Being an actor, we have to wear many hats. Actor, singer, dancer, social media marketer, graphic designer & emotional conjurer. But one thing that isn't your job is Casting Director.
When you receive an audition request and start working on your sides, what's the first thing you do as soon as you rehearse? You take the actor hat off and put the CD hat on. You mentally take yourself out of the scene and put yourself outside yourself to check and direct your performance rather than being in the performance itself.
Your job as the actor is to do the best you can. To present your version of the role. Your interpretation of the character. Not to give the CD what you think they want because sometimes they don't know what they want. Sometimes what they want changes because of an actor's performance. Your job is to be in the moment, with the reader, and live each moment to moment of that situation until you hear "cut" or "stop". Until then, you need to connect, breathe and live with your reader and in this world you've created in this room.
Once you've completed your audition or self test, let it go. Keep the audition in the room and don't take it with you. You've done your job. Instead of questioning "What could I have done better?" or judging yourself "I should've done this instead!", be thankful for the opportunity "Woah, I just got to play that part for 15 mins that others didn't get the chance to!" and know that you got that role for those 15 mins. It was yours! Know that you did the best you could at the time and let it go because now, there's nothing else you can do. You've done all you can - it's out of your hands and now in the hands of the CD and their clients.
What can you do now? Get back to class. Get practising. Up-skill and do better for the next one. They say in order to create your own luck, you need to be prepared for when the opportunity comes. Because luck is Preparation meeting Opportunity. In saying that, you also want to book the room and not the job. This will take the pressure off of you and allow yourself to be more personable with the CD. This will allow you to be more open and in most cases, the CD MAY find you more suitable for something else in that project or another project altogether!
Start training yourself to switch perspectives from the victim mentality of "oh I was crap" to the fighter mentality of "that was my best - what's next?" because your time will come - YOU'VE GOT THIS!
CHECKLIST:
Be the actor & not the Casting Director.
Keep the actor hat not and don't take it off.
Leave the audition in the room and don't take it with you.
Be prepared for the next one!
Switch your perspective to be the fighter!