16 Jan Kids Acting School Cue Card Technique
Cue Card Technique
At our acting school, our students are prepared for anything that happens in an audition room. When going out on commercial auditions, it’s important to be comfortable working with a cue card. Here is how it works. After you arrive and sign in, you will be able to look at the commercial copy. This is the time to prepare yourself by getting comfortable saying the words on the page. Reciting the script softly to yourself can help with memorization, and makes you feel confident and prepared. Or just go outside and say the words out loud, so you hear yourself say them. This helps memorize too Then, you enter into the audition room.
In the Audition Room
However, once you get in front of the camera, you should not be hanging on to your copy. Instead, you need to leave the sides next to the sign in sheet and come into the audition room with as little as possible. Then, you will see what we refer to as the cue card. This is a larger hand written version of the commercial copy. You want to focus your eyes on the cue card to get your eyes adjusted to where the words are placed. The words are most likely placed differently than on your hard copy script.
Take your Time
Take your time to get comfortable looking and reading the cue card before you slate. Need a second? Never be afraid to ask the director for an extra few seconds to study the cue card. Hint: if it makes you comfortable, it’s worth taking a quick moment to settle. Although, remember, the casting director is busy…so do this as swiftly as possible. Take note of where each line is on the board in case you need to steal a quick glance to the commercial copy. It’s important to not focus on reading the cue card. At our kids acting studio, we strengthen that memorization muscle. Check out our tips on How To Memorize Lines Quickly here! So, casting directors want to see you be your charming self, not a stiff reader. Remember, the cue card is here to help you, don’t let it hold you back.
Finally, like most audition techniques, the only way to get better is practice. The more you work with cue cards, the more comfortable you will feel when you seen one in an audition room. So, practice doing cold readings off of cue cards and come to our kids acting studio to master cue card technique.