Casting
Casting is a very layered piece of the artistic process. While it would be wonderfully inclusive to cast everybody, we can't do so without taking away from the individual devotion we give each performer. By limiting the number of cast members in each show, we can focus one-on-one with the actors and give them a better overall learning experience. By casting those students who show the most drive and adaptability, we are able to provide a higher level of learning for everyone who is involved.
Here are some helpful tips for theatre kids, and their parents.
The Lead is not everything
Every year, we encounter parents or students who are fixated on getting a "lead". Parents, if you're guilty of this, please do us a favor and let that go! Remember that your attitude toward the roles in the show are trickling down to your child.
We all want what's best for the child, who has the passion for theatre and wants to learn and grow.
Trust us, we have been doing this for a long time. We have seen many students who wind up role-shopping to find the "biggest" parts they can add to their resume. (Usually this motivation is coming from a parent...) What we see in those students is stunted growth. A kid with a mind-blowing talent at 12 years old, who then plateaus and has not improved at age 14.
We have also seen remarkably talented kids who are the lead in a Junior production at age 12, and then go on to audition at a variety of theatres, and accept roles in ensembles. They continue to grow their abilities and their talent range widens and by 14, they've got a lot of new skills and knowledge.
The take-away here is that, sure, you can audition and get the lead every time when you're the big fish in the small pond, but you may not have as much to learn from the experience. Throw yourself into a bigger pond where you're the little guy, and there's lots of room to grow, and a lot of great people to learn from.
Every part in every show is vital. Everyone is important. Everyone is necessary. And the best actors I know are those who have experienced many types of parts in many different shows, under many different directors.
If you're familiar with our productions, then you know that every member of our ensemble is wildly capable. We do not fill our ensemble with "leftovers" or the kids who aren't "ready" for a lead. Every person we cast is ready for a lead. We understand this may be hard to understand when you have experiences other places that do things differently.
Audiences last year commented that there was not a single weak link in our show. The show has been nominated for the Outstanding Ensemble Award at the Jerry Awards, because even our ensembles are cream of the crop!
If you or your child intends to go into theatre as a career, it is important for you to realize now that the number of "leads" on a resume from your schools and community theatres isn't going to impress a professional company. You will book jobs based on your audition, attitude, and work ethic. Nobody is going to care that you played the lead 15 times at a theatre they've never heard of, but they will care about the skills that you can demonstrate. As a professional actor, your "job" is never acting. Your "job" is auditioning. If you want to go into professional theatre, learning to have a great audition is the first key to success.
Casting Specific Roles Goes Beyond Talent
Choosing the right person for a role isn't as easy as picking the strongest actor, the best singer, or the most accurate dancer.
Every director has their own vision for a show and the characters within that show. The important thing to know is that not getting the role you wanted, and even not being cast, is NOT always a judgment against your abilities. It simply means you were not right for that show, at that time, with that particular group of people. It could be your height, the color of your hair, the sound of your speaking voice; uncontrollable things that are not innately bad or wrong for the stage - just not a fit this time.
The important words here are this time.
Being Talented Doesn't Mean You Fit Every Role
You could be the strongest actor in the world, and yet not every role will be the right fit for you. We encounter so many talented students; there are not enough roles for all the incredible talent!! So in our case, it will come down to a tiny detail, like how tall you are, how much chemistry you have with another person, or how your voice blends with another. Or perhaps comedic timing, breath support, delivery of a line, or vowel placement. These are tiny details. Many of our students could handle a role capably, and it is in our hands to choose just one for the job. Remember that a director has a vision and will choose the actor he or she feels best fits it to tell the story the way they want it to be told
.
The Importance of No
I urge kids and parents to understand that casting is not personal. I've been cast in all size roles. I've had roles with 400 lines and zero lines. I have been cast as an Understudy. I've auditioned and not been cast. And I know that it is all okay! If I wasn't cast, it simply wasn't the right fit. I've nailed auditions and gone to callbacks, only to be turned down. I know the director made the right choice, even though it wasn't me. Learn to appreciate being told no. Rather than put you in a role that you don't fit, the director is giving you the freedom to find something that will showcase you better.
Tough Love truth bomb coming your way: if you are getting cast in every show you are auditioning for, then you're playing it too safe. If you have an interest in not just performing, but learning from a show experience, you should be auditioning for places where you risk being turned away. Every time you are not cast is reassurance that you are taking risks. Take risks. Be told no. It is okay! My college professors used to say "If you're not hearing NO 4/5 auditions, you're not auditioning enough."
Be Careful About Specifying a Role
If you will only accept one specific role, I appreciate your honesty about that on your audition form. It's important for a director to know. I will not personally hold it against you if you disclose this information - I'd rather know in advance.
However - some of the BEST roles I've had have been considered smaller roles. The supporting parts are often quite more interesting to play and require more acting than the largest roles. When I think back to which shows I have the most memories of, and had the most fun in, they tend to be when I was in the Ensemble, or the supporting actor. Bottom line is that you can make the experience a great one, but you need to make that choice.
Interesting fact: in my college program, if you marked that you won't accept a non-speaking role, you would not be cast. The directors said up front, they simply will not cast anyone who checks that box. Their job was to teach us to trust their decisions. They succeeded. I don't follow the same rule, but you may encounter a director who does.
Let Go of the Decision
There is something freeing about it when you let go of the idea that you need to play a certain role.
Try going into an audition with an open mind. You want to be a part of that show, but it shouldn't matter as which part. You can make any role fun, if you allow yourself to. Besides, if you know you are talented, and you're offered a role in the Ensemble - then you better believe that is going to be one spectacular show.
Trust the Decision
Remember that it is about the show, not about us. And there just isn't room for big egos or personal drama in a smoothly-run production. On that note, when you are interviewing for a job one day, you might not get it. EVEN if you've held the same position at another company, that is not a guarantee. Are you going to throw a fit and call the CEO of the company to complain that you didn't get the role you were after? I should hope not!
Let the director decide where you fit best. It is their job to make you look good. They know where they need you. Trust them.
As Jacob likes to say, "Make them remember you for the role you were given, not the one you thought you wanted."
In the end, it is about telling the story. We believe in working together as a united team of artists to share talents while telling a story. No single person should feel better or worse than another. Every single cast member should be encouraging and supportive of one another. That's how we do this thing. Care to join us?
Be Brilliant!
Jes & Jacob
Here are some helpful tips for theatre kids, and their parents.
The Lead is not everything
Every year, we encounter parents or students who are fixated on getting a "lead". Parents, if you're guilty of this, please do us a favor and let that go! Remember that your attitude toward the roles in the show are trickling down to your child.
We all want what's best for the child, who has the passion for theatre and wants to learn and grow.
Trust us, we have been doing this for a long time. We have seen many students who wind up role-shopping to find the "biggest" parts they can add to their resume. (Usually this motivation is coming from a parent...) What we see in those students is stunted growth. A kid with a mind-blowing talent at 12 years old, who then plateaus and has not improved at age 14.
We have also seen remarkably talented kids who are the lead in a Junior production at age 12, and then go on to audition at a variety of theatres, and accept roles in ensembles. They continue to grow their abilities and their talent range widens and by 14, they've got a lot of new skills and knowledge.
The take-away here is that, sure, you can audition and get the lead every time when you're the big fish in the small pond, but you may not have as much to learn from the experience. Throw yourself into a bigger pond where you're the little guy, and there's lots of room to grow, and a lot of great people to learn from.
Every part in every show is vital. Everyone is important. Everyone is necessary. And the best actors I know are those who have experienced many types of parts in many different shows, under many different directors.
If you're familiar with our productions, then you know that every member of our ensemble is wildly capable. We do not fill our ensemble with "leftovers" or the kids who aren't "ready" for a lead. Every person we cast is ready for a lead. We understand this may be hard to understand when you have experiences other places that do things differently.
Audiences last year commented that there was not a single weak link in our show. The show has been nominated for the Outstanding Ensemble Award at the Jerry Awards, because even our ensembles are cream of the crop!
If you or your child intends to go into theatre as a career, it is important for you to realize now that the number of "leads" on a resume from your schools and community theatres isn't going to impress a professional company. You will book jobs based on your audition, attitude, and work ethic. Nobody is going to care that you played the lead 15 times at a theatre they've never heard of, but they will care about the skills that you can demonstrate. As a professional actor, your "job" is never acting. Your "job" is auditioning. If you want to go into professional theatre, learning to have a great audition is the first key to success.
Casting Specific Roles Goes Beyond Talent
Choosing the right person for a role isn't as easy as picking the strongest actor, the best singer, or the most accurate dancer.
Every director has their own vision for a show and the characters within that show. The important thing to know is that not getting the role you wanted, and even not being cast, is NOT always a judgment against your abilities. It simply means you were not right for that show, at that time, with that particular group of people. It could be your height, the color of your hair, the sound of your speaking voice; uncontrollable things that are not innately bad or wrong for the stage - just not a fit this time.
The important words here are this time.
Being Talented Doesn't Mean You Fit Every Role
You could be the strongest actor in the world, and yet not every role will be the right fit for you. We encounter so many talented students; there are not enough roles for all the incredible talent!! So in our case, it will come down to a tiny detail, like how tall you are, how much chemistry you have with another person, or how your voice blends with another. Or perhaps comedic timing, breath support, delivery of a line, or vowel placement. These are tiny details. Many of our students could handle a role capably, and it is in our hands to choose just one for the job. Remember that a director has a vision and will choose the actor he or she feels best fits it to tell the story the way they want it to be told
.
The Importance of No
I urge kids and parents to understand that casting is not personal. I've been cast in all size roles. I've had roles with 400 lines and zero lines. I have been cast as an Understudy. I've auditioned and not been cast. And I know that it is all okay! If I wasn't cast, it simply wasn't the right fit. I've nailed auditions and gone to callbacks, only to be turned down. I know the director made the right choice, even though it wasn't me. Learn to appreciate being told no. Rather than put you in a role that you don't fit, the director is giving you the freedom to find something that will showcase you better.
Tough Love truth bomb coming your way: if you are getting cast in every show you are auditioning for, then you're playing it too safe. If you have an interest in not just performing, but learning from a show experience, you should be auditioning for places where you risk being turned away. Every time you are not cast is reassurance that you are taking risks. Take risks. Be told no. It is okay! My college professors used to say "If you're not hearing NO 4/5 auditions, you're not auditioning enough."
Be Careful About Specifying a Role
If you will only accept one specific role, I appreciate your honesty about that on your audition form. It's important for a director to know. I will not personally hold it against you if you disclose this information - I'd rather know in advance.
However - some of the BEST roles I've had have been considered smaller roles. The supporting parts are often quite more interesting to play and require more acting than the largest roles. When I think back to which shows I have the most memories of, and had the most fun in, they tend to be when I was in the Ensemble, or the supporting actor. Bottom line is that you can make the experience a great one, but you need to make that choice.
Interesting fact: in my college program, if you marked that you won't accept a non-speaking role, you would not be cast. The directors said up front, they simply will not cast anyone who checks that box. Their job was to teach us to trust their decisions. They succeeded. I don't follow the same rule, but you may encounter a director who does.
Let Go of the Decision
There is something freeing about it when you let go of the idea that you need to play a certain role.
Try going into an audition with an open mind. You want to be a part of that show, but it shouldn't matter as which part. You can make any role fun, if you allow yourself to. Besides, if you know you are talented, and you're offered a role in the Ensemble - then you better believe that is going to be one spectacular show.
Trust the Decision
Remember that it is about the show, not about us. And there just isn't room for big egos or personal drama in a smoothly-run production. On that note, when you are interviewing for a job one day, you might not get it. EVEN if you've held the same position at another company, that is not a guarantee. Are you going to throw a fit and call the CEO of the company to complain that you didn't get the role you were after? I should hope not!
Let the director decide where you fit best. It is their job to make you look good. They know where they need you. Trust them.
As Jacob likes to say, "Make them remember you for the role you were given, not the one you thought you wanted."
In the end, it is about telling the story. We believe in working together as a united team of artists to share talents while telling a story. No single person should feel better or worse than another. Every single cast member should be encouraging and supportive of one another. That's how we do this thing. Care to join us?
Be Brilliant!
Jes & Jacob