So, auditions are very scary, a lot of people know that. Let’s be real here, everyone in their life has “auditioned” for something at least once in their life, and it doesn’t always have to be theater related, it could be a job interview, a sports team, or a band, but it all essentially boils down to an audition. This is great for understanding the basic foundation of an audition, but what about in theater?
Our school’s upcoming musical, The Addams Family, is a great opportunity to learn about auditions and be a part of a tight-knit group, and there is even a workshop a week in advance so you can figure out what you want to do to make yourself memorable. The workshop is Tuesday, August 29, right after school, and actual auditions are Tuesday-Thursday, September 5-7, also right after school. The first two days are entirely vocal auditions, and you can sign up for whatever day you want, but it’s not a 100% guarantee. The last day is movement, basically how well you can dance. This is a great time to show confidence in your movement, even if it feels intense.
The workshop has a packet that you need to pick up at some point if you want to participate; it’s a parent signature page, but also has more in depth information about anything you need to know, and separate pages for if you want to be on cast or crew. It’s recommended to sign up for both cast and crew, because if you only pick one and don’t get in, the next opportunity you’ll get is to chauffeur, and that isn’t normally sorted until the week of opening night.
In these packets is also a list of songs that are eligible for use in an audition, usually just songs from the musical. You can pick one or two songs to learn and sing, but always have a backup if anything changes.
This workshop is also an opportunity for you to find out about all of the crew positions that the production has to offer. You could be building sets, organizing costumes, setting up lights, preparing the sound system, making props, or even advertising the show to as many people as possible. There’s also stage managers, who assist the directors and make sure everything is going smoothly, and keep track of blocking and/or choreography. Each of these crew positions is vital to the show, and each crew has its own special contribution. Based on the previous listed role descriptions, the crew might look pretty laid back, but it is not.
Set crew alone is, obviously, building the sets and that alone is pretty grueling at times, costumes have to find clothing appropriate for different characters and plan to make alterations if need be, lights have to organize the… well, lights, and make sure their cues are perfect. Sound is similar to lights, but they coordinate who gets a mic pack and various sound effects, and also need to ensure their cues are flawless, and props have to find or make any props needed for the show, which can get tricky at times depending on the show. Special projects usually help any crews that need it, but also create advertisements for performances that look good and convince people to come.
Auditions are supposed to be very chill, mainly just a measurement of how well you’ll fit into the musical, so don’t stress if you aren’t cast, it just means they don’t see you in this musical, it does not determine your actual talent at all. Make sure you practice what you want to learn, and stay calm, this could be the start of a wonderful passion for theater.
