The audition is the first -- and most essential -- test of any actor's craft, one that is typically performed for a very tough audience, under conditions that are always less than perfect. This practical, hands-on guide by a veteran producer covers every aspect of the auditioning process: the monologue, the cold reading, the musical audition, and the interview. It shows actors how to see their performance through the eyes of prospective employers, how to sell themselves even before they step into character, and how to Interpret roles without outside direction. "An invaluable book for the whole theater community." -- Bernard Jacobs, The Shubert Organization "This book tells you what a lot of acting schools never get to -- the nuts and bolts of how to audition." -- Deborah Brown, casting director "This lovely book is about the power of communicating your own truth, and the wonder of recognizing your choices." -- Liv Ullmann "An absolute must for actors...I wish it had existed when I started." -- Jerry Orbach "The best and most important common sense way to approach an audition. I wish I had it for the many I lost" -- Maureen Stapleton is the first -- and most essential -- test of any actor's craft, one that is typically performed for a very tough audience, under conditions that are always less than perfect. This practical, hands-on guide by a veteran producer covers every aspect of the auditioning process: the monologue, the cold reading, the musical audition, and the interview. It shows actors how to see their performance through the eyes of prospective employers, how to sell themselves even before they step into character, and how to Interpret roles without outside direction. The audition is the first -- and most essential -- test of any actor's craft, one that is typically performed for a very tough audience, under conditions that are always less than perfect. This practical, hands-on guide by a veteran producer covers every aspect of the auditioning process: the monologue, the cold reading, the musical audition, and the interview. It shows actors how to see their performance through the eyes of prospective employers, how to sell themselves even before they step into character, and how to Interpret roles without outside direction. David Black is a violinist, an opera singer, an award-winning salesman, a CIA covert intelligence officer, an actor, a Tony Award-winning producer of 20 shows, a director, a playwright, and the author of  The Actor's Audition  and  The Magic of Theater . Hillary Rodham Clinton called David Black "an honorary diplomat" for introducing Tunisian Collaborative Painting to the United States.