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About the Casting Process

Our number one priority in everything we do is creating a positive experience for our young actors. At the conclusion of a given production, every actor must leave the show with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. The key to this is finding each student a role that is appropriate to his or her stage of development as an actor and as a person, and where he or she can make a meaningful contribution that is recognized and honored by one and all.

In considering the topic of casting, we always seek to recall the two main goals expressed in our overall mission statement:

1. To serve our students’ personal development and growth as performers and as people
2. To present high quality shows that everyone can enjoy and be proud of

These two goals must go hand in hand. To accomplish this, we have adopted a successful system of pre-audition “workshops” which allow students to build skills and confidence in a low-pressure situation in advance of formal casting. The in-house “auditions” which follow consist of material which everyone has learned together, and are conducted in as supportive an atmosphere as possible.

Traditional auditions tend to reveal the most polished and “talented” performers in the group -- the actors whom we would cast if we were simply seeking to put on the best show possible to the exclusion of anything else. However, we’re not here to simply reward the most accomplished, most vocal, most confident and flashy students every time. If we did that, we’d simply be relying on that old formula of always letting the veteran students play the leads, with the hope that they’d inspire the less experienced kids in the ensemble to perform better. This can happen, but it’s not proactive enough an approach. Instead, we look for opportunities to help all our students to grow and improve, every time they’re with us.

Since we are often in a position to get to know individual students over several semesters of development, we are in a unique position to get to know their specific skills and talents. In some cases, students who have flourished in one or more leading roles in the past may benefit from an ensemble experience. In other cases, we may feel that a particular student would benefit from the challenge of a “meatier” role than he or she has been used to playing. Even with students who are brand new to us, we seek to go that extra mile – to actively seek out students whose experience and attitude tell us that they are ready to make a leap to the next level. Here are some of the ways in which we do this:

1. Every student is encouraged to showcase his or her past performing experience on the audition sheet. This gives the directors a chance to see who has been with us for several shows (faithfully pulling their weight over time), as well as who has successfully navigated “bit” and supporting roles (whether with us or elsewhere). A careful review of the resume materials can often reveal actors who might be ready for something bigger even if they don’t always sparkle in a formal audition.
   
2. Our pre-“audition,” pre-casting workshop period gives us a chance to keep an eye out for those kids who aren’t yet “stars,” but who have potential, so we can note them and remember them when it’s time to cast.
   
3. We double-cast the main roles whenever possible. This often gives us a chance to pair a “tried and true” veteran actor with someone who is perhaps trying out their wings in a major way for the first time.

With all of this said, if an actor is not ready, he or she is not ready, and we do not under any circumstances want to set anyone up for embarrassment or failure. In the case where we feel that none of the actors in a given cast could even approach handling a given role, we have two options: the first is to “borrow” an actor playing that role from another city and plug them into the show; the second is to audition/recruit a guest artist from the members of one of our more advanced auditioned groups. We have not had to pursue either of these options in recent memory, but those resources are there should we need them.

So, in practical terms, what weight do we give each of the elements that go into casting? Here is an approximate “recipe” of what we take into consideration when casting a given student:

1. The student’s general aptitude, skill level, and positive attitude as displayed during the workshop period and in auditions.
   
2. The student’s personal qualities, such as focus, attitude, proven dedication, and/or that magical quality that tells us that he or she is ready to take the next step.
   
3. The student’s developmental needs, as assessed through observation and careful review of his or her performing experience.
   
4. A given student’s availability to attend all necessary rehearsals.
   
5. The need to create a balanced and successful cast.

Finally, here are the remaining “house“ policies regarding casting:

1. No roles are pre-cast; all roles are open to interested students (and we traditionally invite students to let us know which roles they are especially interested in).
   
2. Students are expected to accept whichever roles they are assigned.
   
3. Where possible and sensible, SYT strives to be flexible and progressive in casting as far as gender, race, “type,” etc. are concerned.
   
4. Once casting has been announced, it is final. The only time that casting may be adjusted is if an actor withdraws from the cast or if circumstances (like absence or misbehavior) lead us to change his or her role assignment(s).
   
5. We invite students to seek out staff members for feedback on their auditions, if they so desire. Note that staff members may provide feedback on their own behalf only. Such feedback generally focuses on offering the student helpful advice on how to improve his or her future performance.

Just about every person who works professionally in the theatre as an adult was once upon a time given a first real opportunity to shine by some insightful adult. Someone believed in us, and dared to give us a chance. At SYT, we strive to provide that opportunity to as many kids as we reasonably can, while also ensuring that we cast a sufficient number of demonstrably accomplished and competent actors to keep the overall quality at the kind of high level that is educationally rewarding in itself.