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Original Message------

To what extent do the musical director and choreographer participate in the audition and casting of your musicals.?

Our choir director sits in on every audition and uses the same rubrics for both parts of the audition (monologue and song). We also invite someone from the community theater group to sit in and they also use the same rubrics. Overall scores are considered as well as our insights into a student's ability, schedule conflicts, and work ethic. But when casting a musical, I think having the choir director there who works with them everyday is essential. 

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Christina Iman
Teacher
Ripley WV

Original Message:
Sent: 02-06-2016 11:49
From: Sara Lee
Subject: Roles of adults

To what extent do the musical director and choreographer participate in the audition and casting of your musicals.?

My vocal director and I work together hearing voices and choosing audition pieces that all the kids sing. We arrange it so we can both be at the auditions together and we make the decisions together. She has a better ear and understanding of the needs of the music of the show than I do, so it justmakes sense tohave her there. It is a musical after all. Occassionally I will do additional readings without her, but this is usually done as a tie breaker between two students who vocally could do the role.  Occassionally we cast a student who will need a little more work than others might on the acting or singing side, but we both agree that the student should have the role.  It's not always about who can act or sing it better( mostly because of limited number of students vs. the number of roles)-but a balance of that and who will benefit from learning and growing in the role. As my productions are a combination of those getting course credit for the production and those doing it as an extra-curricular, we always have a focus on building and expanding skills and understanding of the application of theatrical concepts. That being said, we also hold two rounds of auditions--one of the students enrolled in the course with them choosing their own audition piece, this determines the show based on student needs for growth, and then a second round of open auditions. Lead roles are usually filled by those in class, but credit is also earned by those in supporting and chorus roles, then the open auditions round out the cast.

As far as the choreographer goes, it depends on the show. Sometimes we are locking for true dancerswith advanced talent, sometimes the dancing audition is so we have an idea of abilities (like aplacement audition) or , when we did Secret Garden, we didn't hold auditions.

wow, that was a long winded answer, but I hope it helps.

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Holly Thompson
Worthington OH

Original Message:
Sent: 02-06-2016 11:49
From: Sara Lee
Subject: Roles of adults

To what extent do the musical director and choreographer participate in the audition and casting of your musicals.?

Full particpation.  Consensus is sought on callbacks and casting yet director does have final say. 

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David Kramer
Mt Sinai NY

Original Message:
Sent: 02-06-2016 11:49
From: Sara Lee
Subject: Roles of adults

To what extent do the musical director and choreographer participate in the audition and casting of your musicals.?

Having a choreographer and musical director help with the casting is invaluable.  While I, as director/producer have final say (someone has to), working out plans like how to build a featured vocal ensemble (seperate from the general "chorus" roles) and how to fill-out the staging of production numbers can be taken care of in auditions.

Triple-threats are rare in my talent pool, boys since they are all but barred from dancing (pun intended) and are only encouraged to sing in church.  Therefore, I need trained professionals in voice and dance to help me with my harebrained schemes to make our shows work.

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Josh Ruben
Fine Arts Head, Northwest Whitfield
Chattanooga TN

Original Message:
Sent: 02-06-2016 11:49
From: Sara Lee
Subject: Roles of adults

To what extent do the musical director and choreographer participate in the audition and casting of your musicals.?

You need to split your auditions into 3 categories! Day one-two all sing with musical Director Day three is characterization work. Day four-dance with choreographer. Day 5- call backs and cast. Post on a Friday and give them weekend to calm down! Ha! I use all of my staff in audition process.NO social media by all until cast meets on Monday for read thru or first music rehearsal.

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Brenda Amburgy
Lacey WA

Original Message:
Sent: 02-06-2016 11:49
From: Sara Lee
Subject: Roles of adults

To what extent do the musical director and choreographer participate in the audition and casting of your musicals.?

Unlike many of the responses here, I don't have a ton of help from the Dance Teacher or Choir Director at my school.  I have a fair ear for music, so I conducted the auditions on my own.  I then went to the Choir Director and then the Dance Teacher with my list of students and got their advice.  Basically, I was asking if my instincts were right about the students I thought would make strong leads.  I got a surprise or two.

Ideally, they'd have more say in both the auditions and the rehearsal room.

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Katy Mulvaney
Houston TX

Original Message:
Sent: 02-07-2016 21:07
From: Brenda Amburgy
Subject: Roles of adults

You need to split your auditions into 3 categories! Day one-two all sing with musical Director Day three is characterization work. Day four-dance with choreographer. Day 5- call backs and cast. Post on a Friday and give them weekend to calm down! Ha! I use all of my staff in audition process.NO social media by all until cast meets on Monday for read thru or first music rehearsal.

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Brenda Amburgy
Lacey WA

Sara,

An unfortunate casting decision for the musical, LITTLE MARY SUNSHINE, several years ago reshaped my thoughts on this subject.  The young man looked the part of the lead but his voice was not up to the challenge of the role.

After that experience, I cast every musical starting with vocal range and ability.  This seems obvious, doesn't it? How many times are we persuaded that "he'll get it . . . eventually."?  This puts the student actor in a very bad situation and it does not make for a good experience for the ensemble or for the audience.

My Music director has the first vote in any casting decision.  If he or she doesn't think that a student can meet the vocal demands of a role, I will not override their decision.  

Choreography can be modified or adjusted to suit the ability of an actor.  I negotiate casting decisions with my choreographer.

Our musical auditions begin with Dance. This is intended to energize the group physically.  We move to Vocal auditions next.  This helps to identify the students who have really prepared, know the show, and have a good idea where they might fit in the cast.  It also gives us a good idea who can produce a sound that will fill the theatre rather than relying on a body mic to reach the audience.  I then run scenes from the show based on what I have learned from the previous two audition sections.  

Students who have been too modest or unrealistically ambitious in their casting goals are often revealed in the dance and voice auditions.

After the final audition day, the Music Director, Choreographer, and I sit down and discuss each role in order to put the best possible cast together.  We often invite a colleague to join us as a neutral party and source of fresh perspective.  It is best if this person has attended most, if not all, of the auditions.

On another note, Precasting.  Often, students (and parents) assume that the director has precast the show.  What is the purpose of auditions if the show is precast?  How can a director leave room for surprise and discovery if they have closed their mind to casting possibilities at each and every audition?

Thank you for posing your question on the forum.  I hope that I have contributed something useful to the discussion. 

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Kevin Hayes
[Director of Theatre]
[Maumee Valley Country Day School]
[Toledo] [OH]
[khayes@mvcds.org]

Original Message:
Sent: 02-06-2016 11:49
From: Sara Lee
Subject: Roles of adults

To what extent do the musical director and choreographer participate in the audition and casting of your musicals.?

I have my musical director and choreographer at all auditions for musicals, and I allow them to have a say! First, it helps me to have their input as to who they think is the best. SECOND, it helps when we have to make difficult casting decisions that I am not the only one they can blame! However, they all know that I could veto any of their decisions, but I rarely do! 

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Suzanne Craig
MS/HS Theatre & Speech
Lipscomb Academy High School
Nashville TN

Original Message:
Sent: 02-06-2016 11:49
From: Sara Lee
Subject: Roles of adults

To what extent do the musical director and choreographer participate in the audition and casting of your musicals.?

Our choral director is the musical director, and I am the director and TD.  Our musical is a curricular production, cast entirely from a group of theatre classes and a choral music class that meet in one period in the spring.

We teach an audition unit first.  I pick out 8 to 9 monologues of about 30 to 35 seconds in length, and each student chooses one to work up.  The monologues each have some characteristic appropriate to a character in the musical, but are not from the musical.  The choral director checks the range of each student, then teaches sopranos a 16-bar piece, altos a 16-bar piece, etc.  After she has taught that in groups, she works with individual students and puts an accompaniment track on Canvas for them to rehearse with.  I let students run their monologues by me as many times as they want, and I give them oral notes each time.

On the audition day, the students come in to find a list with them randomly sorted.  Each comes on stage, stated name and number, does a monologue, then sings the 16-bars with the accompaniment track.  The choral director and I do call backs the next day, based on those auditions.  Then we come to consensus on the casting and understudy for each role.     

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C. J. Breland
Asheville High School
Asheville NC

Original Message:
Sent: 02-08-2016 15:43
From: Suzanne Craig
Subject: Roles of adults

I have my musical director and choreographer at all auditions for musicals, and I allow them to have a say! First, it helps me to have their input as to who they think is the best. SECOND, it helps when we have to make difficult casting decisions that I am not the only one they can blame! However, they all know that I could veto any of their decisions, but I rarely do! 

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Suzanne Craig
MS/HS Theatre & Speech
Lipscomb Academy High School
Nashville TN

I also begin my auditions with the vocal portion. I didn't have a choir director who was really willing to be part of the musical. It's different this year (yay!) so sh'ell be sitting in with me on all vocal auditions. I choreograph on my own (double certified in dance so it's easy for me) but invite the dance teacher to sit in on the auditions if she wishes.

I break it down this way:

Day 1 - cattle call vocals 

Day 2 - callback vocals

Day 3 - cattle call acting (for the non-singing parts) and callbacks for those that survived the vocal callbacks / auditions for dance ensemble (to handle all of the major dance sections)

Day 4 - acting callbacks/dance auditions

Day 5 - final call backs (if needed) and casting

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Shira Schwartz
Chandler Unified School District
Chandler AZ

Original Message:
Sent: 02-16-2016 13:19
From: C. J. Breland
Subject: Roles of adults

Our choral director is the musical director, and I am the director and TD.  Our musical is a curricular production, cast entirely from a group of theatre classes and a choral music class that meet in one period in the spring.

We teach an audition unit first.  I pick out 8 to 9 monologues of about 30 to 35 seconds in length, and each student chooses one to work up.  The monologues each have some characteristic appropriate to a character in the musical, but are not from the musical.  The choral director checks the range of each student, then teaches sopranos a 16-bar piece, altos a 16-bar piece, etc.  After she has taught that in groups, she works with individual students and puts an accompaniment track on Canvas for them to rehearse with.  I let students run their monologues by me as many times as they want, and I give them oral notes each time.

On the audition day, the students come in to find a list with them randomly sorted.  Each comes on stage, stated name and number, does a monologue, then sings the 16-bars with the accompaniment track.  The choral director and I do call backs the next day, based on those auditions.  Then we come to consensus on the casting and understudy for each role.     

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C. J. Breland
Asheville High School
Asheville NC