It sounds like you are casting from within a class, but maybe this will still be helpful.
Members of our Thespian troupe submit 10-minute plays they would like to direct for an annual production we call Quixotica. Most, and sometimes all of them, are student-written. This year we had so many that the troupe had to read them all aloud and vote on which ones to do.
Auditions are open to the entire school. Each director submits an audition side--landscape, two columns, one side of the paper. They usually choose two short pieces from the play, but it has to fit on one side of paper. During the auditions, the directors sit in a row and call people down to read their side, one by one. They all watch all the auditions.
Since we have two days of auditions, I have the directors put their dream casts on the chalk board (Yep, still a chalk board!) at the end of the first day, so they can see where the conflicts are. Then we erase them.
At the end of auditions the second day, the directors put their lists on the board. They circle the duplicates, then work them out. "I'll give you Caitlin, if you'll give me Molly." No one leaves until everyone has a cast. Sometimes it takes a while. But I am patient.
It is remarkable how different many of the lists are on the second day. Once directors see how many other people want the same "good" actors on the first day, they open their minds to other options the second day.
Because they know no cast is final until all casts are final, they can't precast.
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C. J. Breland
Asheville High School
Asheville NC
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-20-2018 13:55
From: Josh Kauffman
Subject: Senior Directed Shows- Casting
We do a student-directed night of shorts each year, and our casting practice seems to have been working fairly well.
We hold an open audition session, which consists of cold readings. We have at least one side available from each of the plays being done. In the first phase of tryouts, the students each pick the side/role they'd prefer to read for, and the director fills the remaining roles from others in the casting room. I monitor the auditions and make sure that everyone gets seen adequately.
We then take a break, during which the directors give me a list of what they'd like to see in the second phase - which actors in which roles, any particular pairings they'd like to see, and so forth. We call the actors back and go through the directors' requests, after which (if there is any time left) we can take any other requests from the directors or the actors themselves.
Once we're finished, the directors write down a first, second, and third choice for each role in the play they're directing. I take all the directors' picks home and do the casting based on that.
This way, the directors all have a say in who they work with, and I try to be as fair and balanced as possible so that no one gets shafted while another gets their "dream cast." Most of the directors have to compromise a little, but I've had no complaints and no train wrecks so far. Too, if there were to be any issues in future, I have the security of knowing that the buck stops with me.
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Josh Kauffman
Teacher
Winfield AL
Original Message:
Sent: 03-20-2018 12:34
From: Summer Rickman
Subject: Senior Directed Shows- Casting
Hey Everyone!
This year I tried a new format with my top class. I have an audition only class where I take about 20 kids, mostly juniors and seniors. This year, I ran it as a production class and had seniors direct a series of one acts. I had 11 seniors directing small shows.
The problem I encountered was my seniors pre-casting their shows. I had days set aside in class for auditions, but they would cast before then, unofficially. It's not that I don't understand it, I know they are excited and they read their show and start putting people in parts, but I wonder if there is a way to avoid this so they really do stay open-minded during auditions and truly give EVERYONE a chance.
Have any of you used this format with your kids and encountered this problem? The shows all turned out really well, but I know this was a point of contention. Should I just cast all of their shows? I don't like that because I think it's good for them to know the pressures of casting. Should I tell them everyone has to be in a show? I don't like that because some of the kids in my production class lean more towards the tech side and would rather be running lights or sound or assistant directing than acting. This problem was only a problem second semester once they knew each other and knew acting abilities- first semester I felt like they took more time to cast shows.
Anyway, I know it is something I need to adjust for next year, but I am not exactly sure how- hopefully you guys have some ideas. Thanks!
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Summer Rickman
NM
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