The Cast List. (I capitalized it on purpose, for the record.) I doubt I am not the only one who has a mess of conflicted emotions stirred each time I hear the list mentioned. We talk about them before we audition, after we audition, after we see them. Though many study acting, few study reacting to that list. Bad reactions can cause unnecessary harm and, for the most part, my advice on how to react should come with common sense, yet I learned many of these lessons from my own mistakes. We have already talked about places you might be on the cast list, but now we are going to talk about when it isn't there at all. This post is going to focus on the shortly after results are posted, rather than immediate. For advice on the immediate, most of this is covered in the second blog in this series.
There is a theatre program that comes through my county each year and has a reputation for being accessible. Though it is always nice to have extremely talented, skilled, and refined performers, the program had a place on stage for everyone. It casted students from kindergarten to seniors in high school and the shows were cute, family-friendly, and had low requirements for the cast. If you hadn't guessed where this story is going, here it is: I didn't get casted. I was very devastated, partially because I was eight years-old and partially because not getting casted can be upsetting no matter the age. I remember my mother tried to make things better by purchasing a marshmallow sucker during the audition that she figured would suffice as a congratulatory gift or a comfort depending on what the results were. I left it in the car next night, planning on saving it for the next day only to find a mouse had consumed half of my comfort food, contaminating all of it. Ultimately, it wasn't a much of a comfort.
Life does not always give us the roles we want. And, sometimes, life doesn't seem to save a role for us at all. If you notice, I underlined "seem" in the last sentence and that is because it only seems that way. You can't be everything you want to be. You can't play every role you want to, you can't be in every production you want to.Despite how it seems, there is a role for you, and more than one. You have to keep in mind that there is more to a show than a cast, there will be other shows, and there is world is a big place.
At least in my high school theatre, there is always a part for everyone in the theatre, even if it isn't on the cast list. We have build crew, designers, assistant directors, choreographers, music directors, run-crew, etc. If you are that set on being in this production, inquire about helping in a different capacity, you have nothing to lose, but so much to gain. I know many who had their first crew experience in a show they wished to be casted in only to find they preferred crew. You never know what you will find.
But if you still prefer performing, you will find that what ever production you were not casted in is likely not the last show ever to happen on earth. Use extra time to refine your skills or perhaps try a show in a community theatre if it is available.
And although "all the world's a stage", the stage is not all the world. Sometimes we forget that there is a life outside of theatre. In fact, there are people who are never involved in the production of a play or musical their entire life. In fact, there are a lot of people who fall into this category. It's okay to take sometime away from the theatre a while. Try a sport you always wanted to, join an new club, or appreciate some down time. And theatre will be waiting for you when you come back (be aware that time spent away can cause your abilities to regress, so time away, particularly excessive time away, can work against you. At the very least, you won't have improved as much as you would have if you continued training in that time.)
The opening story though, with the marshmallow and mouse, what was it about?
If you read the first blog entry in this series, you may recall my first story of receiving the role of my dreams, a lead in Peter Pan in a more competitive environment. I say this because it is proof that if you aren't on the cast list for one show, it doesn't mean you won't ever be on one again. It can mean that you won't be on one again if you don't care to do another show or if you let yourself get to scared of rejection to try again. I know theatre plays a different role in everyone's life and maybe you won't be in a show again, that may be fine for you, but don't let that be because you are scared of rejection. You may feel rejected when your name isn't on that list and I do not believe in invalidating that feeling, but don't let that feeling invalidate your future desires either.
If you have any words for those facing a cast-list without their name or any other comments or suggestions for future posts, comment below.
Finally, I leave you with a look at the last installment of this series, atleaest or now, of reacting to the casting. Instead of giving you the title, I am going to just throw what the subject matter is because it differs from the nature of the other parts of this series. That blog will be advice about cast list reactions aimed at individuals who did not audition themselves.
And scene.