You Speak German? Ja...Kind Of

For the past week, I have stared at this piece of paper literally hundreds of times. I repeated those words, translated to German, for an audition.

Hundreds of times...

Earlier in the week I submitted my resume and headshot for an audition. The part is for a pre-WWII Nazi instigator. I was asked to submit this information because I have a little knowledge of the German language. Of course, it's been almost 30 years since I did anything with my German, and to be honest, I wasn't all that fluent back then.

I've never auditioned for a feature film before. Thanks to a good friend who offered some incredibly valuable advice, I wasn't as nervous and I could have been. My main fear--completely botching the German. I knew what the words meant and I have recited them over and over and over and over and over and over again. I was ready, but still...when you're in the room with the decision makers, my nerves have been known to get the best of me.

My main goal was to not screw up, not have to re-start because I said "von" with a "V" sound and not a "F" sound as it should be pronounced. 

I'm happy to say, I did not embarrass myself. The words came out pretty much as they should have and I got through the audition feeling good. That doesn't always happen. At least, if I don't get the part, I feel good about how I did.

There's a lot of things that go through my mind when I audition. The trick--at least for me--is to eliminate as many of those things, the things that have nothing to do with the words I'm saying, from the audition. Focus on what you're trying to communicate to the camera, and by extension, the audience. Seeing as how this was my first time doing this, we'll see how successful I was. Time will tell.