The Audition Process
The audition process varies from director to director, and from show to show, but general procedures are as follows.
The audition process takes two to three days. Typically there is a day for the "cattle call", and a day for "call backs". Musical auditions usually have a second day of dance/movement auditions, and the third day is call backs.
Each director has their own approach to the "cattle call" audition, and often that approach depends on the show.
Some directors like to ease the tension with warm ups and games before auditions really begin. Some directors like to see monologues, some like to see cold readings. Some shows require a demonstration of certain skills, talents, or dialects that may be required of a certain character(s) in the show.
Day two is usually "call backs". Directors usually call back actors they need to see more from. Just because an actor is not called back doesn't mean that they aren't going to be cast in the show. Always check the cast list after it's posted.
Our best advice for auditioning is just "go with the flow" and have fun. Auditions are a stressful time for actors as well as directors, but try your best to enjoy the process. Auditions might be the only time you get to play your favorite role, only one actor can be cast in the role, after all... enjoy it!
Each director has their own approach to the "cattle call" audition, and often that approach depends on the show.
Some directors like to ease the tension with warm ups and games before auditions really begin. Some directors like to see monologues, some like to see cold readings. Some shows require a demonstration of certain skills, talents, or dialects that may be required of a certain character(s) in the show.
Day two is usually "call backs". Directors usually call back actors they need to see more from. Just because an actor is not called back doesn't mean that they aren't going to be cast in the show. Always check the cast list after it's posted.
Our best advice for auditioning is just "go with the flow" and have fun. Auditions are a stressful time for actors as well as directors, but try your best to enjoy the process. Auditions might be the only time you get to play your favorite role, only one actor can be cast in the role, after all... enjoy it!
Handling rejection
Unfortunately, rejection is an inevitable part of being an actor.
Every actor has auditioned for a much desired role and not gotten it. Successful actors MUST be able to handle rejection, continue to improve, and audition again. Young actors should also know that being rejected for a role or a play often has nothing to do with their individual talent. There are many examples of successful actors failing to star in high school. There are many times the lead of one show may "just" be in the ensemble for the next, or not cast at all. There are a lot of students at Topeka High that are competing for just a handful of roles, and sometimes the most talented actors aren't the right "fit".
Many factors play into a director's decision to cast someone, see the quote from Audition below, that has nothing to do with talent. Sometimes it's a student's attitude, sometimes their attendance, sometimes it's grades that are the reason a student may not get the part. Don't forget... YOU ARE ALWAYS AUDITIONING.
The casting process is always subjective no matter what kind of objective criteria a director tries to use, and it all has to fit together like a puzzle. This can be difficult for students, and sometimes parents, to understand. Most of the time it is just not possible to cast everyone, and having to leave students out of the cast is always very difficult for a theater teacher to do. Rejection is never fun for anyone.
Below are some words on handling rejection, adapted from the book Audition by renowned Broadway and Hollywood casting director Michael Shurtleff:
Every actor has auditioned for a much desired role and not gotten it. Successful actors MUST be able to handle rejection, continue to improve, and audition again. Young actors should also know that being rejected for a role or a play often has nothing to do with their individual talent. There are many examples of successful actors failing to star in high school. There are many times the lead of one show may "just" be in the ensemble for the next, or not cast at all. There are a lot of students at Topeka High that are competing for just a handful of roles, and sometimes the most talented actors aren't the right "fit".
Many factors play into a director's decision to cast someone, see the quote from Audition below, that has nothing to do with talent. Sometimes it's a student's attitude, sometimes their attendance, sometimes it's grades that are the reason a student may not get the part. Don't forget... YOU ARE ALWAYS AUDITIONING.
The casting process is always subjective no matter what kind of objective criteria a director tries to use, and it all has to fit together like a puzzle. This can be difficult for students, and sometimes parents, to understand. Most of the time it is just not possible to cast everyone, and having to leave students out of the cast is always very difficult for a theater teacher to do. Rejection is never fun for anyone.
Below are some words on handling rejection, adapted from the book Audition by renowned Broadway and Hollywood casting director Michael Shurtleff:
Actors must not worry about why they don’t get a role; they should only concern themselves with doing the best audition they know how to do. There has to be a balance in casting—the parts must fit like a jigsaw puzzle—and there are times when the best auditioners don’t ‘fit.’ An actor cannot concern themself with that; there lies madness. Just try to audition well, cry a little when you don’t get the role you want, but never ask why. The why is usually a series of imponderables over which the actor has no control.
There is no value in finding out why you weren’t accepted; you’ll rarely learn the truth, anyhow. Since all the considerations in casting are relative, what good will it do for you to find out you’re too short for the leading lady or too tall for the leading man? The solution would be to go home and cut your leg off or put on a pair of stilts; neither will help you. Casting is a very subjective process for the auditors, naturally, no matter what objective criteria they use.