I get auditions, but I'm always nervous, so I don't get jobs. How do I stop these nerves? I'm getting nowhere! Do actors' nerves go away as we get older? Help!

The best time to lose your nerves is now, by recognising that nerves can be good or bad, and you need to know which kind you are suffering from. One kind is a natural. It is natural to feel scared when anything might happen on a stage. These nerves are good. They will LIFT your acting. Enjoy them! But nerves which tell you you're going to forget your lines, or fall over, or generally fail, which tell you that you're the worst actor in the world, are dangerous, but, once recognised, once clarified, are easier to push aside. Simply force the fact on your mind that these nerves are nonsense. They have no depth. The trick is to know WHICH nerves you are suffering from. The same applies to auditions. Casting directors are not ogres, wanting to torture us, they want to see us focus on our work.

Should I offer a director a choice of pieces I can do at an audition? And where can I find ones which aren't done all the time?

Big subject. Basically best choose a speech from a part you have played, and in which you were happy. If there are no speeches which are long enough, then link short speeches together, adding a word or two to link them if necessary. You MUST choose speeches from plays which you REALLY know well. If you have not appeared recently in a suitable play to use - then visit theatres or go to regular workshops, (they don’t have to be my workshops!), or even improvise characters in shops as Dustin Hoffman did for months on end before THE GRADUATE, so as to find characters which really SUIT you. The alternative of starting from scratch with a speech from a play suggested by somebody else is less likely to work. (Though, of course it will if the part rings a big bell for you). Either way you will need to study it hugely. I'm reminded of the remark from Anthony Hopkins, who once said that "- there are actors who study their lines fifty times before the first rehearsal, - I study them two hundred and fifty times!"

With audition pieces the advantage is that you can choose to study something that you are HAPPY doing. I don’t think it matters TOO much if the speech is sometimes used by others AS LONG AS IT PARTICULARLY SUITS YOU. As to the question of offering a director several speeches to choose from, that only impresses them for a moment; - what they really want to know is if you can do the chosen speech well! By all means have a few which you regularly practice, and, if you are totally confident of two, offer a director a choice, but you must be prepared that day, prepared to do that speech (or both),- READY TO ACT.

What is star-quality? Can one actually develop charisma?

Well, … imagine - if you were an actor who was consistently offered work that you liked, if your only problem was having to choose which acting job to accept, if employers were queuing up to book you a year ahead, if, in short, you were a star, then imagine how your confidence would be helped to grow. Some people already have this from their childhood. But the only way of achieving confidence, or charisma, if you don’t already know where to find it inside yourself, is to commit as many hours as you can to your work, preparing for rehearsals properly if employed, and if unemployed then daily practising creative things which earn you praise or make you feel good. So you might audition for anything and everything, even if you doubt accepting it if offered, or go to workshops (not necessarily mine) where you will SHINE. Also develop a secure means of income for when not acting. Confidence will only grow when you are content in the creative, financial and social areas of life. But, - BUT - this wish to be confident sounds odd. Instead you must focus on the value in working properly, and you should then feel the confidence in yourself NOW.

From: Mandy Aldridge

I'd like some advice about commercial casting. I was asked to attend a casting only the day after being contacted. Is this usual? How does the pay structure work, and what does BSF stand for? Also at a recent casting I’d told the Casting Director [CD] when first approached that I couldn’t do any sort of acro work, but when I attended the audition I was asked to cartwheel which I couldn't - it was embarrassing!

Should I generally find out more about a casting before I attend? I feel this one was not right for me and I had to spend money to travel to London from Bristol for nothing, but this casting director was very keen I go!

The best way to deal with this question is to deal with it on a point by point basis. So:

· Commercial castings are often done at very short notice, so it’s entirely usual to be asked to attend a casting the following day (it’s even known to be required to go in the same afternoon!)

· BSF – Stands for Basic Studio Fee. This is what you earn for your actual days work, as it were. So in this case you’re earning £250 for your recording fee.

· The “Buyout” is the extra consideration for the fact it is a commercial, and pays extra money for using your image to promote the product. This is usually in addition to the BSF. “Buyouts” are gradually replacing “use fees” as the preferred method of paying performers for commercial work (as it costs the advertiser less – “usefees” are much more lucrative for the actor). For a better explanation of this, go to www.usefee.tv.

· As you correctly did, always advise the Casting Director [CD] if you’re unable to perform a specific skill. However, as in this case, if they still invite you along and then request the same skill, advise them that you’d already told the CD you couldn’t do this, but that you’d be happy to give it a go. Enter into the spirit of things here, and just go for it. If you make a fool of yourself, so be it. If you make the casting panel smile about your efforts, you may not get this job, but they might remember you for something else further down the line, and remember you as a committed actress. DON’T get embarrassed about it.

· Researching castings is always good, as far as you can.

· Travel costs – you have to make a judgement call on whether you think it is worth your attending – as I mentioned above, you may not be right for this job, but if the audition is in front of a top CD, it may be worth attending just to be seen by him (or her!) and be considered for other jobs. You sometimes have to trust the CD if they’re keen for you to be seen. Don’t be afraid to ask them why THEY think you’re right for this, if they are trying to persuade you to attend. That way, if you do go, you’ll know what to play on in the audition room.

Hope this answers all your questions, and best of luck with any future commercial castings. It can be a very lucrative way to earn a living. A couple of those a year usually means you can afford to do other work that doesn’t necessarily pay as well, but might give you greater satisfaction.