Axandre Oge
Actor
The Secret of St Kilda (2021-)
Role
“Preston.”
Bio
“My name is Axandre Oge (pronounced: Eks - And - Jri Oh - Gee) and I had the wonderful opportunity to play Preston in The Secret of St. Kilda.
I have over a decade of acting experience playing characters on stage or behind the mic. Some of my past credits include: The Silt Verses, RogueMaker, Super Suits and Dean’s Killer Joke.”
“… I’ll read the scene ‘wrong’ to get a fresh perspective.”
How did you become aware of the show?
“Twitter! The Kilda team posted an audition and I answered the call.”
What was the biggest challenge?
“Accents! Preston needed a southern accent. I did some research and wanted to make sure I didn’t have an offensive accent. I still worry about it though - whether my accent was good or not..”
What would be your dream project?
“I would love to be in a video game or something musical”
How did you land the role? Any tips for a strong audio reel (or virtual audition)?
“Hah - tough to say how I landed the role. You’ll have to ask the Kilda team!
As for tips on a virtual audition, I really like to always give a second or third reading. I think it’s important to spend time thinking about your character. I have a few frameworks I use to do that but they all boil down to answering small-talk questions about my character.
Importantly I like to have fun with the script - I’ll read the scene ‘wrong’ to try and get a fresh perspective. I’ll read the lines of other characters in the scene (if they were given - or I make them up) and riff off that..”
How does acting for audio compare to other media, for you? Any skills or techniques you’d recommend learning?
“It's harder! At least for me. I’m a stage actor, originally.
On the stage I get immediate feedback on my acting choices from my scene partner and directors. I have a month or two to practice, develop, rehearse, and get the character ‘right’.
In audio, it’s a shorter time - but at least there’s editing. I will say it was insanely helpful to me to record my lines with my cast-mates cause I get to riff off of them in the moment, which is what I enjoy from stage acting.”
If your character was an occasional part, how did you characterise them quickly and memorably?
“I took an improv class in college briefly and we learned how to create characters pretty quickly; CROL (Character Relationship Objective Location). Coupled with the acting classes I was taking while recording Kilda, I had a fairly quick method for characterizing Preston.”