Introducing… Hear Me Now, Volume Two

September 23, 2022
Acting, Articles, Book Extracts

Hear Me Now, Volume Two is a unique collection of 80+ original audition monologues by a range of writers including Vera Chok, Josh-Susan Enright and Bea Webster. Brought together by producer Titilola Dawudu and Tamasha, this collection is ideal for actors of colour searching for speeches for auditions or training writers, teachers, and theatre-makers who are passionate about improving diversity.

The volume is introduced by BAFTA-nominated actor Ashley Madekwe and features a section from Tamasha on top tips for auditioning, as well as a host of actors including Ted Lasso‘s Kevin ‘KG’ Garry and Cherrelle Skeete of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Following on from the successful first volume, and featuring a variety of themes, scenes and characters, Hear Me Now, Volume Two is an essential tool for actors of colour to showcase their range, and seeks to inspire, empower, and create a legacy for generations to come.

Below are a selection of tips and advice from Kevin ‘KG’ Garry, Cherrelle Skeete, and Keisha Thompson from the collection.

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Kevin ‘KG’ Garry is an actor, comedian and presenter. His credits include Ted Lasso, Bloods, Famalam, Ministry of Justice, Timewasters, The Revolution Will Be Televised and Simple Things. He is the co-host of Undefeated Podcast.

Okay so you have just received the email from your agent about a new role; you never knew this production was being made, had never seen the script, but all of a sudden it’s the role you have always wanted. This is the role that is going to change your career. Most normal people stop there: not me.

I call a loved one or someone I know who can help, and I tell them about the role. For me, it’s my wife. She gets excited then remembers she needs to help me with the self-tape! Then I begin to imagine myself in the role and what the critics will say about my performance. Will people like the show on social media, what if it wins an Emmy or a BAFTA (yes, I think big!)? Then I remember I haven’t got the role; I am probably mirroring the exact feelings of another hopeful actor.

At this point I take a breather and remind myself that I have one job: to bring this character to life. I can’t control the process, what the director thinks or the other decision-makers in the room. The one thing I have control over is the scene/s given.

Tip 1 Take time to read the script (not just your lines) and understand what is happening in the scene. Read the stage directions.

The casting team usually provides a breakdown of the character, what’s happening, etc. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, call your agent and ask for more context if it is too vague.

Tip 2 Try your best to be off book, especially when you are doing a role that requires a different accent. You end up focusing on the lines rather than producing a great natural performance.

Tip 3 Give yourself time, don’t rush the process. Does this character feel real, how do you imagine them in different scenarios? I understand we don’t get a lot of time with the scripts, so this is easier said than done. The key thing is to RESPECT the opportunity.

Tip 4 Enjoy the process. There is a reason you have been considered. Get excited. Think positively.

Tip 5 Trust yourself; if you have decided this is a good idea for the character, commit to it.

Tip 6 For self-tapes, think about the visuals. You don’t have to be an expert in lighting or create something super-high quality, but good enough for your facial expressions and body language to be clear.

Tip 7 Probably the hardest of them all – send the audition to the necessary people involved, then forget about it.

You have done everything in your control, I like to ask myself at the end of the process: did I put my best foot forward? If the answer is yes, brilliant; if the answer is no, go harder on the next one.

Best of luck,

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Cherrelle Skeete is a British actress, writer, cultural producer and co-founder of Blacktress UK. She is best known for originating the role of Rose Granger-Weasley in the world premiere of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which opened at the Palace Theatre, London in 2016. She has appeared on stage at the National Theatre, the Hampstead Theatre and the Young Vic, as well as the Lyceum Theatre and Theatre Royal Stratford East, amongst others.

First things first . . . stop ‘auditioning’. Take apart the concept of what an audition is, that you have to prove you are good enough. You have nothing to prove! You are beautifully whole as you are. You are already an actor, artist and (or) performer before you have landed that job or secured your spot at drama school . . . know that. Everything you have done before now, the people you have interacted with throughout your life, joyful and painful experiences that have imprinted on you, have made up your essence as an artist and that has led you here. Use each casting as an opportunity to share what it is that you do, where you are right now and your interpretation of this role. The focus then is on the creation, the meeting of your essence with the script and the given circumstances, not on ‘getting it’ but your investment into your creation because you deserve that.

You are uniquely you. Even when you see all your other Black/Brown friends in that waiting room, there is only one you. Let’s not fall into the token mentality of believing there can be only one Black or Brown [insert another intersection of woman, man, disabled, enbie, queer, elder, younger]. Your ‘you’ness expands way beyond these labels.

You are creating a career. Part of what you will do throughout your career are meetings and auditions. It’s an opportunity to meet new people to potentially collaborate with: future colleagues, partnerships and a potential tribe who you may work with for the next twenty years. So bring who you really are to the room, not an idea of who you think you should be. There are no ‘shoulds’, just being. We are in a time where we need authenticity in order to move ideas forward, so there is no point bringing the act of ‘the actor’ into the room. You deserve to be a first-rate version of yourself, not a second-rate version of Cynthia Erivo, Riz Ahmed, Idris Elba, Letitia Wright, Benedict Wong or John Boyega. Those shoes are already filled. I hope you choose to take on the journey of learning who you really are; sometimes that can mean facing the parts of us that are also bruised, bloody and raw. This is an important part of the journey of self-love; what isn’t faced can’t be transformed.

Finally. They are rooting for you, someone has instilled faith in an agent, casting director or tutor to find a good match for the role. They want you to do your best, they have faith in you otherwise they would not waste their time arranging the meeting. Now, please have fun and go out there and enjoy the whole process. You love what you do and that is the core, the ‘why’. When lost, reconnect to your ‘why’. That will keep you rooted.

You are your ancestors’ wildest dreams, after all, they would want you to have enjoyments along the way, it’s better for the art of storytelling.

Cherrelle Skeete

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Keisha Thompson is a Manchester-based writer, performance artist and producer. She is the Artistic Director and CEO of Contact Theatre (Manchester) and former Senior Manager of Children, Young People and Learning at Arts Council England, a MOBO x London Theatre Consortium Fellow and a member of Greater Manchester Cultural and Heritage Group, and recipient of The Arts Foundation Theatre Makers Award 2021.

I have been working in the arts sector for sixteen years in terms of doing jobs that were non-performative or artistic. I have been writing and performing, however, since I was five years old. The way I have navigated the industry as a Black woman is by knowing that I am more than that. But being fully aware that sometimes others will see me as a Black woman before anything else or solely as a Black woman and nothing else.

I do not take it personally. It is a symptom of social conditioning. I used to treat it as a challenge. Oh I’m going to surprise you today. I bet you have never heard a Black woman say this or wear this. But now I do not even do that because it is not about being caught in power struggles or defined by others’ expectations. I’m not interested in subverting stereotypes. I am not here to break boundaries. I move beyond them so I guess you could say I am a transgressor.

I cannot control what people might say or do to me but I can control how I respond. For me, it is about parity and de-centring others. For example, if someone asks me where I am from, I will also ask them where they are from. I will make it a conversation then I will find out why they are asking me. Finally, I will ask them what they think it is that they know now. I’m one Black woman with a specific type of heritage. What I say and what I have experienced does not account for another Black woman that they may encounter.

I strive to be my full self in any space that I enter. I wear my hair in braids or an afro. I bring my traditional food in my packed lunches. I use slang words in meetings. And I will not always explain myself. Go and do your research in the same way that I have had to do mine. Doing this has never stopped me from doing the jobs I have been given so far and it helps me to break the perception that it does. If someone does not want to employ me for doing something like having my hair in an afro, then trust me I do not want to work for them anyway! If I want to be good at my job, then I need to feel comfortable. I need to feel like myself.

An interview is an opportunity for you to judge them and see if they are right for you in the same way they are judging you. It is mutual.

Start as you mean to go on. If they get your name wrong, correct it right away.

Know that your lived experience is a strength. You have a perspective that diversifies their skill set and will make their products more robust.

Keisha Thompson

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Hear Me Now, Volume Two: Audition Monologues for Actors of Colour is now available on Bloomsbury.com