Adventures in Directing, Part II

Directing a community theatre show is not an easy task. Most of the time the director is not only in charge of staging the show but is also in charge of producing the show. The money comes from the board of directors of the theatre company, but generally, if a director stays within a reasonable budget, there will be little interaction with the board. With that said, literally every aspect of the show lies on the shoulders of the brave soul who takes on the job of directing. In the previous post about directing, the challenge of deciding to direct and what show to direct as well as choosing the creative team was detailed. Today's post will describe the casting process.

Some people love the excitement, the challenge, and the competition of the audition process. Having been on both sides of the audition table, I can honestly state that neither side of the table is fun for me. When I show up to audition as an actor for a part in a show, I generally spend the first few minutes sizing up the competition and then spend the rest of the time doubting myself and my abilities. Most of the time, an audition takes place not only in front of the director and creative team but also in front of all of the other auditioning actors, many of whom you know personally. With all of those judging eyes on you, it takes some real guts to put yourself out there and take a chance. An actor's life, even a community theatre actor's life, can be brutal at times.

The other side of the table is not much easier. As I was saying, in community theatre, you often know most, if not all, of the people who show up in the audition room. They are your friends and you know their families. You've been in shows with them before and have laughed and enjoyed your time with them. Now, it is your job as director to judge their talent. Now, you will break some of their hearts. Now, your friendships will be put to the test. These are not professional actors. These are people who work a 9-5 job or who are students or who are retired, and they have lives, families and responsibilities. But, these are also people who love spending their free time involved in community theatre. They show up to try out for a favorite show or for a dream role or just for a chance to get out of the house and be around actors and do something creative. A lot of the time, these people have been planning to audition for a show for months in advance, as soon as the season is announced. They will sometimes plan their vacation around potential rehearsals and show dates. The reality is that there are sometimes not enough roles to go around and someone may not be offered a role in the show. An actor's life, even a community theatre actor's life, can be brutal at times.

In the case of Crimes of the Heart, the show that I am directing, we required four females and two males for the cast. I had in mind what I thought each of the actors should look like, but I knew better than to get my hopes up that we would find actors exactly as I was picturing. In the Antelope Valley, non-musical plays are not nearly as popular as the musicals. So, it's always a mystery if anyone at all will actually show up for the long-awaited auditions. I've been to auditions where only two or three other actors showed up, but I have also been to auditions where more than double the number of required actors showed up. For Crimes of the Heart, over a two day period, we had nine actresses audition, not bad. However, we had no male actors show up.

From the directors side of the table, the start of the audition process is comparable to staring at a blank canvas. You have all of your art supplies in front of you and it's up to you to put them all together to make a work of art. You have to really look at your auditioners, which is awkward because they know you are staring at them, and decide who should read for each part and who should read opposite this person. The object is to mix and match to the point that you find actors who not only look the part but who have chemistry with the other actors on the stage.

We were lucky that all nine of our actresses were talented and challenged our creative decision making. All were very confident, read well, and took direction. They could even do southern accents as requested. I knew four of the actresses who auditioned, but because of creative choices and some scheduling issues, we did not cast anyone I personally knew (I guess it's not ALWAYS who you know that gets you the part). It was a heartbreaking decision but one that the creative team of Crimes of the Heart felt was best for the show.

Regarding the male roles, as so often happens, we had to frantically call any warm bodies we could think of who might be right for the parts. Again, luckily, our stage manager, Taylor, knew a couple of males. Both were texted at the last minute during the last day of auditions and both agreed to show up. We were able to cast both of them, not out of desperation (though desperate we most certainly were) but because they were good actors. Did I say we were lucky? Well, we were. Why don't more men want to be involved in theatre? Hmmm? That sounds like a blog topic for another time.

Reading back through this blog post, I guess our adventures in casting Crimes of the Heart was not very unusual, and maybe not even very interesting for someone reading this. But, this was our process and I'm sharing these adventures in directing as they actually happened. If I have any advice regarding auditioning, I would say breathe and relax as much as possible. Most importantly, without giving up who you are, make bold and interesting choices while while doing your cold reads. Directors and creative team members realize that you may not know exactly what they are looking for or hoping to see. And, sometimes, an actor who makes unconventional acting choices will stand out as someone who is interesting and willing to put it all out on stage for the role and for the show and may change a director's mind about what he or she is looking for.

My challenge going forward is to work with our Crimes of the Heart actors to tell this Pulitzer Prize winning story to the very best of our collective ability. The next "Adventures in Directing" will recount the rehearsal process.

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Keep an eye out for The Community Theatre Calendar that I will be compiling and maintaining. It will have the dates of all upcoming auditions and all upcoming performances.

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Gary S. is your average community theatre geek, residing in the Antelope Valley in Southern California where he participates in community theatre productions a few times per year. He works a 9-5 job in the medical field. He has the two most brilliant and talented kids. This blog is written simply for his need to write and for his love of theatre.