That’s Why They Call It “Casting”
As Casting Chair of my local community theater, I think a lot about the process of casting our shows. While the goal is always to find the ideal fit between auditioners and available roles, the reality is that we often have to compromise. Unlike Broadway, we usually don’t have the luxury of picking people who perfectly look the part, fit the age range, and have the exact vocal range suggested by the script or score. So, we make do with what we have. In a sense, casting is like fishing. We cast our line into the water by posting a carefully crafted audition notice. First, we get some “nibbles”; expressions of interest on Facebook. Then we see who we catch on audition day. Many are not “keepers,” and often we have to throw them back (gently) into the pond. But if we keep an open mind, we’ll often be pleasantly surprised by the talent we land.
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Tips to Help Your Audition at Unifieds
Unifieds. For those who have endured through these audition sessions, I tip my hat to you. It’s a stressful and hectic process which proves to be more fruitless than successful. But there are those times when the stars align that a unified audition goes so well, an offer of admission is made.
These are rare but I’ve seen them happen. More often, a student will come in, give a strong audition and that will at the very least, put them on our radar as a strong candidate for admission later on. Then there’s the flip side, when we see a student give a lackluster audition that disqualifies them from consideration. It doesn’t happen in the majority, but it does happen.
While there isn’t a sure-fire blueprint for success to get into every school you audition for, there are definitely things you can do to help your chances in that room.
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Sometimes Your Accompanist Sucks (and what to do if that happens)
Recently, I attended a college audition session where there was constant issues with the accompanist. While they were certainly trying their best, they just weren’t skilled enough to be able to play an audition session at this level. And because of this, it had a negative impact on the students auditioning that day. Each person after the next had some issues; whether it was rhythms, key signature, every student seemed to be off when singing their selections.
Over the course of your performing career, this is going to happen to you. While the majority of accompanists are fantastic, talented and helpful, there will be some who can torpedo your audition with their lack of skill.
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BFA Auditions: Do You Have Another Monologue? You'd Better
Whenever someone asks me for audition advice, there are two things I mention first:
Know the character and context of your audition material.
Have multiple pieces ready to go.
The first is pretty obvious. It doesn’t matter what monologue or song you’re auditioning with. Know exactly who that character is and what is going on in that moment of the text.
But the second is something you might be surprised more auditionees, especially college bound students, don’t know about.
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BFA Auditions 101: Keep Your Monologues Clean
Educators and recruiters are certainly looking to see your versatility, but that doesn't mean your audition material needs to contain a ton of expletives or sexual imagery.
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10 Songs I Never Mind Hearing At Auditions
There are so many lists warning you what songs you shouldn't audition with, I thought I'd switch things up and list a few that I'm always glad to hear. Songs not to avoid. But this is just to get your mind going. The best audition song highlights the things you do best, better than others. That's going to be different for every person.
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"You suck... She's prettier... You suck... You're not talented": The Destructive Inner Dialogue of an Actor
Over the last year, I've auditioned for at least ten projects. Out of all those auditions, I booked half, an unusually good ratio for me, but then again, I'm not in a super competitive area like NYC. No matter what city you're in though, auditions where you don't get the part start to take a toll on your self-esteem. Your thoughts begin to turn for the worst, and sound something like this: "You were terrible. Of course they didn't give you a callback (part, auditions, etc.)! You'll never make it in this field. Dad was right... I should take advantage of my English degree." And it goes on, and on, and on, and on, and on. You're killing your chances with your negative BS, and I'm here to tell you why you probably didn't get the part:
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College Auditions from the Parent Perspective: Part 1
You think your kid is talented (what parent doesn’t, right?). Maybe talented enough to make a career out of this music or theater thing. But those careers are pretty unstable, aren’t they? There must be a million actors waiting tables hoping for their big break and musicians working ‘day’ jobs so they can play with their band at night. But maybe, just maybe--your kid could be the one to make it. So you agree (maybe reluctantly) to look at college music and theater programs.
I’m a flutist and college music professor with over 30 years of teaching and playing experience. In 2017, my older daughter decided to take auditions for collegiate musical theater programs. While I am very familiar with how auditions work for music programs, adding theater to the mix brought new challenges. I started reading as much information as I could. I had several panicky moments--what if she had never taken tap dance lessons? What about acting camp? Should she ignore her school theater program for other opportunities in the community?
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BFA Audition Advice for Both Sides of the Table
Now that we are towards the conclusion of the audition season for Musical Theatre and Acting BFA programs, I know that everyone involved may be a little stressed out. However, it's never to early to turn attention to the Juniors who are preparing for this process next year. As an audition coach, let me offer some observations to both students auditioning and faculty members who are adjudicating auditions next year. Hopefully, my observations will make the process a little less stressful.
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Five Things Your Headshot Should Say About You
Oh, the dreaded headshot! I don’t know about other actors, but just the word “headshot” makes my stomach churn. I hear “headshot” but I see dollar signs and my crooked teeth. Headshots are many things to an actor- a tool, a representation, a business card in a sense. They are also expensive, annoying, and often misunderstood. Having just had my headshots redone, the frustration is fresh in my mind. While I was fortunate enough to find a professional, affordable photographer with experience in actor headshots, I was still reminded of how delicate the process is.
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