How to Run Auditions

Talk to the director about where they want to hold auditions.

• If it's a main stage production, auditions will probably be in the Welch.

• If a Kander show, auditions will likely be in Warner.

If a director doesn't have a time for auditions or callbacks, find a time. This will likely be on a weekend.

Next, book the space.

• If booking in the Welch, talk to Joe Natt (email or in-person).

• If booking in the Warner, talk to Dan James (email or in-person).

Post the audition sign-ups in whichever building auditions will be in. Post signs in the other theater buildings telling people where the sign-ups are.

• These should be posted approximately a week before the auditions happen.

Check with the director about who will be in the room for auditions (including if the director wants you in the room or out in the waiting area).

Create the audition forms for your show from the Paperwork folder. You should print out more than enough copies for every person auditioning.

Once your audition sign-ups are posted, email the office at tdance@oberlin.edu to let them know when and where your auditions will be taking place, and to ask them to send an email out to the student body with the details.

If the director wants people to audition with sides (snippets of the script), you need to get them from the director, print them out, and post them everywhere that you have posted the audition sign-ups. (Another reason to make sure you get access to the printer!)

Be there early to set up- depending on how much set-up you need to do, you should be pretty early. At minimum, be there 15 minutes before the auditions are scheduled to start.

• Make sure there are tables and chairs set up for yourself, the director, and everyone else that will be in the room.

• Map out where people will wait, and tell people where they can wait as they arrive.

If you have an ASM, invite them to help you run auditions.

Your primary job is to facilitate everyone arriving at the audition on time and being ready to go when the director asks.

If you have an ASM, your job during auditions will be to sit in the room with the director and assist them. If you don't have an ASM, you will probably be in the waiting room with the actors, calling them in when the director asks for them, or going back and forth.

If there are sides as part of the audition process, your job will likely include reading the part of the side not being played by the actor.

You and the director should have a copy of the audition sign-up so that both of you can keep track of the number of people there, and the order in which they will be auditioning.

As people arrive, ask them to fill out the audition form, which you should then instruct them to bring in to their audition.

Auditions will probably run late. It's your job to keep things running on time, but don't be surprised if it goes over the time you had set for it.

At the end of auditions, talk with the director about callbacks, specifically asking when, where, and how callbacks will be run. You most likely will have already scheduled them, but check in to see if there's anything else that needs to be done regarding callbacks.

The director will send you a callback list. As soon as they do, post it in all the places where the original sign-ups were posted and email it to all auditionees. Expect this email very promptly. The turnaround is usually very quick, and it's possible that callbacks will happen the day after auditions.

Callbacks are run with more variation than auditions. Chat with the director about how they want to run callbacks.

The running of callback is similar to auditions:

• Get there early to set up. Your job will likely be very similar to the first round of auditions.

Ask the director when you think they will have the cast list. This can take a while. Give an estimate to the actors about when you think the list will be posted, and remind them where they can look for it.

The director will send an email to everyone who came to callbacks letting them know who was cast. This might be the first time you see the cast list as well.

As soon as you get the list from the director, you can post it everywhere you posted about auditions.

Email the office again (tdance@oberlin.edu) to let them know your show has been cast, and ask them to publicize your cast list.