Clubs

By Kaleia Morningstar

Casting is one of the most important things a director has to complete to elevate the production of a play. Not only will it dictate how successful the play is, but how it is perceived, acted out, and–in this specific sense–how it will be judged. 

The theater director, Glenn Weyler, explained how casting is 50% of his job. He had the difficult task of casting for this year’s competition theater piece. He sat in front of the actor list and figured out, with immense intent, how to portray his vision through this casting.

Weyler explained how he tries to mold the actors like clay to create the perfect sculpture of a play. He mentioned how it was a bit difficult to cast because his prejudgement was switched after auditions. Some people fit his ideas; others did not, so he had to work around those changes. 

“[Casting] can be fun at first, like figuring out a chess board.” Weyler stated. Macbeth needed to be cast perfectly to project mystery and tragedy, so Weyler had a lot on his hands. 

Weyler had the expectations of creating a perfect play: a play that fit his idea, a play that was entertaining to watch, a play that could win competitions. His only plan was to meet these expectations, so he had to be precise and efficient in who he cast. 

During the trials of casting, Weyler had to make difficult decisions. He knew these may make some actors dissatisfied, but he couldn’t think about that when the play’s reputation was on line.

Today, Weyler is very satisfied with the casting. He believes that if the actors deliver they will have a chance at moving onto the next level of the competition. However, the actors’ opinions differ a little from the director’s. A few actors don’t agree fully with the casting, like Shamaurie Forest.

            He feels that the production will be a good one, regardless, but he doesn’t agree entirely with Weyler’s casting. 

            “I think the casting was based on a person's personality rather than their acting skill.” Shamaurie admitted when asked how he felt about the casting. “Personally, my roles were the typical crazy or yelling character…but I feel as if those roles push me into an archetype.”

             Overall, Shamaurie is not completely displeased with the casting, but rather believes Weyler follows a pattern when he casts. Shamaurie typically gets cast as loud or chaotic characters that match his personality outside of theater rather than characters that match his acting skill. 

            An actor who is excited for the casting is Kloe Marshall. 

          “I really enjoy the casting.” She believes Weyler casts well and makes unique choices. “I think it's going to be really interesting and new to our group.” 

          As the president of the club, Kloe thinks that everyone will be able to do a fascinating job and deliver an incredibly captivating play. She mentioned how talented her peers are. Their performance will be excellent, despite the casting. 

          It’s clear that casting plays a big role in theater. Whether the actors like the director's casting or not, they still have to perform. Separate from any feelings, all of the Macbeth actors will have to embody the characters, give us an amazing show, and every one will. 

           Hopefully we can see Weyler’s dream come to life and Galileo’s Drama Club will move on to the next round in the completion!