365 Auditions

Last Saturday, we held auditions for 365 Sketches. There were no callbacks, so we did a combo improv-cold reading group auditions. Since there are no callbacks, the improv portion becomes very important. You might wonder why even bother since the actors will be working from scripts and, as the author, I'm not too interested in them improvising what I wrote. The improv portion gives directors an opportunity to see how people might be performing with an ensemble. You also pick up on their personality and get a sense of what they might be like to work with on a project. It's a very effective process. If you see any red flags about someone early in the audition - attitude, lateness, low volume or stage presence, trying too hard, not trying hard enough - it usually becomes a problem if you cast them.

Seventy people auditioned for us. Many directors are casting from their own pool of peeps, but we were able to fully cast three of the shows and supplement many others with one or two folks. And there's a huge stack of headshots and resumes on my desk that we can dip into if someone drops out for any reason.

Saturday really acted like the starting gun for directors to prep their shows for June. The level of talent, from the directors to the performers, is really top notch. And there was a lot of great people who want to be in the shows that we weren't able to place. When it comes to talent, we have an embarrassment of riches.