So, you're a drama or theatre teacher in primary, middle or high school and you're casting a school show and have to hold auditions. Maybe you're a little stressed out about it, but you don't have to be!
I have been involved in the theatre since I was 5 when I did my first dance show. Then I had my first professional job in panto when I was 11 and since then I have worked many professional jobs and done hundreds of auditions. I have also been teaching theatre since I was around 15, first helping out with a TIE (theatre in education) group, then covering classes in local dance schools, training at drama school in the UK and finally holding my own classes for my school here in Mallorca Spain. During my time teaching theatre I have grown to dislike auditions. As a performer I understand that they are important for professional shows where you may not know the director or production team, but in schools we know our students, so why should they audition for us?
Holding auditions for school productions is a fair way of giving out parts and allows students to put themselves forward for the part they want to play, and gives them a choice in how much they would like to be involved in the show. It also gives them a glimpse into the real life of an actor, as in the professional world you will always be expected to audition for a play or musical.
However, auditioning has its drawbacks too. It creates anxiety in students, it separates them and can create an opportunity for arguments or bullying, especially when two people want the same part, and can cause a lot of drama and gossip. Normally drama would be a good thing, but we know how over the top these small things can get for drama students so it’s better to avoid them! Over the years I have found these reasons enough to stop doing auditions and assign roles in a different way.
But how do I do it? I hear you ask.
Well, I hold a series of workshops before assigning roles to students. Some of which I do before they know the show and some I do after when they know it and are more familiar with the characters involved.
Why do I do it like this?
In my opinion it is a much fairer way of doing it. You get to assess the children over time, not in a concentrated 10 minutes, where they may make mistakes. If they are given more time, they are also generally less nervous and anxious creating a better atmosphere and giving them more confidence in themselves too. It also gives students the opportunity to experiment with playing a different role. I mean, we have all been told a show and instantly wanted character X, because character X is the best part, or with the most lines. By doing workshops and giving the children a chance to experiment with different roles we encourage them to try new things, and give them new challenges which otherwise they might not take or even think of doing.
This all sounds great doesn’t it? It’s fairer, it’s less nerve wracking, it motivates our kiddos to try new techniques and experiment with different characters and roles AND they get to have fun in the workshops…… So HOW do we hold a workshop? Read on and let’s have a look.
Before students know the show (but I know it of course) I will do an exercise called walk around the room. In this exercise I will ask students to walk around, in silence and not to interact with anyone, at first. I then will give them a character type, or rundown of the person they should walk around as (a part from the show) and I will watch their different individual ideas. They also get to see how others interpret the character too. After a little time alone to develop their physical character I will then let them interact, if they want to. I then repeat with a different character.
I love using this to see everyone’s different ideas and how they evolve throughout the exercise. It’s also very effective for students to learn to use the body and voice in various ways, depending on the character and also when they see each other’s ideas they learn that there are many different ways to play the same role, due to interpretation.
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Also before students know the show I like to play ‘Greetings your Majesty.’ This is a game where you use the voice in different ways. Normally one person is at one end of the room, the queen or king, with their back to the class, and the other students are in a line at the other end. I will pick a student to walk to the middle of the room and say ‘ Greetings your Majesty’ and the queen or king will guess who said it. If incorrect they change position with that person, if they can guess, that person goes back to the line and the queen or king remains in position. This is great for experimenting with tone, speed and volume of the voice.
For work shopping, I will give them a character for the round, for example, speak like a witch or like a teacher and then student’s should try to make that person when they say ‘Greetings your Majesty’
Let’s take a look at when students know the show and characters.
Firstly, we will do a couple of scenes from the show, but the student can not play the same role twice. Each time they will work in a different group and play a different part. I also encourage them to make the part a little exaggerated to bring them out of their shell. The obvious pro to reading scenes is that you can see the children in the roles. I also let them direct it and position themselves how they want to see if they understand the scene and for development.
We always watch each other as I think it’s great for students to see different interpretations of the same scene.
Next I like to do Hot Seating. If you know what this is, then you know the benefits and can jump to the next part. If you don’t know, here's how you play. You place a chair in the middle of the stage and ask a student to be Character X and to go and sit on the chair. From the moment they sit down, they should play the role. Meaning in speech, in response and also in body language and actions. Then the audience gets to ask the character questions about their life. Thus giving the actor an opportunity to create a backstory for the character, or invent things that we don’t know already. Giving the character more depth. It is also great for improv skills as students have to think on the spot and stay in character. I love this activity and find it brings out some great characterisation and is very creative. It can also be quite a challenge.
The final thing I will do when work shopping is to learn a song from the show that is a solo or duet. We will study it as a group and sing as a group but I will give feedback and walk around listening to individuals to assess skills and vocal range. If you know your students well, this can be skipped, but I like to teach everyone the song, regardless of if they’re a singer or not.
Now onto a point you may or may not wish to do, but I always do. When I’m casting a show and we have finished the work shopping stage I will give the students the opportunity to say which parts they would like. I do this so I can see their enthusiasm, and to give them the opportunity to express their wishes. To be honest, this doesn’t normally ever impact my decision or change my mind on what I have in my head, but it’s good to know what effort the student wants to put in and also if they have changed their mind throughout the workshop.
And that’s it. That is how I cast my shows for school without holding auditions. Of course it’s a little more intense and time consuming, but I believe it’s a great way of bringing students out of their bubble and motivating them to be the best they can, and of course that’s all that we really want right?
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