Auditions! I'm so nervous and I'm not even auditioning!
Blog: Director's Desk
February 20, 2010
There. The secret's out. Directors get very nervous about auditions. Well, at least this director does. Will anyone come? Did I pick the right sides for people to read? I've said accents at this point aren't important...but what if they are? What if I forgot something? What if I didn't make enough copies of the forms? WHAT IF NO ONE COMES?
Okay. I've stopped banging my head on the keyboard now. I get this nervous every time I'm casting. The funny thing is, I usually get just enough actors auditioning to cast the show. (I include both men and women in that term, just as we do with lawyers, carpenters, pilots, etc.) I'm hoping I get a few more folks this time. You all should know that the Wenatchee Valley is full of really good actors We do a lot of shows and they're always in demand. So, I feel amazingly blessed when they come out and audition for my shows. Oh, I hope they come!
I spent a couple of hours today putting together "sides" for the auditions. Sides are a chunk of the script that features a specific character or group of characters. You make copies of these bits of script for the actors to "cold read" at the audition. It's called cold reading because they haven't seen the sides that they will be reading from. Actors usually show up a little early so they can peruse the sides and get familiar with the flow of the audition piece. As a director, you need to pick sides that really give an actor something to work with, a moment in the play that strikes you as really showcasing a particular character. This was particularly hard to choose with the character of the King of Bohemia. He is an overdramatic guy, but most scenes that he's in still feature others (with outbursts from him). I finally settled on one in which he is kinda baffled by what's going on, but is still interjecting into the conversation a lot. Should work.
Watson is another character that's hard to feature. He absolutely holds the story together and has as large of a role as Holmes. I love the character of Watson as he is the anchor that keeps Holmes steady. He reminds me of Little John in the Robin Hood stories. But like Robin, the light often shines more on Holmes, than on Watson. But I love the guy. And he's the only character for whom I put together sides that are only for him.
So...everything's in place. The time is set, the forms are ready, we've got pens and sides and a digital camera for actor shots. If I build it, they will come, right?
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Cynthia 2 years, 3 months ago
Auditions! I'm so nervous and I'm not even auditioning!
More and more, I've come to believe that casting is the last time a Director really has any power in Community Theatre. You have to cast the very, very best actors you can find in the important roles. It's so very hard to tell anyone "No", but you have to do it. I'm all for making a bunch of phone calls to actors who didn't show up to auditions. You need the right people, and sometimes you really have to encourage them to come down. You see a lot of theatre around here, so you know who is good. If you need some numbers - call me!
Enesvy 2 years, 3 months ago
Auditions! I'm so nervous and I'm not even auditioning!
Thanks, Cyn! I appreciate it. I still have one more night of auditions, so we'll see after that. If it turns out I did need to see more actors, I'd schedule another audition and call people about that. I'm not big on casting folks who haven't auditioned--they pretty obviously aren't interested if they don't come to auditions, don't you think? I've already met with some folks who were out of town this week, so they got in touch with me and I had special audition times for them. I will work with anyone who wants to audition but can't make tonight. :) . And you, my dear...are most cordially invited to audition... :)
2 years, 3 months ago
Auditions! I'm so nervous and I'm not even auditioning!
Enesvy 2 years, 3 months ago
Auditions! I'm so nervous and I'm not even auditioning!
They came! They came!!! :) I will have something to post about this weekend! . Thanks, Mav. :) I do hope you'll come and see it in May!
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