How do you make your casting decisions?
A little insight into OUR process for casting the GHSTA productions...
The audition pool for GHSTA has gotten stronger and stronger every year and we are often asked by students how, exactly, do we go about casting. I am truly astounded at how much development the Theatre Arts students of Guilford High School have shown in skill, preparation and showcasing their individual talents. You give us so many things to weigh and consider when casting. Here's how we (for the fall play, Ms. Mulqueen-Teasdale; for the musical, Ms. M-T and the creative team) make our decisions.
AFTER CALL BACKS FINISH..... we jot down our gut impressions, leave the building and do not discuss anything that evening. We relax and reflect individually and then meet the next morning to dive into deliberations. If the show is the Fall Mainstage, Ms. M-T does this herself but may consult with other members of the team. For the spring musical -- Ms. M-T, Mr. Buno and the choreographer ALL work together to determine the best fit for each role. While we understand that it is the RARE performer who is equally strong in acting, singing AND dancing, the spring musical requires singers who can act and dance; actors who can sing and dance; and dancers who can sing and act. All three performance skills are considered during your audition.
HOW DO YOU SIfT THROUGH ALL THE AUDITIONERS?
First, we start tackling discussions about the principal characters. We review our notes and your audition sheets for any alerts regarding conflicts listed and we note the grade level of each auditioner. Conflicts can be a factor in our casting. Seniority and previous casting in GHSTA shows is considered when two people have equally strong auditions with our decision going to the upper-class person in that case.
Casting a show is a difficult puzzle even with our combined experience. The difficult reality is that, at the end of the day, only ONE student can be cast in each role. As students grow in their experience and demonstrate increased skill and thorough preparation in their auditions, there are often several viable choices for lead characters.
Casting choices can come down to a singular moment at callbacks that resulted from someone making a big choice that resonates with us.
It’s not that the other potentials did anything wrong or could have improved at all. It’s just that the artistic choice of one spoke to our hearts, minds and creative vision of the piece in a unique way and the decision is made.
After that first definitive character is cast, we work outward from there to cast the rest of the show.
We begin to discuss chemistry in scene reads, matching up of vocal tone, stage presence, energy, risk taking etc.
Here is what else we do (true story):
We celebrate what each of you showed us at the audition in terms of your choices and preparation.
We rave over your growth as students.
We smile over new students who surprise us and applaud returning students who continue to develop their talents.
We honor each and every student who auditions with positive remarks about their audition.
After the principal characters are determined, then we start the task of casting all the ensemble roles. We look to give each student the amount of stage time that will help you to grow in skill, be successful with expectations, and help the overall energy of the show. Each show has unique challenges, so the we explore which student actors can best address those challenges. We often phone parents and other teachers/coaches to cross reference concerns and questions we may have regarding rehearsals and a student's’ time, availability and/or outside commitments.
When we feel unified in our vision and have the cast set, we pinky swear to secrecy and, again, go home to reflect. We touch base by mid-afternoon on Sunday to confirm the casting choices. We do this because we take this role very seriously and feel that having another insurance period of reflection in a non-rushed atmosphere will allow us to confirm our selections.
Please know that even as we grow in our excitement to begin work on the show, we are very mindful of those who will read the cast list with disappointment. As performing artists ourselves, we have been through both the joy of being cast and the profound disappointment of not being cast or not being cast in the role we set our hearts on. It is, unfortunately, an unavoidable challenge of the auditioning process and you should be extraordinarily proud of yourselves for putting your talent out there for consideration. You are braver than you may realize in doing this.
Dealing With Your Disappointment
Auditions are not a competition. You can only offer your best effort. So, when your offering did not win you the role that you desired, the sting of disappointment can sometimes be unbearable. Students are caught in the juxtaposition between genuine excitement for their friends and disappointment for themselves, or the reverse.
I ask you to remember that long before we announce the show in the summer, we have spent MONTHS doing preparation and study of the script and the score and together with Mr. Ripa and the other technical advisors develop a complete vision and artistic concept based on our many collective years and training working in musical theatre.
There are often needs within the show that we know about; opportunities for leadership and featured roles and solos, that are not part of the official cast list.
We want you to know that we carefully consider each of you and truly believe that you are all uniquely gifted and talented. Unfortunately, some of your gifts and talents as a performer may not be the best fit for a particular show, but we have many other points of participation in the production company that we’d love to invite you to participate in.
We also know that there is a silver lining: disappointment in casting often leads to development of the most rewarding relationships of a student’s life. Because of extended Tech/Rehearsal/Chorus Room/Green Room time where we work, collaborate and create, many GHSTA members have stories of how they found their best friends and memories from high school by participating in theatre.
All the best,
Ms. M-T
THIS LIST WILL BE POSTED ON THE THEATRE ARTS BOARD OUTSIDE THE PA OFFICE.
PLEASE INITIAL YOUR NAME IF YOU INTEND TO ACCEPT THE PART YOU WERE CAST IN.
A little insight into OUR process for casting the GHSTA productions...
The audition pool for GHSTA has gotten stronger and stronger every year and we are often asked by students how, exactly, do we go about casting. I am truly astounded at how much development the Theatre Arts students of Guilford High School have shown in skill, preparation and showcasing their individual talents. You give us so many things to weigh and consider when casting. Here's how we (for the fall play, Ms. Mulqueen-Teasdale; for the musical, Ms. M-T and the creative team) make our decisions.
AFTER CALL BACKS FINISH..... we jot down our gut impressions, leave the building and do not discuss anything that evening. We relax and reflect individually and then meet the next morning to dive into deliberations. If the show is the Fall Mainstage, Ms. M-T does this herself but may consult with other members of the team. For the spring musical -- Ms. M-T, Mr. Buno and the choreographer ALL work together to determine the best fit for each role. While we understand that it is the RARE performer who is equally strong in acting, singing AND dancing, the spring musical requires singers who can act and dance; actors who can sing and dance; and dancers who can sing and act. All three performance skills are considered during your audition.
HOW DO YOU SIfT THROUGH ALL THE AUDITIONERS?
First, we start tackling discussions about the principal characters. We review our notes and your audition sheets for any alerts regarding conflicts listed and we note the grade level of each auditioner. Conflicts can be a factor in our casting. Seniority and previous casting in GHSTA shows is considered when two people have equally strong auditions with our decision going to the upper-class person in that case.
Casting a show is a difficult puzzle even with our combined experience. The difficult reality is that, at the end of the day, only ONE student can be cast in each role. As students grow in their experience and demonstrate increased skill and thorough preparation in their auditions, there are often several viable choices for lead characters.
Casting choices can come down to a singular moment at callbacks that resulted from someone making a big choice that resonates with us.
It’s not that the other potentials did anything wrong or could have improved at all. It’s just that the artistic choice of one spoke to our hearts, minds and creative vision of the piece in a unique way and the decision is made.
After that first definitive character is cast, we work outward from there to cast the rest of the show.
We begin to discuss chemistry in scene reads, matching up of vocal tone, stage presence, energy, risk taking etc.
Here is what else we do (true story):
We celebrate what each of you showed us at the audition in terms of your choices and preparation.
We rave over your growth as students.
We smile over new students who surprise us and applaud returning students who continue to develop their talents.
We honor each and every student who auditions with positive remarks about their audition.
After the principal characters are determined, then we start the task of casting all the ensemble roles. We look to give each student the amount of stage time that will help you to grow in skill, be successful with expectations, and help the overall energy of the show. Each show has unique challenges, so the we explore which student actors can best address those challenges. We often phone parents and other teachers/coaches to cross reference concerns and questions we may have regarding rehearsals and a student's’ time, availability and/or outside commitments.
When we feel unified in our vision and have the cast set, we pinky swear to secrecy and, again, go home to reflect. We touch base by mid-afternoon on Sunday to confirm the casting choices. We do this because we take this role very seriously and feel that having another insurance period of reflection in a non-rushed atmosphere will allow us to confirm our selections.
Please know that even as we grow in our excitement to begin work on the show, we are very mindful of those who will read the cast list with disappointment. As performing artists ourselves, we have been through both the joy of being cast and the profound disappointment of not being cast or not being cast in the role we set our hearts on. It is, unfortunately, an unavoidable challenge of the auditioning process and you should be extraordinarily proud of yourselves for putting your talent out there for consideration. You are braver than you may realize in doing this.
Dealing With Your Disappointment
Auditions are not a competition. You can only offer your best effort. So, when your offering did not win you the role that you desired, the sting of disappointment can sometimes be unbearable. Students are caught in the juxtaposition between genuine excitement for their friends and disappointment for themselves, or the reverse.
I ask you to remember that long before we announce the show in the summer, we have spent MONTHS doing preparation and study of the script and the score and together with Mr. Ripa and the other technical advisors develop a complete vision and artistic concept based on our many collective years and training working in musical theatre.
There are often needs within the show that we know about; opportunities for leadership and featured roles and solos, that are not part of the official cast list.
We want you to know that we carefully consider each of you and truly believe that you are all uniquely gifted and talented. Unfortunately, some of your gifts and talents as a performer may not be the best fit for a particular show, but we have many other points of participation in the production company that we’d love to invite you to participate in.
We also know that there is a silver lining: disappointment in casting often leads to development of the most rewarding relationships of a student’s life. Because of extended Tech/Rehearsal/Chorus Room/Green Room time where we work, collaborate and create, many GHSTA members have stories of how they found their best friends and memories from high school by participating in theatre.
All the best,
Ms. M-T
THIS LIST WILL BE POSTED ON THE THEATRE ARTS BOARD OUTSIDE THE PA OFFICE.
PLEASE INITIAL YOUR NAME IF YOU INTEND TO ACCEPT THE PART YOU WERE CAST IN.