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Topic: Everything About AUDITIONS! | |
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Legacy Theater
Lead Joined: 4/26/11 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 37 |
Topic: Everything About AUDITIONS! Posted: 7/19/11 at 9:47am |
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Hello Everyone,
I have a BUNCH of questions about holding auditions. A little background: We are a new community theater. Our first show was a big success and it was cast with folks I knew personally. But for our second show (Charles' Dickens Christmas Carol), I am opening auditions up to anyone in our community and want to run the auditions as professionally as possible. I will audition everyone in front of each other. I am the director and will be running auditions. So, I have a few questions for all you theatre guru's 1. Does anyone have samples of the audition sheets that you hand out at rehearsals? I would love to see some ideas. 2. How/Where do you post auditions so that the word can get around? 3. What do you do during auditions? Cold readings, games, etc? 4. Do you post the rehearsal schedule before the auditions, or just give a copy out at auditions? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated! Many thanks to you all, Erika Legacy Theater Company |
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Erika Hose
President Legacy Theater Company |
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Majicwrench
Celebrity Joined: 2/07/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 178 |
Posted: 7/19/11 at 12:03pm | |||
1. Don't have a copy, but simple, name, contact phone email FB etc, skills conflicts, experience. Then an area for director to take notes in.
2 Everywhere. Radio, community calendars, newspapers, FaceBook.. It is amazing how freindly and helpful media can be. Get to know them. Now. Offer to cut the radio spots (or have an actor do it) Write the articles. PICTURES of the last show with the article. Include your contact info.
3. Cold readings, prepared stuff if they have it. Have some short scenes from script on seperate sheets of paper, get some groupings together, see how it looks sounds. Not fond of games, although have done so with my kid auditions before.
4. Hmm, both. Early rehearsal schedules are usually flexable. I want to suck as many folks as possible into audtions. If somebody is good, I will work with them and their schedule.
Any other?? Keep auditions hopping. I HATE stuff that drags. Be ON TIME. Start ON TIME. Be PREPARED. This set the tone for everything else. Write out an agenda, even if just for yourself. Have an assistant to deal with some of it, take another grouping to a diff room and have them read. Even if just to keep em busy. Can learn a lot about some people by how they deal with the AD. HAVE FUN WITH IT.
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Jake
Walk-On Joined: 10/22/10 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0 |
Posted: 7/19/11 at 7:03pm | |||
To add to previous post (all good suggestions), I have color coded audition sheets for males and females. Leave room at top right for a big number.
Every show might have different requirements that you might ask- like special physical talents, or height. I like to include a place where they indicate if NOT cast, are they still willing to work on the show in another capacity? Helps to build your membership and participation.
Don't know how big your community is, but flyers or posters at places like libraries, art galleries, rec centers, colleges, etc. are good to get the word out. Since you are new, you might not have an email list of members, friends, patrons. Start one and use it.
Especially agree with BE PREPARED and move things along. First impressions are important. Have fun and have a great show!
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Legacy Theater
Lead Joined: 4/26/11 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 37 |
Posted: 7/19/11 at 10:11pm | |||
Great ideas! Thank you so much for sharing. You are right, Jake, we don't have a big email list yet, so I will utilize the ideas you mentioned. Plus I will be sure to use media like Majicwrench suggested.
Thanks so much! Any other ideas are welcome!!! |
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Erika Hose
President Legacy Theater Company |
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PaulyWally
Player Joined: 2/03/11 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 28 |
Posted: 7/20/11 at 10:31am | |||
Some other thoughts:
I personally don't like doing this. I think it adds a level of stress to the actors that isn't needed.
It really depends. Sometimes I have more time than others. Sometimes I can have callbacks. Sometimes the play itself demands some specific things during auditions. If you know your schedule and have done your homework with the script, you should have a pretty good idea of what you need to accomplish in your auditions. And if you know what you need to accomplish, you'll have a good idea of how to format it.
No. I would have an idea of the rehearsal schedule, but rehearsal schedules can always be "modified" depending on actor conflicts. I would let the actors know on what date rehearsals start. And I might put the tech schedule in as well. What's most important, though, is to allow space for actors to give you their conflicts.
When you post your audition notice, state the expectations. It is your first impression with the actors. And as an actor, it looks very unprofessional to me when there is no description of the audition process in the audition notice. In the last audition I attended, I didn't know if they wanted monologues, cold readings, or what. That's not all that bad... but... I also didn't know how long the audition would last. I figured it would be fairly "normal." Nope. The audition took OVER THREE HOURS!! I found it extremely inconsiderate to not tell the auditioners that it would take that long. The director didn't even mention this when auditions began. CT actors do this in their spare time. They have other responsibilities in their life. Respect that and they'll give you a much better effort. Finally, control your auditions. Keep things on schedule (or close to it) and show everyone that you are in control. |
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Rorgg
Celebrity Joined: 2/10/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 151 |
Posted: 7/20/11 at 2:57pm | |||
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falstaff29
Celebrity Joined: 9/17/04 Online Status: Offline Posts: 155 |
Posted: 7/25/11 at 1:42pm | |||
On open vs. closed auditions, my strong preference as a director is closed. A couple of reasons:
1. If I've seen what I need to halfway through an auditioner reading the scene, I'll ask them to stop and let them leave. On the other hand, if I need to read them for something else (not an intended side), I will. Sometimes I'll ask an auditioner to absorb some direction I give and read the side again. I can't do these things to the same degree in open auditions. Closed auditions give me as a director more liberality in figuring out who's right for the show or not, and (esp. if you ask auditioners to pre-register for time slots) tend to be more respectful of auditioners' time. (If I need to see auditioners again, say, to read against someone who showed up the other night, I have callbacks. That's what callbacks are for!) 2. Closed auditions mask much better any flaws in the audition process, and thus help preserve the reputation of the company. For instance, if there is low audition turnout, that can be a turn-off to actors; they think their peers know something they don't about the theater's poor quality. The same goes for when the eventual casting of the play seems to go against the way auditions look. It's easier for a theater to develop a reputation as cliquish if the obvious choices talent-wise aren't getting the parts. 3. A lesser gripe about open auditions: as an actor, if you've prepared, you have in mind some notions about the scene. If the actor who auditioned right before you used a similar bit of schtick or whatever, that's not fair; either it looks like YOU'RE a copycat, or you have to come up with something new on the fly just to be different. |
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pdavis69
Celebrity Joined: 3/26/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 437 |
Posted: 7/25/11 at 5:37pm | |||
Open vs closed
I run my auditions open. I want people all together so I can try pairing people up. We only run two nights of auditions with no call backs. As far as lowering the stress level for the actors, if they are too stressed performing with their fellow actors at auditions, I have serious concerns about their stress level when confronted with a full house on opening night.
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Patrick L. Davis
Fort Findlay Playhouse |
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PaulyWally
Player Joined: 2/03/11 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 28 |
Posted: 7/25/11 at 8:46pm | |||
In my experiences, many times there is a difference between performing in front of a group of actors, and performing in front of an audience. In CT it is very important to be sensitive to your actors. Personally, I believe it's important to be sensitive to any cast, crew, or design team member at any level. But in CT it is unrealistic to expect nerves of steel from an actor. |
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pdavis69
Celebrity Joined: 3/26/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 437 |
Posted: 7/26/11 at 9:25am | |||
No one expects nerves of steel but if they cant sing above a whisper because they are nervous about people hearing them, maybe they arent the best choice for the musical.
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Patrick L. Davis
Fort Findlay Playhouse |
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