurts.
- Lawrence, from the film “Lawrence of Arabia”
3 You are enough.
Be fully you, finding a way to bring as much of you to every moment. Don’t edit yourself in the moment based on what you think others might be thinking, or what you think they might be wanting. Don’t second guess during the process, as there will be plenty of time to churn it over later!
Importantly, your job is not to fit into the world, but to make the world fit you. You deserve to be here as much as any other life form that’s ever existed in the Universe. Who you are is unique, and the world now needs to accommodate your uniqueness. It may try not to sometimes; it’ll resist and attempt to retain the comfort of the status quo. Your job then, is to not allow it. And to do so, you must dig deep into your creativity, your character, and into your resilience and bend the world to fit you, because ultimately, we are all enhanced collectively and individually when you do.
Finally, remember that if those doing the audition are doing their job well, then they’re wanting to help you succeed. They want to see your best, and again, if they’re doing their job well, then they’ll try to get you as relaxed yet focused as possible. They want to see you at your best, because they want to know if they’re able to bring that out in you, and they don’t want to miss a performer who could be exactly what they’re looking for just because the performer was a little too stressed in that particular moment to showcase what they’re capable of. Remember, they’re on your side. 
Josef is currently the Relations & Development Director at MDM Dancewear, and the co-founder and Managing Director of The Library Aesthetic dance media: a global community and platform for dance health and wellness. www.thelibraryaesthetic.com
This article was featured in the Dance Australia Audition Insight Issue Apr/May/Jun 2025