Audition Guide - Spring 2010

WHEN

General auditions will be held 8:30 - 10:30 pm on Thursday, November 12th, and Noon - 6 pm on Saturday, November 14th. Callbacks will be held on Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, November 15th, 17th, and 18th, times TBA.  Casting will be announced in the evening of Thursday, November 19th.

WHERE

Auditions are held in Theatre B, located in the Theatre Building along North Riverside Drive. There will be a registration table in the Theatre Building lobby.  Sign up here for an audition slot.  We do accept 10 walk-ins each evening, but you will need to wait if you do not have an audition slot.

WHAT TO PREPARE

A 3-minute time period is allotted for each audition.  Please prepare 1-2 monologues. We are also casting a musical this semester (The Boy in Black) and if you wish to be considered for that production, we encourage you to sing 8-32 bars of a song.  There will be an accompanist and a CD player if you wish to bring music or you may sing a capella.. Total audition time must not exceed 3 minutes. You will be timed and asked to stop if this time limit is exceeded. This procedure helps keep appointments on schedule for everyone.

The audition will be viewed by Acting faculty, directors of the MainStage, Gallery, Workshop, and Reading sessions, and members of the directing classes and the Playwrights Workshop.

Many projects, large and small, will be cast throughout the year. The New Play Festival will hold auditions March 6-12th.

AUDITION PROCEDURES

1. All auditions are scheduled by signing up for a time in advance. Please sign up as soon as possible, after 9 am on Friday, October 30th. Plan to arrive 30 minutes early for your audition -- if you do not arrive 30 minutes prior to your timeslot, you will forfeit your reservation.  If there are cancellations, you may audition earlier than scheduled.

2. You will be asked to fill out an audition form to present to the monitor at the audition table. The form will ask you to list your most recent theatre experience. If you wish, you may substitute your own resume for this form. The monitors will assist and guide you through the audition process.

3. You should bring a photo of yourself to attach to your resume form (head and shoulders shot is best). The photo can be a standard Polaroid (3" x 3") or larger. If you do not have a photo, one can be made for you at the audition for a $1.50 fee. No resumes or photos will be returned. (If you need to have a photo made, please arrive early.)

4. Please read the audition recommendations. Your total audition length should not exceed the 3-minute limit. Your preparation should include timing your audition material to make sure it is the proper length.

5. Callback notices for productions will be posted by Noon on Sunday, November 15th.  You may be called back for more than one production.  Callbacks run three days and a show may call you to more than one session.

CASTING POLICY

Auditions for University Theatre productions are open to everyone.  For academic considerations, priority is given to theatre majors first, and then all other students of the University of Iowa.  Members of the greater Iowa City community are also strongly encouraged to audition.  There are many excellent roles available throughout the year and many non-majors and actors from the surrounding community are cast each season.  Occasionally, professional guest actors will also be employed.  "Non-traditional" casting is the norm for all directors in all productions, except those in which race, gender, handicap or age is the explicit issue. Casting is "non-traditional" when all roles in a script are open to casting without bias in terms of race, gender, disability or age, so long as the actor can fulfill the artistic requirements of the role. The director of each production has full authority over, and responsibility for, casting. The only exceptions occur: 1. When casting would conflict with another production's performance or rehearsal time or, 2. When students, facing academic difficulty or probation, are assumed to need extra time to improve their standing. In both cases, the final arbitrator is the Department Casting Committee, comprised of the Department Chairperson, Head of Acting, and Affirmative Action Liaison.