ABSTRACT
The central goal of the audition is to determine which actors might be right for particular roles. There are many ways readers can find out more about their actors through auditions. This chapter goes through the process step by step and examines the opportunities that might arise along the way. It advises that whenever you see an actor with a repetitive mannerism, try to determine whether it is part of his or her characterization or a nervous habit. When the class conducts auditions for real, all of the directors should take turns conducting one or more of the initial auditions, which may consist of a monologue, cold reading, or improvisation. Callbacks provide the opportunity for people to work with actors in greater depth and get a sense of how they might collaborate with you and others in rehearsal. One way to look at a wide range of combinations of actors is to use a tag audition.
