A process which allows a person or panel to select a best person for a given position.

Examples:
During casting of a movie or play, audtions are used to select which actor suits the characters. Finding the best singer for a choir group.

To prepare an audition, ask yourself if you are auditioning for a school, or for a play, or for a very specific role. If you plan to go to a school, you should write yourself a list of which ones, and keep copies of the letters that you send to and receive from the institutions.

It is standard to have at least two contemporary and two classical monologues, and perhaps a song or two.
The monologues should contrast each other in lines of comedy/tragedy or high/low energy.

You should research contemporary monologues in books, not on the internet, and you should be able to identify what play a monologue comes from (if from one it comes).

Your classical (read: Shakespeare) monologues should not be prose, and should not be "done to death" (To be or not to be).

Make your list of possible monologues, and highlight those that you will do for sure. Work on these. Make a list, too, of pieces that you would like to work on in case they ask for more, and be sure that you know these.

Audition (a.k.a Odishon) is a film by Japanese Director Miike Takashi, probably his best known in the west. It is probably best to view this film knowing as little as possible about it, but be aware that it is most definately not suitable for children or those of a sensitive nature, although not necessarily as harsh as may have been made out. If you do not want to know too much about the film you might want to stop reading this.

The film is about a man called Aoyami. As the film begins he is by his wife's bedside in hospital as she is dying. Seven years later his son (who seems to be about 14 or 15) encourages him to find a new wife. Aoyami's work colleague (he works for a company who make films, possibly V-cinema films) gets an idea; they set up an audition for a film that they probably won't end up making, and Aoyami will select one of the girls he likes to take out on a date. Looking through the resumes, Aoyami is immediately drawn to a girl called Asami, a girl who trained in ballet but had to give up at 18 because of a damaged hip. When he meets her, she is quiet, polite, and obedient. His friend advises him against rushing into things, but Aoyami ignores him and phones her almost immediately. Aoyami and Asami seem to be getting along very well, but all is not as it seems.

The film starts off as a drama/romantic comedy, and has some touching and funny moments such as the audition itself. In the later parts (the last third or so) it starts getting very surreal and nasty, resulting in a torture scene that some have described as one of the nastiest things ever filmed. In my opinion it is not as bad as has been made out, I had a harder time watching the first Evil Dead movie than I did with this, but it is still quite unpleasant and graphic.

People have compared this film to the works of David Lynch and Roman Polanski. Certainly the surreal moments are very reminiscent of Lynch's work, but it may be more of a Japanese thing. Surrealism is far more common in Japanese cinema than it is in western cinema.

I have not heard much discussion trying to interpret what the film is about. Among the things I have heard are that it is a feminist film (I'm not sure I agree), a satire on Japanese culture (more than possible), or merely an exploitation film. Miike does love to mess with the audience, and likes to count the numbers of people walking out of the screenings of Audition he attends, and it is worth asking whether his intentions stretch any further than that. One aspect I considered was wether the surrealism was intentionally designed to not make any sense, any interpretation you choose to apply is contradicted by some element of the film. However, I feel there must be some underlying meaning somewhere, since it is based on a popular satirical novel, so surely the message from that must have carried across to the film.

Directed by Miike Takashi, this Japanese film (released in 2000) starts off unlike the rest of Miike's work - it's a romantic comedy. Now, if you've seen other films by Miike Takashi, you usually know what to expect - extreme violence, gore, and explicit sex.

However, this story of a lonely middle-aged man, Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi) who meets up with the perfect woman, Asami Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina), is nothing like the usual. Aoyama is the widowed owner of a video-production company and, at the behest of his partner, Yoshikawa, decides to hold an audition for the female lead of a movie, in the hopes that he will find a new wife. Asami shows up dressed demurely and seems like a quiet and smart woman who was trained in ballet - perfect for Aoyama.

Asami seems pleased with the attention that she is getting from Aoyama and even accepts his explanation that the project has been cancelled. Yoshikawa becomes suspicious of Asami but Aoyama refuses to listen. The two go away for a romantic weekend by the sea, Aoyama proposes, they have sex, and then Asami promptly disappears.

Sounds like a good date movie? Well, that's just the first 45 minutes. After that, it becomes a totally different film - in fact, it becomes your standard Miike film.

Without ruining the rest of the story for you, let's just say that Asami's past becomes clear and the mayhem begins. We're talking serious mayhem. In fact, I can't stress this enough - it's very brutal.

Miike mixes up styles that pay homage to Dario Argento and Alfred Hitchcock. Which is to say that not only will he out-do the gore/shock factor like Argento but he will also keep up the suspense factor like Hitchcock. Strange combination, indeed, but it works well in this film. So, with DIY needle torture, you will also be freaked out by something as simple as a bedsheet snapping in the wind. And what the hell is moving in that canvas bag at Asami's apartment? Watch the film and find out.

Audition

Directed by Miike Takashi

Starring

Ryo Ishibashi - Shigeharu Aoyama

Eihi Shiina - Asami Yamazaki

Jun Kunimura - Yasuhisa Yoshikawa



Producers - Akemi Suyama and Satoshi Hukushima

Executive Producer - Toyoyuki Yokohama

Screenplay - Daisuke Tengan; based on a story by Ryu Murakami

Cinematographer - Hideo Yamamoto

Editor - Yasushi Shimamura

Music - Koji Endo

Production Designer - Tatsuo Ozeki

In Japanese with English subtitles

Running time 1 hour, 55 minutes

"Kiri Kiri Kiri"

Au*di"tion (?), n. [L. auditio.]

The act of hearing or listening; hearing.

Audition may be active or passive; hence the difference between listening and simple hearing. Dunglison.

 

© Webster 1913.

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