Five Reasons to Always Be Early to an Audition

I hate being late for auditions so much that I've started to leave an hour early for offices just 10 miles away. Yeah, it's come to that.

Good news is there's plenty of upside to arriving early to an audition. Here are my top five, demonstrated by my AFI audition a few weeks back --

#5 - Plenty of time to deal with bad traffic


Traffic congestion is one of the things all actors can count on. Leaving early meant I wasted far less mental and emotional energy stressing about the cars in front of me that just wouldn't GO!

#4 - Plenty of time to find parking


Parking at AFI is limited and especially challenging. I circled a few times before making a spot for myself --


My driver side was pressed right against the trees, so I crawled out the passenger side. Parking win!

#3 - Plenty of time to relax and calm down


I had 30 minutes to spare after parking, so I treated myself to an iced mocha from the Kings Road Cafe coffee truck.


Sipped it while listening to music and enjoying the view, totally shaking off that stupid car that almost hit me --



#2 - Plenty of time to deal with audition changes

After signing in 15 minutes early, the producer asked me to prepare a second scene from the script. I flipped to those pages and started memorizing. Another actor who arrived right on time had less time to prepare and was probably more stressed. Auditions are our chance to shine - do everything you can to ensure you're at your best!

And the top reason to always be early to an audition --

#1 - It's our job as actors!

"Early is on time. On time is late. Late is unacceptable." That's the mantra - for auditions, for rehearsals, and for bookings. We work in a business in which time is money, and a little tardiness goes a long way. Getting everywhere early is a base expectation we MUST meet.

So head out earlier than you need to - the perks are undeniable!

What do you do when you arrive early to an audition? Post in the comments below!