AUDITION GUIDELINES - Spring 2023
WHEN
General Auditions will be held Saturday, November 12 from 10:00am-1:00pm and 2:30pm-5:30pm in Alan MacVey Theatre.
Musical Auditions will be held Sunday, November 13 from 11:00a-4:00pm in location TBD.
Callbacks will be held Sunday, November 13 from 10:00am-11:00pm, Monday, November 14 from 8:00pm-11:00pm, and Tuesday-Thursday, November 15-17 from 6:00pm-11:00pm.
Casting will be announced starting at 9:30am, Friday, November 18. Several shows will start rehearsal on Monday, November 28.
WHERE
General Auditions are held in the Alan MacVey Theatre, which is located in the Theatre Building along North Riverside Drive. There will be a registration table in the lobby of the Theatre Building.
Musical Auditions are held in location TBD, which is located in the Theatre Building along North Riverside Drive. There will be a registration table in the lobby of the Theatre Building.
Starting at 9:30a, on Monday, November 7 you may sign up here for a general audition slot and here for a musical audition slot. You may participate in both auditions. To be considered for all shows including the musical, you must participate in both. However, if you do not want to be considered for the musical you only need to sign up for a slot at the General Auditions. We accept 10 walk-ins at each audition, but you will need to wait if you do not have an audition slot.
WHAT TO PREPARE
General Auditions: A 3-minute time period is allotted for each general audition. Please prepare 1-2 monologues. Total audition time must not exceed 3 minutes. You will be timed and asked to stop if this time limit is exceeded.
Musical Auditions: You will be given a 4 minute time period for your musical audition. Please prepare 1 monologue and a 32 bars of a contemporary musical theatre song — either up-tempo or ballad. Please have your music memorized and be prepared to provide a copy of the music to the accompanist. You may sing a capella or to a backing track if you prefer.
Suggestions for the Best Auditions:
There will be a Theatre Audition Workshop and Q&A Session on Wednesday, August 24, in the Alan MacVey Theatre, 5:00p-6:00pm. All are welcome to attend.
Your audition may be viewed by acting faculty, directors of the Mainstage, Gallery, Workshop, and Reading productions, and members of the directing classes and the Playwrights Workshop. Many projects, large and small, will be cast throughout the year.
AUDITION PROCEDURES
All auditions are scheduled by signing up for a time in advance. Please sign up as soon as possible. Plan to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to 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.
Upon your arrival at the auditions you will be asked to fill out a conflict survey which will ask for details about your availability and any conflicts you may have. Any conflicts that arise after casting must be submitted and approved of by the director. Conflicts that arise after casting and that cannot be accommodated may result in recasting of the role.
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.
Callback notices for productions will be posted no later than 9:00a on Sunday, November 13. You may be called back for more than one production. Callbacks run 2 days and a show may call you to more than one session.
Current students who have an approved absence or are not in residence at the time of auditions, including those who are studying abroad or serving in the military, and who want to be considered for casting may audition by video submission. All submissions must be complete by the first day of the scheduled auditions so that all directors may review the work in a timely fashion. To request this accommodation and submit a video, please contact the Production Stage Manager, Samantha Goblirsch-Paradis at samantha-paradis@uiowa.edu.
UI CASTING POLICY
Auditions for University Theatre productions are open to everyone. Priority is given to theatre majors first, and then all other students of the University of Iowa. We do not double cast shows so as many of our students can participate in productions as possible.
"Non-traditional" casting is the norm for all directors in all productions, except those in which race, gender, disability 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:
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 Chair, Director of Theatre, and the Head of Acting.
