Open Forum

I have a pretty clear plan for auditions and casting (we're doing Annie Jr. at a 3rd - 5th school) but always know there's room for improvement. Would love to hear what you find works best and what you've tried that was not a good fit. Currently, I plan to have the kids waiting in the cafeteria with our volunteers. They'll be split into 3 groups and each one will run through a scene. During this time, kids will be brought to the audition room 4 at a time where they will audition. Each student has been instructed to prepare a song and we'll be providing lines for them to recite (I'll give them context, of course). Sitting in with me will be the parent coordinator, the PTG president, and the assistant director who has actually directed Annie in the past. 

I'd love to know what auditions look like for other folks. Thank you!

ps. As a first time director, this group has been incredibly helpful in boosting my confidence and making this gargantuan task feel doable. So glad I stumbled upon it!

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Carla
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I have been directing a shows with this age group (2nd - 5th) for 4 years. 

We accept the first 30 kids that sign up for the show (they do not audition to get in).  However, after they are "in", then we have an audition.  We hold 2 audition workshops, in which we practice the songs (for example:  we just did Lion King. Everyone had to learn 13 measures of "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" and 20 measures of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight") and 2 sides of dialogue.  For the actual audition, students do not have to have the songs or sides memorized, but many do.  There is also a "dance/basic movement" section.  

For the actual audition, the dance section is done in groups of about 4 kids, but the singing and sides are done individually.  It does add some stress for the kids, but usually we've practiced so much in the workshops, that they are ok.  It also allows us to give specific directions to how well they make changes to their performance (listening to direction).  We have had much success and only a few tears.

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Janet Cain
Cincinnati OH
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-09-2018 15:38
From: Carla Molina
Subject: What are your tips for auditions and casting?

I have a pretty clear plan for auditions and casting (we're doing Annie Jr. at a 3rd - 5th school) but always know there's room for improvement. Would love to hear what you find works best and what you've tried that was not a good fit. Currently, I plan to have the kids waiting in the cafeteria with our volunteers. They'll be split into 3 groups and each one will run through a scene. During this time, kids will be brought to the audition room 4 at a time where they will audition. Each student has been instructed to prepare a song and we'll be providing lines for them to recite (I'll give them context, of course). Sitting in with me will be the parent coordinator, the PTG president, and the assistant director who has actually directed Annie in the past.

I'd love to know what auditions look like for other folks. Thank you!

ps. As a first time director, this group has been incredibly helpful in boosting my confidence and making this gargantuan task feel doable. So glad I stumbled upon it!

------------------------------
Carla
------------------------------

I agree with the workshop approach, though this might not work in your schedule for this show. Kids can audition, but we need to teach them how to do so first. My kiddos had a choice between approximately 24 bars of three songs, three very short and dialogue appropriate scenes, and all learned a short dance sequence.  I would hold 4 or 5 of 'drop in' workshops. Students only had to come to the first one to learn how the audition would work; the other sessions were extra to go over songs and the dance sequence or work with small groups on scenes. I would have a few extra teachers (or graduates) help the kiddos prepare. Again, no one HAD to attend more than the first workshop sessions, but as a director, you can see through the process who is invested in the show.  

Have a rubric for the actual audition. I would avoid just listing:  "Singing.... 1  2   3  4  5" and circling a number. If you don't know the kids well, this doesn't give you much to go on later- especially after 30+ kids have sung.  Break your categories down into the elements that will help you make a good choice, as well as hone in on what skills you would like to help your actors build as you go through the rehearsal process. For singing, I used to have sub-categories like pitch, projection, phrasing, expression and for each of those categories, a few descriptors for myself (for expression at this age categories might be "can sing as a character, attempts to sing as character but sometimes shows self, little/no attempt to sing as character").  The idea is to help you remember as many kids and their performance attributes later as possible.  (Oh, and if you are allowed, take a picture of each child so you can remember who they are later.  If you have a big audition group, this is essential.)

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Suzanne Katz
Washington DC
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-09-2018 15:38
From: Carla Molina
Subject: What are your tips for auditions and casting?

I have a pretty clear plan for auditions and casting (we're doing Annie Jr. at a 3rd - 5th school) but always know there's room for improvement. Would love to hear what you find works best and what you've tried that was not a good fit. Currently, I plan to have the kids waiting in the cafeteria with our volunteers. They'll be split into 3 groups and each one will run through a scene. During this time, kids will be brought to the audition room 4 at a time where they will audition. Each student has been instructed to prepare a song and we'll be providing lines for them to recite (I'll give them context, of course). Sitting in with me will be the parent coordinator, the PTG president, and the assistant director who has actually directed Annie in the past.

I'd love to know what auditions look like for other folks. Thank you!

ps. As a first time director, this group has been incredibly helpful in boosting my confidence and making this gargantuan task feel doable. So glad I stumbled upon it!

------------------------------
Carla
------------------------------

It sounds like you have a good plan in place. If you don't know all of the kids, take a picture of each one holding up a piece of paper with their name on it.  If you have time, you may want to have them do the lines/scene a second time and give them some direction to see if they can incorporate it.

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Ken Buswell
Drama Teacher
Peachtree City, GA
http://mcintoshtheater.org/

Theater kills ignorance
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-09-2018 15:38
From: Carla Molina
Subject: What are your tips for auditions and casting?

I have a pretty clear plan for auditions and casting (we're doing Annie Jr. at a 3rd - 5th school) but always know there's room for improvement. Would love to hear what you find works best and what you've tried that was not a good fit. Currently, I plan to have the kids waiting in the cafeteria with our volunteers. They'll be split into 3 groups and each one will run through a scene. During this time, kids will be brought to the audition room 4 at a time where they will audition. Each student has been instructed to prepare a song and we'll be providing lines for them to recite (I'll give them context, of course). Sitting in with me will be the parent coordinator, the PTG president, and the assistant director who has actually directed Annie in the past.

I'd love to know what auditions look like for other folks. Thank you!

ps. As a first time director, this group has been incredibly helpful in boosting my confidence and making this gargantuan task feel doable. So glad I stumbled upon it!

------------------------------
Carla
------------------------------

I worked with this age for a few years when I was doing school residencies for a professional theatre so I have only a small amount of experience, but here's something I did with elementary school aged kids that I also always do in auditions with my high school and middle school kids:
Play A Game.

Maybe this is something that your volunteers could run when the kids are split up into their smaller groups, or maybe it won't work for you, but I always like to teach kids a new game and see how they get on with it. Are they interested in helping others, creating chaos, getting the rules exactly right, correcting others, having fun, etc.? I definitely need information about my students' skill levels, but I'm always interested in how they work within a group, deal with new information, or survive setbacks. It can also be fun for the kids, who rarely see the game as part of auditions, and especially with younger kids, I get a clearer sense of what individuals will do when there are a lot of kids on stage all at once, rather than in the isolation or pairs that many audition activities present. 

You're lucky that you've been around this group and seen how it has worked in the past. It sounds like you are putting a lot into creating a great experience for the kids. Have a ton of fun with it!


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Meg O'Connor
oconnormainstage.com
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-09-2018 15:38
From: Carla Molina
Subject: What are your tips for auditions and casting?

I have a pretty clear plan for auditions and casting (we're doing Annie Jr. at a 3rd - 5th school) but always know there's room for improvement. Would love to hear what you find works best and what you've tried that was not a good fit. Currently, I plan to have the kids waiting in the cafeteria with our volunteers. They'll be split into 3 groups and each one will run through a scene. During this time, kids will be brought to the audition room 4 at a time where they will audition. Each student has been instructed to prepare a song and we'll be providing lines for them to recite (I'll give them context, of course). Sitting in with me will be the parent coordinator, the PTG president, and the assistant director who has actually directed Annie in the past.

I'd love to know what auditions look like for other folks. Thank you!

ps. As a first time director, this group has been incredibly helpful in boosting my confidence and making this gargantuan task feel doable. So glad I stumbled upon it!

------------------------------
Carla
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