Talking to Vicki Etchings, a community director at Jean’s Playhouse in Lincoln, New Hampshire, shed some light on the intensity of the pressure on actors and actresses when auditioning.
What is a professional audition like?
When going into an audition the actors first experience a waiting room with as many as 200 hundred other actors going over voice warm ups, different accents, and monologues, 50 of those actors may be auditioning for the same part you are. While waiting you do the same as everyone around you, sweating at the same time, until your name is called. You get up and go into the room indicated to see a table where the Director, Assistant Director, Stage Manager, and Technical Director are sitting. They tell you to start whenever you are ready and you do as they say. After that if this particular piece happens to be a musical you would go back to the waiting room to wait for dance call. After you wait four or five days and sometimes get a call back.
What are callbacks like?
When you go to a callback it is the same as a regular audition except there isn’t a dance call. The same people are sitting watching and they expect a different monologue, song, and accent. You prepare directly after an initial audition for a callback.
How often do actors usually get callbacks?
Usually actors get callbacks 50% of the time depending on their acting. My experience was different from many because I was exceptional when acting. I have been acting since I was 5 so that gave me the upper hand. Naturally being a soprano that could hit the really high notes, I was often getting callbacks and often got the parts that I auditioned for. After awhile I had so many job offers that I couldn’t choose which I would rather have.
While auditioning there is a dance call. What for?
The dance call is usually used for musicals and for theater pieces with a lot of choreographed dances. The Director uses the dance call to determine if an actor has the capability to complete complex dance moves. After this test, the Director can make an informed decision on whether or not that actor could complete the dancing required for the auditioned part.
How do you prepare for an audition?
Preparing for an audition is a lot of intense staring at myself in the mirror and reciting. My monologues are always picked from my favorite past theater pieces. The song is usually something that I had sang during my highschool years. The voice prepping is usually the hardest especially when it comes to accents, using them in everyday life makes it easier.
Tell me a little about your college experience. How was the course load? Were you in any performances?
While in college I was a 20 credit student all 8 semesters to complete on time. I also did this to study abroad in England. I was in one performance the whole time I was in college and I had such a minimal part that I only had to attend 6 or 7 rehearsals. I kept it light to focus on my school work.
What kind of theaters have you worked at?
I have worked at large and small theaters close knit that it’s more like we’re sisters here and not co-workers.
What is your favorite piece that you have ever done? Why?
My favorite would have to be a piece I had performed here at Jean’s. You were in it as well, it is called “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”. The cast worked together so well and even the 8 and 9 year olds were attentive and well behaved. The cast was so vast that every outsider wondered how it could have worked but it did. We were the first to show it and it was an amazing experience.
What kind of advice would you offer to Theater and Musical Theater students?
The best advice that I could offer would be to always keep trying. You may get discouraged at times but honestly there will always be a part that is perfect for you and if a Director is smart they will see that. Going years without a part isn’t abnormal. Some other actors happen to get many parts but most actors go a long time with far and few parts and they find other jobs to fill their time. A lot of actors wait tables or cashier. Some are even strippers or bartenders. So overall don’t be discouraged if you don’t get a certain part because there will always be more.
Making a career out of theater is a difficult task. Not only are auditions the prime source of work but actually receiving a part in a piece is difficult. Most times when going to an audition there are as many as two hundred or more other actors auditioning. Depending on the part there could be as many as 50 or more of those actors who are auditioning for the same part. The theater world is very difficult to navigate and agonizing to find work in. Most actors can go years without getting a job and some constantly find work. But also while working in theater those actors also usually hold jobs as servers or cashiers or something simple like that so they have the option of leaving if they get a part in a piece. These actors, albeit weird, are the backbone of society.
Musical Theater Living
By Wyatt Safford