How to Handle Improv Audition Rejection

Hello! I’m Heather, and I make my living through improv. I perform in shows, teach classes, facilitate applied improv, and occasionally do things like this; writing and thinking about improv. One thing I am not particularly good at, though, is auditions. Or phrased differently, I am excellent at knowing how to handle improv audition rejection.

Recently, we held our first ever auditions for AndAlso, and it brought up a lot of thoughts and feelings. I wanted to share some of them here, just in case they’re helpful to any fellow “failures” out there.

This was our first round of auditions as a company, but it’s far from my first time experiencing them, on both sides of the table.

Auditions I’ve Bombed (and Lived to Tell the Tale)

Over the years, I’ve auditioned for (and failed to get into) quite a few improv companies, including:

Showstopper

Before I joined the cast, I couldn’t even get an audition. I emailed the director and asked to be notified when they were casting. He never replied.

Baby Wants Candy

One of the first troupes I saw in Chicago in the early 2000s. They’re legends. So when they held UK auditions, I was thrilled. I actually thought it went okay… but then the UK version never happened. These days, they have UK guests in the Edinburgh cast, including the amazing Will Naameh, which makes me very happy.

Impromptu Shakespeare

When the group was first forming, pretty much everyone I knew auditioned. I got through the first round, but by the time callbacks came around, I was so in my head that I couldn’t bring myself to go. I stayed in bed and cried instead.

Off The Top

The guy behind Epic Rap Battles of History is also a hardcore improviser. In 2014, he launched a live international online improv show called Off The Top. I made it through castings at the London YouTube Space, and even got availability-checked for the live show. Then, right at the last minute, I was cut. Lauren and Shaun did a great job though.

Mischief Theatre

By this point, I had retired from auditioning after a string of rejections. But when my agent submitted me for the Mischief improv casting and they wanted to see me, I got pulled back in. It went well. I didn’t get in.

And beyond auditions, I’ve experienced other kinds of rejection and humiliation too:

Being accepted into a company but not cast in any shows (hello, subs bench)
Being in a troupe or class where a “secret splinter group” forms, and I’m not invited
Bad reviews, or overhearing audience members slagging me off in the loo after a show

Despite all of this, I’ve kept going. And I’ve learned a few valuable lessons along the way about how to handle improv audition rejection.

1. Auditions Are a Chance to Hone Your Craft

Auditions are high-pressure environments, which makes them a great way to learn how you perform under stress. The more you do them, the more you build that muscle.

What are the successful auditionees doing that you can learn from? Are casting directors offering feedback? If so, and if you’re in the right headspace to hear it, take it on board. Let it guide your focus over the coming months.

2. Rejection Can Clarify What You Actually Want

Sometimes I’ve been so focused on being wanted that I forgot to ask: Do I actually want this?

In hindsight, I probably knew that Shakespearean improv wasn’t quite my jam. Musical improv, though? That’s my passion. So even after being rejected by Showstopper initially, I persisted. I sent emails, went to workshops, learned everything I could, and eventually joined the cast.

But even if that hadn’t happened, I had already used the time to make my own shows and connect with improvisers who shared my love of musical improv. One of the gifts of this art form is that you can create your own opportunities.

3. Improv Is a Small (and Generous) World

Compared to scripted theatre or the music scene, improv is tiny, thanks to its collaborative, international, festival-driven “yes-and” culture.

Most of the opportunities I’ve had didn’t come from auditions. They came from being seen in other shows, collaborating on side projects, or being invited back months, or even years, later. Sometimes by a fellow auditionee.

4. Remember Why You Started

When you’re feeling crushed or bitter, it’s easy to lose sight of the joy that brought you to improv in the first place.

So try to reconnect. Was it the community? The creativity? The thrill of making something from nothing?

There will always be jams, workshops, and impromptu meetups in the park. There will be more opportunities, maybe even in unexpected places. We don’t know yet. That’s kind of the point, isn’t it?

I try to live by an old improv saying:
“Hold on tightly. Let go lightly.”
Give it your all, commit 100%. And if it doesn’t work out? Let it go (after a short detour through sadness and ice cream).

I don’t know if anyone needed to hear this, apart from me, but I hope it helps someone out there learn how to handle improv audition rejection.

Good luck in your next audition.