AUDITIONS
Auditions can take place for a single show or for a season. Union regulations have strict guidelines on where and how auditions can take place. If you are auditioning union members you should refer to the contract you are operating under to understand fully what is possible and what is not for your audition process. In most University settings you will not be operating under a union contract. Therefore, you should be adequately prepared to set up and run auditions efficiently. Auditions are extremely stressful situations for the actors so great care should be taken to make the environment is as supportive as possible including making sure the actors are well prepared for the requirements for the auditions as well.
Like all theatre processes auditions are a process as well. It can be best laid out as:
Gathering the audition information and establishing dates and requirements.
In the simplest sense, if you are auditioning for only one show a meeting with the director will be the easiest manner in which you gather the information required for the audition. Ask the director to provide you with a list of roles available, the age range of the characters in the production, and any pertinent information about the character that would help the actor prepare for the audition. Additionally, discuss with the director what they are asking the actors to prepare and the length of time each auditioner should be allowed. In some cases, the director will ask each actor to prepare a piece from the script. In this case the audition material should be available to the actor at the time they sign up for the audition. This will ensure that they have the correct audition material for the characters they are preparing. There are often numerous publications of a play and there is no guarantee that material purchased from one publisher will match another. Therefore, if possible, put together the audition materials and make it available to the actor allowing them enough time for adequate preparation. Other directors prefer that the actor prepare a monologue of their choice. Generally, the director will select a period or era in which the actor may choose the monologue. This is important as it does the actor little good to prepare a contemporary comic monologue when the director is casting a production of an Elizabethan tragedy. It is important for the stage manager to be as specific as possible in establishing precisely what cannon of work the actor may choose from. If you can guide the actor in a particular direction by suggesting a few plays or playwrights then by all means do so. Auditioning is often a scary and unnerving process for the actor. The more you can help them prepare the more satisfied the parties and the event will be.
Establish audition dates and requirements
Confirm the dates and times of the auditions and any other specific information the director would like conveyed. Make sure to post this information at the sign up sight and include it on the audition form. This will help be as complete as possible with your actors in your audition notifications. It is also important to post how the director would like auditions to be run. Does the director want to limit monologues to one minute? Are the auditioners to be timed? Are you expected to cut the actor off at the allotted time or let them run on? It is important the actor know this. Be sure to include that information on your audition form as a back up. This timing issue will be an important consideration when you are establishing your actor calls. Not limiting the time frame for the auditions can cause unwanted delays and stress on both the artistic team and the audtioners. In your announcement be sure to include any time limitations and post the information where they fill out the audition form.
Auditioning Multiple Productions
If you are auditioning for more than one production at a time the gathering of information remains the same only now you have to add the additional layer of coordinating the needs of several directors instead of just one. If the season for which you are preparing auditions includes multiple choices such as a period play, a contemporary play, and an experimental new piece, you will want to coordinate with the various directors exactly what each is expecting. No one wants to sit through hours of watching actors struggle through multiple monologues so you will want to discuss with the directors whether there is a way to double up the information requirements across productions; can one two minute monologue satisfy more than one play? Will a one minute period piece monologue and a one minute modern tragic monologue suffice for all of their needs, etc. Some times it is an impossible marriage, there is little common ground in auditioning for Three Sisters and Into The Woods. Some times separate auditions are the only way to accomplish everyone’s goals
Preparing the Space
Essentially, the kind of show you’re auditioning for dictates the kind of space you need to audition. Dance calls require more careful coordination of room and space than individual vocal calls.
Actor’s Equity Association has fairly explicit audition instructions per contract. It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the audition requirements. The information is stored by contract in their document library at www.actorsequity.org. The varying contracts are stored in their document library which used to be available to anyone and is now only available to union members.
Play auditions are generally simple operations to run. There needs to be a room large enough for the actor and directors team to feel comfortable with enough tables and chairs to support the activities. The same holds pretty much true for vocal auditions. Enough distance from the auditioner to allow the director and his/her team to see and hear the audition and make notes with no distractions or concerns that the person auditioning will take note of anything specific.
There needs to be a small enough holding area for the stage manager to check in each auditioner and “queue” them up for their time in the audition room. It is a good rule of thumb to have each auditioner show up ½ hour prior to their allotted time. It is the general assumption that each professional actor shows up prepared to audition with their voices adequately warm, their wardrobe appropriate, etc. Academically there may be some variation in that assumption. You might want to discuss with the director, general manager, production manager, or space scheduler where an appropriate warm up area is for those who might need a little extra preparation on arrival. Be careful there is no sound bleed between spaces. Old Man River might take exception if he is competing with sopranos auditioning in the next room.
Dancers and dance auditions have different needs. Dancers have to change clothes (they are not expected to show up in tights and jazz shoes), they need a place to warm up their bodies, a holding area large enough for groups, etc. They also carry a lot of stuff with them (dance bags). It is not unusual for a dancer, in addition to dance clothes, to have a pair of jazz flats, jazz shoes with heels, tap shoes, and ballet shoes. Their dance bags can take on suitcase proportions. Be sure there is enough space for them and their paraphernalia.
Dancers audition in groups learning the audition dance from the choreographer or choreographer’s assistant. The group size can vary from show to show but can be as few as three to five people and up to twenty five. Above twenty five and it becomes difficult to find a space large enough for all the dancers. Mirrors line one wall of the dance hall and the choreographer or assistant teaches the group the basic routine. Once the choreographer or assistant feels enough time has been devoted to learning the audition routine the dancers are asked to turn away from the mirrors and audition for the artistic team in groups of generally three to four. All in all you may have as many as several hundred dancers at a call in a major US city. In these cases it is a good idea to stagger their calls so that the audition holding area does not become overwhelmed.
Again, there are union regulations regarding dance auditions. Make careful note to regard and comply with those regulations. Most of them just make good sense. You want dancers auditioning on sprung wooden floors and not concrete. You want bathrooms and running water. You want a breathable temperature in the room, etc. Most union regulations make common sense. It is not a bad idea to apply most of them whether you are auditioning union dancers or not. You also might want to check that the piano has been recently tuned.
Creating and posting the audition announcement
Once you have gathered the information required for the auditions you can start to outline your audition notice for posting. Refer to the example attached of an audition announcement. Your announcement should include the company that is auditioning, the dates and times of the auditions, the roles available, any pertinent information about the character that would assist the actor in their preparation, and where the actors may sign up for the auditions and the times that the sign up location will be operating.
Some theatres will include the community in their audition pool. You will want to discuss with artistic director, the marketing manager, or their equivalent what newspapers you will include in your posting. You should discuss any length of notice limits in case you need to pare down or abbreviate your overall audition notice.
If you are holding union auditions you must check with the union about the audition notice, the rules revolving around your contract, and what procedures must be in place prior to your auditions. In most cases union members must be seen prior to non-union actors so make sure, if you are holding both groups of auditions, that you have cleared the correct order for your auditions.
The sign up process
It is best if there is a centralized location for actors to sign up for auditions. In New York, the Actor’s Equity Building posts auditions notices and sign ups for actors. It is on a first come first served basis and the building hours are easily posted and most New York actors know exactly when the building opens. If you are outside the city, or outside of one of the major cities in which Actors’ Equity maintains an office, then you will want to make sure you have posted the hours that the actors may sign up for the auditions and be sure that you have a representative there to answer questions and take the actors information for the auditions.
The Audition Form
There is no magic layout for the audition form. I like my students to come up with their own layout each and every time they audition for a season or a show. This insures that they are thinking about the audition process and not just copying someone else’s thoughtful work. The audition form should include their name and contact information. Personal information should be included such as height, hair, eye color, etc. (There are federal regulations regarding discrimination for age, sex, etc. Be sure that you don’t ask questions that go against those regulations. For example: It is a federal law that you cannot discriminate because of a persons’ age. Therefore, rather than ask their age you can ask for their age range. Plus some people look differently at certain stages of their life. While one of my children looked far older than their actual years while they were going through their teen years, another looked far younger. Asking their age range allows the actor to present themselves in an age range they think is most adequate for the way they look.) Include an area in which the actor can list their audition choices. There should be a section where the actor can list their latest accomplishments and one for special skills. Special skills can include everything from speaking foreign languages, juggling and acrobatics, to special dialects. You will want to have a section that is totally devoted to the director and the artistic staff to take notes. In addition to all the above information, I like to include the audition date and time in an easily recognizable location. With it easy to see you won’t have to look hard to see if you have the correct actor and whether you are running on time or not.
Recently we held auditions for the School of Theatre for fall semester. The challenge for this series of auditions was that it was being held prior to school starting. So my dilemma was how to get the information to them, have them fill out the forms, and then get them returned to me so that I could set up the process in advance keeping everyone informed an up-to-date.
Since I also web master the online callboard for the school I did a little online research and came across a company that allowed me to create a form and link to it from my web page. ...for free .When the students hit the submit button to submit the completed form it automatically mailed it to a general gmail account I had set up for my students. As each student submitted the form they came in order they were submitted so that i was able to enter each submission in order toa database. The database itself was linked to the my callboard site so as each submission was entered it was assigned a date and time. Students could then log back on and see their audition time and the time they had to arrive to check in. With the completed forms in my possession I was able to print out a work book for each director (we were auditioning for four shows) and a copy of the database for the rest of the production team. All very slick and we managed four and one half hours of auditioners without a hitch.
If you are not doing your audition sign up process online you will still need to maintain a database that list's the time and name of the auditioner in order. As you schedule them out don't forget to schedule in breaks. I like to give those who are watching the auditions a five minute break every hour. This allows them to run to the rest room, grab a soda, etc. and if there are are people watching the auditions it allows them to leave the audition room without drawing attention.
[1] In this case, this is a humorous reference to the Bass in Show Boat and the Soprano in Candide.; both famous roles for their extreme vocal range requirements.