How to prepare for an audition

-Use the audition materials in Google Classroom to prepare the monologues/songs/scenes.

-Give yourself at least a week or so to work preparing for your audition. Recording and rewatching is a good way to give yourself feedback. Perform for a family member or friends.

-Make sure all of the paperwork required for the application process is completed. For the big spring shows, this includes the parent form and the Google form. Sometimes an essay or tech resume is needed as well. 

-Be on time! This is when you showcase your skills AND how reliable you are. Show the director that you are responsible. 

-Be confident! Auditions are the time to show the director how you can be on stage. If you feel nervous, you probably look nervous. Tell yourself you've got this...because you do! Confidence comes from spending time working on your audition so you know you can rock it.

-Actually analyze the character(s) you are auditioning for. Make choices: think, speak, and move as your character. Directors look for how you can become the character in a believable way. While projecting, articulating, facing out, being confident are so key - digging deep and showing the director how well you understand the character are HUGE.

-Include preparing your slate. That's the first impression at an audition. 

-Practice finding a focal point while you audition. AKA *Don't watch the director during your audition* Look just over the heads of the directors and towards the back of the room. 

What to expect at Rushing auditions

-You can stay after school or come back the day of your audition. If you having a later audition time, return to Rushing at the main front doors. A Theatre Production student will let you in. Be patient if nobody is there waiting for you. Someone will get there. 

-Wait in the hallway outside of the theatre room. You can rehearse farther down the hallway if you'd like, but be aware that other students will be there waiting for their turn as well. A Theatre Production student will let you know when it is your turn to go in for your audition. 

A director's expectations at auditions

-Slate

-Confident, prepared, and professional

-Use a focal point

-Kind to other students auditioning

-Kind to Production students helping in the hallways

Call backs and audition results

-Call backs posted after all first round of auditions are completed. If you aren't on the list for call backs, you could still be in the show. This is just a second look at primary roles.

-You must attend call backs to be considered for the role(s) called back for.

-Wait 48 hours before contact after company list is posted.

Casting a show isn't easy.

-Putting a show together is like doing a puzzle. There are many aspects a director considers when casting a show. There are also a few things that a director does NOT take into consideration.

Things a director considers: work ethic, attitude, humility, a "team player" or "diva"?, reliability, availability, capacity to take direction, stage presence

Things directors do NOT consider: "seniority", past roles, number of years involved, who "deserves" the role, experience in other theaters

-Typically there are 2-5 roles that the majority of actors want to get cast as. Mathematically that means an overwhelming majority of students will not get the role they wanted the most. Theatre, especially in the educational setting, is about learning how to work as a team with a common goal. It's about celebrating the highs and lows the whole company goes through. It's about the safe space and family that gets created during the process. A successful show is a bonus.