Writing a play is a skill and craft that allows you to bring your vision to life. Now you need to find the right cast to bring your words and scenes to life. Auditions are nervous, exciting times for the men, women, and children who hope to join your cast. What they might not realize is that it can be an equally nerve wracking time for you as the playwright. While actors feel the stress and strain of impressing you with a stellar audition, you feel the pressure of making the right choices for principal and understudy actors to bring your characters to life. These helpful tips will make your audition day a much easier process.
Set clear expectations before audition day. Make sure the promo materials, ads, and announcements you distribute spell out everything performers need to bring to the audition. That can include headshots, resumes, and a prepared monologue or song selection. You should also make the characters narrative clear to prevent a five-foot-tall actor from auditioning for a role as a basketball player.
Show up early and well-rested. Ideally, you, your director, production assistants, and anyone else involved in casting should arrive at the audition site at least an hour early. Doing so gives you time to set up the venue, steady your nerves, and attend to any last minute housekeeping duties. Set up a table with a sign-in book and any forms you’ll need potential performers to fill out, along with a stock of pens or pencils. Finally, check and double check all your equipment, including mics, music, sound effects, etc. Once all that is done, take a deep breath and let the auditions begin.
One final word of advice, do confer with your colleagues and make notes when needed but be careful not to overtalk the performers on stage or get so caught up in the discussion that you stop paying attention to them. Leave a few minutes in between auditions to make notes and create a callback list. Want more tips for creating, casting, producing, and marketing a successful play? Hit me up for a one-on-one!
Much Love,
Crystal