As an actor, there is way to stand that shows you’re ready for an on camera audition.
You stand in the middle of the frame, you frame yourself from the middle of your chest to just above your head, and you look at the person who is reading the scene with you. This visual tells the story of an actor who is ready to perform a scene.
The problem is that this image probably doesn’t reflect the story of the scene you’re about to perform.
There are upsides to this position for sure, namely that it makes your performance really easy to see. So you want to land here at some point in your audition, and you probably want to spend most of your time here to give whoever is watching your audition the best viewing experience possible.
However, I’d propose that you probably shouldn’t start here.
The thing is, that in the story of the scene, the character you’re playing probably didn’t begin standing at the ready waiting for whatever happens in the scene to happen. They were probably minding their own business, going about their lives, when the action of the scene began and caught them off guard. And the great thing is that watching someone be caught off guard is really fun for an audience. In fact, the more off guard the better.
With that in mind, I encourage you find ways to start your scene in the ‘wrong’ place. Face the wrong way, be waaaay in the background, whatever you can think of. Another upside to starting in the wrong place is that by doing it you give yourself someplace to go. If you start your scene standing in the perfect audition spot, you can’t do anything but stay there. But if you start someplace else, you can make a journey out of finding your way there and that journey helps you tell the story of the scene.