Module 4: The Audition 

The Audition module teaches young actors how to best prepare for an audition. Techniques will
be taught to quickly break down a scene for a cold reading audition. Students will also prepare 2
monologues that strongly represent their casting type and show-off their acting skills.
Course Take-Away: A presentation of monologues

Areas of Focus
● Presenting your monologues in order to get noticed
● Analyzing the script/scene quickly for a cold reading
● Making character choices with little preparation
● Presenting yourself in a professional way
● Making you time in front of directors and producers really count

Syllabus
1. Students will learn and get coaching for two carefully chosen monologues
2. Students will learn how to best present themselves in an audition
3. Students will learn the Michael Shurtleff guideposts for analyzing a script/scene quickly
4. Students will practice making sound character choices quickly
5. Students will practice doing cold reading auditions

Trainer

Warren is a professional director and theatre arts educator. Before moving to Singapore, he was a director for over 23 years in the U.S., working in Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego, and New York City. He has a Master of Fine Arts in Directing from Arizona State University.
Early in his career, Warren had the privilege of working for a few years with a young theatre company in Chicago called Steppenwolf. During that time, Warren worked with Gary Sinise, John Malkovich, Joan Allen, John Mahoney, Glenne Headly, Gary Cole, Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, Martha Lavey and Laurie Metcalf. Warren began his directing career as Assistant Director to Laurie Metcalf for the play Big Mama, featuring a young John Malkovich in the lead role.

In 1989, Warren received a Joseph Jefferson Citation for Best Directing (Chicago) for his production of Alan Bowne’s Beirut. Warren was also the Artistic Director for Imagination Theater, a touring educational theater company in Chicago, for over 15 years. In New York City, Warren was the Artistic Director for City Lights Youth Theater Company and has directed and produced numerous plays and musicals on Broadway in which all actors were inner city youth.

Warren trained extensively in the Sanford Meisner technique from David Mamet’s St. Nicholas School of Theater Arts and the Lois Hall Studio, both in Chicago. Warren has also trained with the Steppenwolf Theater Co., Victory Gardens Theater Training Centre, Kyle Donnelly’s The Actor’s Centre, and Jane Brody’s Audition Centre.

Currently, Warren is the Creative Director for Swing a Cat Pte Ltd, an arts production, training and consulting company in Singapore. He also does corporate training for creative thinking for The Creative Experience Training Centre, and runs workshops using the guiding principles of improvisation as inspiration for corporate innovation and team building. He also teaches theatre arts to teenagers at the Canadian International School in Singapore.