Audition Season

The first few weeks of school are always filled with auditions for various things. On the first day of class there were auditions for the two new grad students and at the end of the week there were auditions for the opera (people from the theatre department, myself included, will work for the opera, but the majority of it is produced by the music school). For all those in a directing class, myself included, there is a general audition of all the freshmen, fondly known as "cattle call". Lastly, we had auditions for the next two theatre productions which have taken place over the last three days.

The hall overflows with nervous students dressed in heels or ties. Intense.

Normally sophomore designers are in charge of running the auditions, but since we only have half of one, the first thing my professor said to me this year was, "Could you run cattle call?" This was closely followed by, "How was your summer?" He asked me three times, and each time I said I could not attend. He finally roped me in to help run auditions for the opera and for Eurydice (our next mainstage show). My job is relatively simple: collect the forms the actors need to fill out and answer the repetitive questions that are coming at me rapid fire (while smiling calmly of course). I personally find it fascinating to watch the actors deal with their nerves. Some pump themselves up by singing hardcore songs, some shake out their hands, and all of them pace and mutter to themselves. In fact, I love being out on campus on an audition day and finding an actor reciting a monologue to themselves while walking past the library or science building.

Audition Season is an interesting part of our lives. Hours are long and tensions are high. Yet auditions are a pivotal part of theatre. As my professor says, if the stage manager (SM) makes the actors comfortable at auditions they will perform at their best, which allows the director to put together the best cast, which allows the show to be good, which allows a show to run for a long time, which allows the SM to have more paychecks, which allows the SM to become independently wealthy. Basically, if auditions go well, the SM will become independently wealthy. Therefore, Audition Season provides me with many opportunities to perfect the art of becoming financially secure.