THE AUDITION PROCESS

Our auditions are open to all – however this production does not call for any young characters so we will not be casting anyone who is younger than 16 years of age (by 1st August 2010). If cast you will be expected to join the Guild (for a very modest fee) – see details here.

You can attend more than one audition. The Director might ask some actors to a call back audition, by invitation only. Some parts may be cast after only one audition and getting a call back is not an indication a part will be given.

You can audition for just one named part, or several. You will be asked to read 2–3 times, with others, depending on the part you are interested in.

The Director would like actors to attempt accents (as indicated) in the audition.  If an actor is very strong at playing the character but struggles with the accent we can offer help later on with voice coaching.

Download the audition form and bring in a copy filled in with your details (blank forms will be provided on the night). Guild committee members will be at auditions to greet you, answer any questions, and take feedback on the audition process. We will take your photo too, purely to help the Director – he will have to remember a lot of new faces

Audition pieces
You will not be asked to prepare an audition piece before the audition. If possible please read a copy of the play. It is widely available in bookshops and to order online and there a small number of copies in the Oxfordshire Libraries. The director will prepare extracts he has chosen for auditionees to read. Each audition will begin by a short welcome from a member of the Guild and auditionees will get into groups of 2–5 and read and prepare specific extracts together, with input from the Director. They will then show their pieces to the audition group as a whole. At this audition the Director is really interested to see if auditionees can speak clearly and follow one or two simple directions. In-depth analysis of an extract is not necessary at this stage.

Rehearsals and other commitments
We will expect all cast and crew to be involved in publicising the play in addition to attending rehearsals, and help set up and take down before and after the production run.

Rehearsals will be held on a selection from the following dates:
Mondays: 20th Sept - 6th December (URC, main hall)
Tuesdays: 21st Sept - 7th December (URC, main hall)
Thursdays: 28th Oct - 9th December (URC, main hall)
Fridays: 24th Sept - 22nd October (URC, back room)
Sundays: 31st Oct - 5th December (URC, main hall)

Times and call dates will be confirmed in a full rehearsal schedule sent to all cast. Not all actors will be called to all rehearsals, with only those in the scene we are working on required. All actors need to be available, however, as it is not possible to tailor a rehearsal schedule based on the unavailability of any actor(s) for that 7–8 week period leading up to the performances.