Glenn Alterman's Secrets to Successful Cold Readings (Career Development) (Career Development Series)

10 Ways To Get The Most Out of This Book 1. This book is written for the actor who is familiar with cold-reading skills as well as the actor who is just learning how to develop those skills. To get the most out of this book, I suggest that you don't read the book from cover to cover. 2. I think you should first read "48 Basic Requirements for All Cold Readings" and "25 Technical Rules for All Cold Readings." These chapters lay the foundation for all the chapters that follow. 3. Next, look through the contents and see what stands out for you--those areas that interest you. For instance, if you're presently auditioning exclusively for commercials, you may want to go to that chapter next, followed by the chapter where I interviewed TV commercial casting directors. If you're primarily a theater, TV, and film actor, go to those chapters first, and don't forget to read the casting director interviews that follow. 4. After you've read through the chapters that interest you most, I suggest that you then read through the entire book, taking notes or highlighting those things that you find may apply to your career. 5. Pay particular attention to the analysis sections. I believe you'll find these sections especially helpful and informative. Learning how to analyze a script in a short period of time and make personalized choices is key to all auditions. 6. Once you've started practicing the cold-reading advice in this book at auditions, see how you're doing. If you'd like to improve, refer to the appropriate chapters and exercises. 7. If you have some auditions coming up for daytime television or film, you may want to reread the chapters with interviews of casting directors before going to those auditions. I've interviewed the top casting directors in those fields. 8. Once you've finished reading the book, put the information you've learned into practical use. Go out there, audition, and see if your cold-reading and auditioning skills have improved. This is not a theoretical book; it's a practical one. The goal is to help actors get jobs. 9. Don't feel you need to apply every rule in this book. Depending on where you are in your acting career, some guidelines may not be pertinent to the way you work. If something you've learned before reading this book regarding cold reads still works for you, continue using it. If it's not broke, you don't need to fix it. But always leave room for discovering new ways to work, things that you can add to what has worked in the past. 10. Whenever you feel the need, refer to the book and review the material until it becomes second nature. There's a lot of information in this book; it may take a while to apply everything you learn.

My purpose in writing this book was not only to instruct but to inspire. Once you develop confidence in any skill, fears can be alleviated. With any audition, there is always some tension, some apprehension: that's only normal, accept it. But I believe that by learning how to overcome that fear (with knowledge, insight, and practice), you'll find that you may start to enjoy auditioning.