In our third episode of #SidesToScreen—where we match up moments from our favorite projects with the auditions of the actors that booked it—we are looking at Rachel Niu’s (@niugirl) work in a spot for Disney Springs.⁠⠀
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A lot of times in an audition with no dialogue, we will run actors through different emotions to get a sense of their range. Rachel does an incredible job hitting each of the reactions we called out in the room. She’s expressive, but not over the top, which was a perfect fit for the ad's fresh spin on ‘Alice in Wonderland.’⁠⠀
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Rachel’s performance is proof that the old saying is true: less is more. I would rather redirect someone to give more than try and reel someone in once they’ve gone too big.

Our second episode of #SidesToScreen—where we match up moments from our favorite projects with the auditions of the actors that booked it—stars William Douglas Turner (@willdouglas3) in a spot for Sabra.

Our casting reference was “the Billy Mays salesperson of hummus”—a fun, over the top pitchman who is totally in love with his product—and Will delivered right away. Even without the set or Amanda Finch’s (@finchy4life) perfectly distressed lettuce chopping, Will made us feel like we were watching an “As Seen On TV” ad. (Side-note for all actors: this is an example of when the “references” on your sides can be your best friend. And if you’re not familiar with a reference, please ask us!)

Oddly enough, Will’s callback was nothing like his first audition. Since he had nailed his Billy Mays so hard, we wanted to see his range and how well he would react to new direction. Of course, he knocked that out of the park, too. But when it came time to shoot, the director went with the energy that Will gave us the second he walked in the door.

First up, we’ve got Kieron Anthony (@kiezzybreez) in a cinematic spot for Etihad Airways about a father rushing home to see his daughter walk on the field at an NYCFC game.

Because the project relied on so much visual storytelling, the director—who was actually Skype-ing in for this callback—leads Kieron through the emotional arc of the piece, calling out different feelings and reactions for him to embody.⁠⠀
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We know that these kinds of exercises might feel a little strange in the audition room, but hopefully when you compare it to the finished project, you can see why Kieron’s emotional flexibility was so, so crucial to the success of the project.