THE ULTIMATE AUDITION GUIDE: TEACHER EDITION

Auditions happen everywhere at every level, from middle school plays, to high school musicals,
to college admissions. Audition styles range from prepared monologues, to cold readings, to
group activities. No matter the audition, directors go through the same set of emotions, issues
and concerns:
•  Will I be able to cast my show?
•  What am I supposed to be looking for?
•  How do I stop the kids from getting so nervous?
The Ultimate Audition Guide: Teachers takes you through the audition process and provide
suggestions for the above questions. Auditions don’t have to be nerve wracking experiences!

WHAT’S IN THE ULTIMATE AUDITION GUIDE: TEACHERS?

There are Seven sections:
•  Preparing for Auditions
What should you do to best prepare for auditions?
•  Choosing the type of audition
Which is the best audition for your production?
•  Activities to help your students ahead of time
How can you prepare students to audition effectively?
•  Activities during auditions
How can you calm student nerves?
•  Audition Day
What to focus on during auditions.
•  Make It A Teaching Moment
How can you assess an audition?
•  Dealing with the aftermath
How do you deal with student and parent discontent?

Start the new year off right with a great audition. Break a Leg!

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 PREPARING FOR AUDITIONS
What should you do before audition day?
You’ve chosen your play. Your audition date is set. But there is some preparation to take care of before
the day.

KNOW THE PLAY

By the time you get to auditions, you should know the play backward and forward. Mostly because this
is going to help you cast the show.
Create a character description for each character. The description list the character’s traits - a big
laugh, someone who is quick to anger. The description should also note any unique skills the character
(and so the actor) needs ­juggling, dances the tango.
Exercise: Take a play you’re studying in class this year. Describe three of the characters based on their
personality traits. If you were casting this play, what would you look for?

KNOW YOUR VISION

Not only do you need to know the play, you need to know your approach. What’s your vision for this
particular piece? Is there a specific theme you want to bring to life? Is there a specific point of view
you want to express? Is there a genre you want to play with? (A Japanese Noh version of a fairy tale.)
Is there a era you want to bring to life (A 50’s version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.)
Knowing your vision is going to help you cast the play. For example, if you want to explore the abstract,
you can include an abstract exercise in your audition and see how the students respond.
Exercise: What is your artistic vision? Do you like to visualize themes? Do you like to explore genres?
Do you like to explore theatrical conventions? What’s your goal when you direct a play?
Exercise: Write a reflection on your directing process. Do you direct to explore your artistic vision?
Perhaps you focus entirely on the educational aspects of rehearsal/production. Or you want to focus
on giving students a good time on stage. Clarify exactly what you want out of directing for yourself and
your students. That in itself is valuable for auditions because it helps you set the tone of the project
from the very beginning.

AUDITION INFORMATION SHEET

Create an information sheet for actors. Be specific so everyone know what’s involved. Let students
know the play, the rehearsal schedule and lay out expectations for that schedule.
This is the most important item ­your expectations. If students must be available for every rehearsal during
Tech week, then you can’t cast someone who’s going to be on vacation. What are your expectations
surrounding missing rehearsals? Are you going to be accommodating if students are involved in other
clubs or teams? If this is an in­class project, will any after school rehearsals be necessary?
You don’t want any surprises. There’s nothing worse that finding the perfect actor only to find out
they’re not available.

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Information to include:
The Play and Characters
•  What is the play about? Include a short synopsis.
•  What’s the genre? Is the play a comedy, drama, absurd?
•  Who are the characters? Include a character breakdown (roles, genders, ages)
•  Are copies of the script available? Will actors be able to read the play before the audition?
Actor Audition Prep
•  What should actors prepare (if anything)?
•  What type of audition is it? What preparation is necessary?
•  When and where is the audition?
•  Is there a signup sheet? Where is it? Can students drop in to auditions?

Rehearsals and Performance

•  When and where are rehearsals?
•  What’s your policy on missing rehearsals?
•  Which rehearsals are mandatory?
•  What are the performance dates?
Casting
•  Will there be callbacks? If so, when?
•  When and where will the cast list be posted?

DAY OF AUDITION SHEET

Create an Audition Day Sheet for actors to fill out when they arrive at the audition.
This is important if you’re seeing a lot of students, or you’re seeing unfamiliar students. Details tend to
blur when you watch monologues one after the other. You need from students: What’s their schedule?
What’s their background? Having that information, along with your notes, all in one place will keep you
sane during casting.
An Audition Sheet should provide you with contact and availability information for students as well as
some additional details. Is this their first show? Is there a particular role they are interested in? Is there
a part they don’t want to play? This is an interesting question – if you want an actor for a specific role
but they are dead set against it, is there a point in casting them?

Information to include:
•  A place for contact information.
•  Provide the dates of the performances and ask students to sign off that they’re available.
•  Provide the rehearsal dates and ask students to identify conflicts. (Ask students to specify the
conflict.)
•  Ask for the last three roles (if any) they played.
•  Ask if there is a particular role they want to play. Ask if there’s a role they don’t want to play.
•  A place for your own notes

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 TYPES OF AUDITIONS
What type audition should I choose?
There is no one type of audition that is the be all and end all that works for every student, every
director, and every show.
While the most common audition type is the prepared monologue, it’s not the only one. It’s not
even necessarily the best one. The monologue audition only shows how well an actor prepares a
monologue, which may or not be helpful to the final product.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF AUDITIONS?

Prepared Monologue
Students prepare and memorize a monologue no longer than two minutes. Provide a signup sheet
to schedule students for a specific time. After a student presents their monologue, provide a simple
direction to see how the student handles it. For example, play this character as a pirate. Do they take
direction well, or have they prepared their monologue to be performed in one way and one way only?
The goal of this audition is to see how well students prepare. Have they prepared a suitable monologue?
Can they take direction? Are they committed? Are they in the moment? Are they willing to take risks?
The prepared monologue puts everyone on a level playing field ­they’re all given the same direction
and the same amount of time to prepare. It’s pretty clear to see, without any distraction, who is
prepared and who isn’t.
However, some students get incredibly nervous during auditions. They dry up. Also, some actors are
great at learning monologues… and not much else. They don’t thrive or grow during rehearsals.
A couple of tips. If you’re doing this for a class, assign the monologues, or have students submit their
monologue ahead of time. This way you can circumvent repeat monologues, or monologues that are
inappropriate.
Exercise: Have students submit their monologue and a reflection paragraph on why it’s a suitable
choice for the play or project they’re auditioning for. How is the piece similar to a specific character in
the play? How will the monologue showcase their abilities?
Remind students that overdramatic monologues are never a great choice. They seem like they would
be (because they’re emotional) but nine times out of time the piece you’re going to remember is not
the one where the student yelled for two minutes, but the one that made you laugh.

Cold Reading
Students are given scenes from the play to read and present on the day of the audition. Schedule
students to audition in groups and allow them time to read over and rehearse their scene. If time and
scheduling allows, give students the opportunity to read more than one scene.
The goal of this audition is to see how they fit with specific roles in the play. It also gives you the
chance to see how students work together when they are thrown into a group. Who gets flustered
and who shines? This type of audition takes some of the pressure off of students ­they don’t have to
prepare, they just have to show up. This can be more welcoming to new actors.
A cold read can be exciting because everyone gets to work with the script right away. Be wary that
some actors don’t read well when put on the spot. If so, give them extra time to prepare.

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Rehearsed Scenes
All students are given scenes to prepare ahead of time. They either choose the groups on their own
or you can create the groups at your discretion. Post a signup sheet a week before, and based on who
signs up, post the groups the day before the audition along with their assigned scene.
The goal of this audition is to give students a chance to prepare and see what they bring to the scene.
Do they have the scene fully blocked or do they just read the lines? Do they create clear characters?
How do students work together when they have a chance to rehearse?

Improv and Group Exercises

If you’re putting together an ensemble­driven or a devised piece, try a group exercise approach.
All students arrive at a designated time. Run the audition much like a workshop or class. Lead a warm­
up and provide exercises.
Some examples: Create a tableau based on a specific theme. Improv a scene based on a location and
an object. Play the mirror game in pairs and then expand it to include groups of four, eight or more.
This method is effective but tricky because you’re wearing two hats ­director and teacher. You may find
it helpful to record the session.
The goal of this audition is to see how students think on their feet and to discover their abilities to
create without a script. How do they work together when there isn’t a net? Who brings ideas to the
table and who freezes when asked to contribute?

Self Casting
Have you ever tried letting your students cast themselves? This is a technique best left for your senior
students, perhaps for a class project rather than a drama club production.
If you have a small group of students, hand the power over to them. After the auditions, tell students
they have to cast the play themselves, keeping in mind they have to choose actors who are best for
the selected roles.
If two students want the same role, the group is going to have to figure it out for themselves.
The goal of this audition is to give responsibility and ownership to students. It also gives them the
opportunity to show their negotiation skills. How skilled are they as a group to make decisions on their
own? Can they cast the play on merit rather than popularity?
Exercise: Try a mock self­casting exercise with your seniors. Take the play they’re studying in class,
tell students they have to cast the play using their fellow classmates, and that they have to come to a
consensus. What happens? Be there to monitor and moderate but leave the final decisions up to them.
Have students write a reflection at the end. Were they able to negotiate and work together? Did the
process descend into chaos? If so, why?

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 ACTIVITIES TO HELP YOUR STUDENTS AHEAD OF TIME
How can you help students prepare to be their best?
HOLD A MOCK AUDITION
If you have students new to acting, or your first year drama students are putting on a play as a class
project, hold a mock audition a week before the real auditions. Give feedback after each student
performs. Tell them what you saw in their piece Tell them what impressions they made.
There’s no time for comments and feedback in an actual audition. Students are left with no idea why
they didn’t get the role they wanted. The mock audition gives them the feedback they need before
the actual audition.
Mock auditions also give you a headstart on casting. You can see what students are bringing to the
table. You can also see who adjusts their pieces for the audition proper.
Record the mock audition so that students can see themselves. Point out their unconscious nervous
physical tics ­touching their hair, shifting their weight from side to side, a repeated gesture. It’s very
helpful for actors to see. Discuss with students how they thought they were presenting themselves
compared to what they actually look like.
If you’re holding a non­traditional audition like the improv or cold reading, a mock audition can prepare
students for what’s to come. You don’t want to surprise students, you want them to perform their best.
Nerves can get the best of anyone. Going through the actions in advance can help calm those nerves.

GIVE STUDENTS PHYSICAL CHOICES

When stating monologue, students struggle with physical choices ­meaning they make few to none.
Or, they move because they ‘have to move’ rather than making a character­driven choice. Take students
through some physical characterization exercises and show them the possibilities.

Character Animal
•  Pretend your character is an animal. How would they move about the space as an animal? At
what pace would they move? Would they creep? Would they pounce? Would they soar?
•  Do a “day in the life” non­verbal improv where you imagine your character in animal form. What
would your animal do all day?
•  Add one animal­inspired movement to your monologue. How does it change the piece?
Exploring the Space
Student actors rarely move beyond a narrow exploration of space. They stand straight up and down,
they sit, that’s all. The physical world is so much more than that!
What if their character stands on a chair, dances on their tiptoes, crouches down, falls to their knees,
dashes from side to side, reaches their arms out wide, or becomes as tight and small as a ball? There
are so many possibilities. Go through some bold physical choices with your students.
•  There are three levels of space. High (on tiptoes, reaching up, standing on furniture) Middle
(leaning over, hunched shoulders) and Low (in a crouch, crawling, lying on the floor). What kinds
of movements and poses put you in a high space? What kinds of movements explore the medium
space? What kinds of movements explore the low space? Move about the room changing from
one space to another. Establish a High space stance for yourself. Create a character who exists

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 in a high space. Who is this person? How do they move? How do they talk? Introduce yourself,
in character, to another person in the room. Repeat this exercise for Middle and Low. When
they’re in Middle, coach students to be physically different from themselves.
•  Perform your monologue. As you do, you’re not allowed to stand in the Middle space. You’re
only allowed to be in a High space or a Low space. Discuss with students afterward how this
awkward use of space affects the piece. How does your performance change when performed
this way?
•  Coach students to include one­out­of­the­ordinary use of space in their monologue.

GIVE STUDENTS A CHARACTER ANALYSIS EXERCISE

Character development is vital to presenting a strong monologue. Students often sound like themselves
when presenting monologues. They focus on memorizing lines and how they’re going to “present”
the monologue. They don’t think about bringing the character to life. A character analysis exercise
encourages students to develop unique characterizations.
Exercise: Students answer the following questions about their character:
•  Who is this character? What details do you know about him/her?
•  What details do you need to create in order to fill in the blanks about their background?
•  Who are they talking to in the monologue?
•  What is their relationship with that character?
•  Why are they talking? Why is it important to share this monologue?
•  Why is this monologue important for this character?
•  How does the character transform from the beginning of the monologue to the end?
Combine the physicalization exercises and the character questions by asking students to turn the
character details into physical action. How is the importance of the monologue related physically?
How does the actor create a physical presence for the character that differs from their own? How is the
character’s transformation demonstrated physically?

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 ACTIVITIES DURING AUDITIONS
Your students will be nervous. It’s nerve wracking to be judged on your performance. Some students
just don’t audition well; their nerves consume them. A student can practice for days and dry up in the
crucial moment. Many professional actors have the same issue!
Try to circumvent these feelings with a couple of activities right before the audition begins. If you’re
doing cold readings or an improv audition I would highly recommend starting with a warm­up. If you’re
scheduling monologues, have a meeting a day or two before to discuss ways of calming nerves on the
day of the audition.
Not only will warm­ups ground your students, they’ll also get your students thinking of themselves as
an ensemble. The sooner you can introduce the concept of “we’re all in the same boat” the better.
Breathing ­- Lead a breathing warm­up. Go through the exercises with your students and then coach
them to continue with these exercises as they’re waiting to perform. Remind students that when you
control the breath, you control the performance.
•  Sit quietly and close your eyes. Breathe in slowly on a two count and out for a two count.
Breathe in slowly on a four count and out for a four count. Breathe in slowly for a six count and
out for a six count. Breathe in slowly for an eight count and out for an eight count. Focus only
on the in and out of your breath. Keep your eyes closed and block out any outside noise. Count
the breath slowly in your head, and above all else, keep your count consistent. Don’t rush. If
eight beats is too long, dial it back down to six or four. The aim is not to see how long you can
hold your breath, but to maintain control of your inhale and exhale.
Vocal ­- You want the voice loosened, not overworked. Start with gentle humming with the mouth
closed, then open the mouth. Buzz the lips on a neutral note and then move up and down a scale.
Vocalize a yawn, starting at the top of your register and sliding down. Go in the opposite direction. Do
a couple of tongue twisters.
Facial ­- Open your face as wide as you can and then scrunch it up as small as you can. Repeat. Give an
extra big yawn. Move your jaw. Take your tongue and stick it out as far out of your mouth as you can.
Try and touch your chin with your tongue. Try and touch your nose with your tongue.
Physical ­- Move every body part in a circle 3 times: the head, the neck, the shoulders, the torso, the
arms, and so on down the body. Be slow and methodical. Don’t miss anything. Do this twice slowly
and then once with a little speed. Be sensible ­don’t whip your head around! The first time you do the
circles, focus on relaxation and concentration. The second time, focus on getting blood to the limbs.
Remind students to breathe with the movement. If you’re doing a long slow circle, then do a long slow
breath. Don’t hold your breath on a movement.
Starting with your toes, tense, hold, and then release your muscles. Work your way up the body. Then
do the reverse, relax each part of your body, starting with the head and working down to the toes.
After the tense and release exercise, stretch and shake the body. Shake the tension out.
Line Mantra ­- End the warm­up by having the actors repeat their first line (if they’re doing a monologue).
Say your first line over and over in your head. The first line is always the hardest to get out and the
easiest to forget. So repeat that first line like a mantra. If you’re doing a cold read, give students a line
to repeat.

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 AUDITION DAY
How do I handle the day?
What’s the best tone for an audition? Do you know what you should look for when you’re in the
moment? Everyone wants to do their best, and so do you. But it’s not easy.
Mostly because everyone will be staring at you the whole time. That means, even if you’re focused on
your job you still have to make the audition a positive experience. A distracted and grumpy director
sets a distracted and grumpy tone. Disorganization puts actors on edge. You’re not just holding an
audition, you’re showing students how you’ll work for the entire rehearsal process.
Refer to your audition prep notes. You’ve taken the time to study the play and create character
descriptions, so focus on that. If you’re running improv exercises and scenes be prepared so that you
can move smoothly from one to the text. If you are doing cold readings, have a student stage manager
or assistant take charge of handing out the sides so you can focus on the task at hand. If you’re seeing
monologues, have your stage manager deal with getting students on and off stage. Don’t do it all
yourself.

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR AT AUDITIONS?

Start with the actors themselves
Start with elements unrelated to acting. Look at your students. You’re going to be working with these
students for months. If you can gather together a like­minded group who come prepared, the less
stress for you.
Things to note: Who is prepared? Who is not? Who is taking the process seriously? Who is goofing
around? If you give guidelines for the types of monologues you want to see, who heeds those
guidelines? Who ignores them? Who is having trouble with lines?
Also consider basic physical and vocal skills. Do you have trouble hearing and understanding the
student? These problems can be fixed but do you have enough time to do so?

When you don’t know the students

It’s always easier to cast a show when you know your students’ strengths and weaknesses. But what if
it’s your first year at a school or your first year seeing this group of students?
How do you cast appropriately? Have students prepare a monologue and look for the following:
•  Who has fully prepared their piece? Is the student standing still for the whole monologue or
have they incorporated gesture and movement?
•  Who has confidence? Is the student performing out to the back wall, with a focused gaze and
selling their piece for all it’s worth? Or are they mumbling with their eyes glued to the floor?
•  Actor tics vs character development. Is the student shuffling their feet, playing with their hair,
or repeating the same vague gesture over and over again? These are actor tics and not part of
a developed character.
If you really are unsure of what to look for in new students, have them all prepare the same monologue
(or give them a selection of monologues to use). Then you can compare and contrast the performances
more easily.

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When the piece has well­defined characters
For a play with well­defined characters, you want to look for students who can bring a character to life.
Start with the character descriptions you prepared beforehand.
Use your character description to give direction to your actors even if their prepared piece doesn’t call
for it.
For example, if you’re casting a role for a character who has a big laugh, ask students to repeat their
monologue and during their speech throw in as many big laughs as they can. This will show you two
things: if they can think quickly on their feet, and if they can take direction. Some students get flustered
when they’re thrown a curveball. Some thrive. The sooner you know this, the better.

When you’re doing an ensemble piece

For a piece that has multiple small characters or everyone is in one big ensemble you want to look
for how students work together. I recommend ensemble activities rather than prepared monologues
for this type of play. Play games in the audition, put students in small groups, and have them create a
small scene (perhaps based on a scenario that happens
in your play). How do they work in the spur of the moment? Who are the leaders? Who barely participate?
In an audition like this, it’s best to have an assistant director or a senior student lead the exercises. You
need to be able to watch the students interact, which is much easier if you’re not the leader. Another
alternative is to record the audition to replay later.

When you’re doing readings

What should you look for if you’re doing a cold reading or prepared scenes? Even though students
will have scripts in their hands and won’t necessarily present a polished performance there’s lots you
can look for.
•  Who makes the text come alive?
•  Who hides behind the script during the audition?
•  Who creates a physical character even though they’re reading a script?
•  Who has trouble reading?
•  Who works well together?
At the end of the day…
What you’re looking for are students who hold your attention. If they can hold your attention in a short
piece or in a short scene, they’re going to hold the attention of an audience. And you can’t ask for
more than that.
And finally ­Take notes! Don’t rely on your memory.You’re going to forget who did what, especially if
you see over 20 students. It’s hard to keep it all in your head. Take notes on every student. This is one
of the reasons you should have an Audition Day sheet so that you can take notes on the sheet. You
never want to miscast, or forget a student, or think one student did a specific monologue when it was
actually another.

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 MAKE IT A TEACHING MOMENT
If you’re putting on a show as part of a class project, the audition makes for an excellent unit. Make it
a teaching moment.
•  Students prepare a monologue analysis for their audition. Why did they choose this monologue?
What makes it a good audition piece?
•  Students submit the answers to their character questions:
○ Who is this character? What details do you know about him/her?
○ What details do you need to create to fill in the blanks?
○ Who are they talking to? What is their relationship with that character?
○ Why are they talking? Why is it important to share this monologue?
○ Why is this monologue important for this character?
○ How does the character transform from the beginning to the end?
•  Students write a reflection on how the character preparation helped them with their monologue.
How do they bring the character to life? What movements and gestures do they incorporate?
How are the movements and gestures character­driven?
•  Have students record their blocking (draw out their movements) at the top of a blank sheet and
then explain why they choose to move that way. How is each move character­driven?
•  Have students define the emotion in the monologue. What is the character expressing and
why? Is there the opportunity for emotional change?
•  Provide a monologue performance rubric for students to follow. You could even make the
audition a peer evaluation opportunity where students evaluate one another in their journals or
with a checklist.
•  If you’re doing a cold reading or improv audition assess students using participation marks. If
they participate fully in their scenes or improvs they get the full 10 marks.
•  If you’re doing this with beginning actors, have your seniors assess the younger students.
Their assessment should include specific details of what each student did in their audition and
suggestions for their next auditions.
•  Students reflect on the audition after the fact. What did they think of their performance/
participation? What were they happiest with? What would they change for next time?

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 DEALING WITH THE AFTERMATH
No matter how carefully you cast, no matter how carefully you take every student into consideration,
now matter how hard you try, there will be an aftermath. Usually it will be unexpected. A student who
seemed completely solid is upset about their role. A parent who has always been supportive vents
their anger when their child isn’t cast. A student isn’t truthful about their schedule. A student drops
out in the first week.
Dropouts are bound to happen. Have a backup list of students you can ask to step in. Keep these
students close, ask them to help backstage, let them know you value their participation and you want
to continue working with them. Never burn a bridge with a student because you never know what may
happen down the line. Always be welcoming.
If a parent yells at you… let them. If you stand by your casting, and your choices were sincere, the cast
lists stands. Never yell back. It’s not productive and a waste of time. Don’t let them belittle or demean
you, but sometimes parents need to vent and you’re the target.
If a student doesn’t want the part you’ve given them… There’s not a lot of room for discussion here.
You’re the director. You get to make the choices. Be kind, be understanding, but they’re either in our
they’re out. Again, don’t burn a bridge because you never know what’s going to happen down the line
with other students.
If a student isn’t actually free during tech week… Don’t waffle on this. If they need to be free during
tech week and they’re not, they can’t be in the play. There’s no discussion. Be kind. Be understanding.
But be firm.
The best piece of advice is to expect the unexpected and go with the flow. When the rumblings and
grumblings occur, let them. If you’ve been sincere in your attempts, that’s all you can ask of yourself.
Break a leg!

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