acting – Journeys With Dave

First Things First

Before deciding to audition for a show check your calendar!

Most shows will rehearse between 6 – 8 weeks, sometimes more for a musical, and depending on the role you are cast in you may need to be at rehearsal 3 – 4 times a week for that period. Be realistic, can you put in the time necessary to be in the show? Most directors at the community theatre level will expect actors to have a few conflicts due to work and family but they will expect you to be available every night for the last week or two leading up to a show. Likewise, if you have a big vacation or business trip in the middle of the rehearsal period that will take you away for a week or more understand that this will likely mean that you won’t be cast for the lead – no matter how talented you and perfect for the part you are – if you are cast at all.

Typically, you will be asked about conflicts at the audition. Be honest, I have seen people cut from shows during the rehearsal period because they could not live up to their commitment in terms of availability. It isn’t pretty and it isn’t fair to your other cast members. Putting on a show is a team effort. If one or more people are consistently missing the entire production suffers.

Know Yourself

After reading the script, be honest with yourself, is there a character that you could see yourself playing in the script? If you are auditioning for a musical is the part you want in your vocal range? Do you have the special skills that may be required of the role (tap dancing for example)?

The good news is that most if not all community theatres have policies of inclusivity when casting so opportunities to be cast have never been greater. This used to be called “color-blind” casting in which race does not usually play into selection of the character unless race is a theme of the play (for example, you are not likely to see an all white cast for Raisin in the Sun). Gender blind casting has recently come to the forefront as well with some groups but not most. Do not assume that this is the case for any show you are auditioning to be in. Sometimes the playwright has put restrictions on who can be cast, most famously Edward Albee and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, or a director feels that “gender bending” would impact the message of the play. The norm still is that men should audition for male roles and women for female roles. However, in my opinion, it doesn’t hurt to ask about this.

Race and gender aside I believe you will still find that most directors will stick to other qualifications, such as age, when casting.

You are now ready to go to the audition!

At The Audition

Remember that the audition is essentially a job interview. So basic rules apply:

Be on time if the audition is by appointment. If the audition is during a block of time – 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. for example – don’t arrive at 8:45 or later and expect to be given a try-out.

Be polite.

Dress appropriately. You don’t need to wear a business suit, but be sure to wear loose fitting clothing that doesn’t restrict you movements. I prefer to dress in neutral colors so that the director is focusing on my movement and face instead of my outfit. Some people recommend dressing as you think the character you are audition to be would. I do not. Your idea of how the character would dress most likely will not match the ideas that the directing staff have. Most directors are looking for actors who will be flexible during the rehearsal process, not actors who are already set on how to interpret the character.

Be respectful of other actors who are auditioning. Many groups have open auditions in which everyone watches everyone else’s audition. Be quiet and attentive when you are not on stage.

Be ready to take risks. Too often I will see people trying to copy another person’s performance during an audition. Try to give the directors something unique about your performance that no one else did. Especially if there is a large group auditioning for the same role. You want to stand out at an audition, not blend in!

Remember this is your time to shine. You need to put aside all fear of failure and go for it! If you can’t speak up and move in front of a relatively small group how can the director trust that you will before a sold out house on opening night?

In Conclusion

If you are cast in the role you want, congratulations! If you are not cast in the role you wanted or worse yet not cast at all please don’t let this discourage you. Auditioning is a skill and most people do not get cast in a leading role their first time out. Keep auditioning and you will get better at it.

I hope that these tips help you get the role you want. There really is nothing quite like being in a show and I have found a lifetime’s worth of pleasure and satisfaction in community theatre. I’m sure that you will, too.

You can find other tips for auditioning on the web, of course, and I also recommend finding a copy of Audition by Michael Shurtleff (ISBN 9780553272956). It’s a great guide and many consider it the “bible” of auditioning.

Break a leg!

Every now and then someone asks me what I get out of theatre. I usually give some sort of glib answer like “attention” or “standing ovations.” But the answer is really more complex than that. For example, it occurs to me that many of the methods used to put on a show can be directly related to any business project. Don’t believe me? See below the steps that a director goes through to “manage” a successful production and see if they don’t fit your next project.

Set the Goal

A show starts, like any business project, at the beginning. The first thing a director needs to determine is “what show are we doing?” In some cases this is determined by an outside force (i.e. board of directors, committee, or producer – a.k.a the “supervisor”). The director starts with the script, which is in essence the bare bones of the play. Just words on paper waiting to be brought to life. Read and study the script. Understand what the playwright was trying to achieve. Research, research, research. You need to know the script (plan) better than anyone else on the team. You can’t guide people to a goal if you don’t know the way.

Determine Your Needs

How many characters are in the play? Male? Female? Is it a comedy, drama or musical? What are the ages of the characters? How many sets do you need? Costumes? The questions are numerous but like any project these basic facts need to be known and understood before you can fully determine your needs.

Block Your Movements

In theatre blocking is the process of mapping out the movements that an actor will take during the show. In business, this is similar to the strategic steps or tasks which need to be done to complete the project. In a play the blocking may be basic (go from stage left to stage right) but should always have a purpose such as to make the scene seem more natural or to place focus on a specific characters actions or to set a “tableau” demonstrating relationships of characters to each other or evoke a mood or feeling from the audience. A show that is not well blocked becomes chaotic and random often devolving into a random mess of motion without meaning or, worse yet, a stagnant grouping of people on stage (the audience “sees” first and “hears” second). In business, if there are no set plans or tasks the project can grind to a halt as the team each goes their own way without clear direction.

Set the Budget

Now that you know the requirements to start the project, you have to assemble the resources. As so often with any project you need to know what will it cost. Then you most likely need to look at what you are provided as very few of us get unlimited funds to do anything. Do the two match? Probably not so you need to go through your needs line by line and prioritize to determine which items get the most money and which items you may need to be more “creative” with (theatres may have fund raising abilities which your business will not – but let’s presume you have enough funding to continue with your project).

Assemble Your Cast and Crew

Now you need to find the best people to help you complete the production. You hold auditions (interviews) and determine who best suits each role. Like the hiring process in business you may not have all the information you need to make the perfect choice so you go with your gut and make the best choice you can at that moment (anyone who tells you they’ve never made a mistake casting or hiring probably doesn’t have much experience with either or are dangerously oblivious to their surroundings).

Set the Schedule – how long do you need to get the production finished? How many hours a day can you devote to the show? Like most workplaces, those involved in theatre – especially amateur theatre – have other things that they need to continue doing along with the show or project. Can everyone make each rehearsal (meeting)? Will they have sufficient time to work outside rehearsals on their specific task?

Know Your Role and Theirs

A director (manager) is a guide to the cast and crew. He or she needs to show the way and understand how each member of the production contributes to the overall success of the show. Likewise, the director needs to understand that he or she cannot do it all alone. This is the same in business, if you don’t know what your purpose is in the project you can fall into the micro-management trap or end up doing all the work yourself.

Rehearse

Rehearsal in show is the same as training in business. The cast cannot perform if they do not have the skills needed. Likewise, your team cannot do their jobs if they are untrained and unskilled. Professional development is a must!

Follow the Script

The script is your guide. In theatre you usually do not have the option to change this. However, in business, you may be able to make adjustments to your plan as you go along. But even with the play your understanding of the script will likely change during the rehearsal process and you may make adjustments with the actors (blocking, inflection, timing) as you go along to better fulfill the “vision.”

Support, Support, Support

Give your cast feed back. Are they on the right track with their character? Are they learning their lines early enough? Are they doing a good job? Tell them! A cast, or team, who only hears negative feedback will quickly become under-performers. But be careful of praising indiscriminately. They need to trust you to tell them the truth – good or bad. Check in often to make sure that they have the tools and equipment necessary to get the job done.

Re-Cast When Needed

Sometimes it just isn’t working out. It’s the toughest part of a directors, or manager’s, job but you need to know when it’s time for different personnel. But not until you’ve done all you can to support and be sure that the person who is underperforming had everything he or she needed to get the job done.

Know When To Quit

In theatre there comes a point where you need to realize it (the scene, dance, whatever) just isn’t going to get any better and that more rehearsal may only make things worse. Sometimes this point is not where you hoped it would be and maybe instead of a great show you’ll only have a good show but you have to be realistic. Remember that budget item above? You can’t do Broadway on a Andy Hardy (you young ones may want to Google him) “let’s put on a show” budget.

Take a Bow – Or Not

When it’s all over, celebrate. Let your team members take a bow and share in the spotlight. Everyone from the leading lady to the stage hand who opened the curtain made an important contribution regardless of size. When do you take your bow? Probably not until later and not in public. In the theatre the director does not take a bow with the cast but watches everything from the back of the house with a satisfied smile and the knowledge that it all came together as planned. And then the director moves on to the next project!

I hope this little primer gave you some ideas to be successful with your next project. On with the show!

All photos by David P. Wahr unless otherwise noted in which case the original artist retains all rights. Otherwise photos and words @copyright by David P. Wahr