Start Strong with a Pre-Audition Info Session

Welcome to The Scene, your bi-weekly round-up of theatre news you may have missed.

In this issue, we’re helping you kick off your school theatre season with our Big Idea: Start Strong with a Pre-Audition Info Session. Our Show You Should Know is a fun and energetic school-based comedy, the effervescent Emma! A Pop Musical JV. And in The Spotlight, we’re celebrating the Bard with The Play’s the Thing: Shows Inspired by Shakespeare. Of course, we’ve also got the latest theatre news, including updates from Broadway, the UK and American regional theatres.

So, raise the curtain and shine the spotlight as we present another issue celebrating the wondrous world of theatre. This is The Scene.

• Bowen Yang Will Star in Oh, Mary! This Fall by Jason P. Frank, Vulture | These days, deciding who will play the next Mary is a process that requires continual effort. Up next? Wicked and SNL’s Bowen Yang! Read...

• Let’s Go Crazy: Purple Rain Will Rock Broadway in Spring 2027 by Sophia Rubino, Broadway.com | The new musical, featuring Prince’s iconic score, will play the Majestic Theatre under the direction of Saheem Ali. Read...

• Tracee Ellis Ross Reflects on Broadway Debut in Every Brilliant Thing on THE VIEW by A. A. Cristi, BroadwayWorld | The Emmy-nominated actress revealed that Whoopi Goldberg’s groundbreaking one-woman show inspired her to pursue a career in entertainment. Watch...

Noël Coward’s champagne-fresh comedy Fallen Angels is coming to the big screen! The sparkling production, filmed live on stage at Broadway’s Todd Haimes Theatre, stars Oscar nominee Rose Byrne and Tony Award winner Kelli O’Hara. The limited engagement will begin on October 22. For more information and tickets, click here.

• 5 Things the Pros Can Learn from High School Theatre by Kelundra Smith, American Theatre | We could all use a bit of the enthusiasm, imagination and determination I witnessed at this year’s International Thespian Festival. Read...

• Jasmine Amy Rogers’ Brief but Spectacular Take on Growing Up a Theatre Kid by PBS News Hour | For generations, theater programs have given young people a place to find community and discover their voices, including Jasmine Amy Rogers. Watch...

• The Next Act: Idris Goodwin on Getting Theatre Back to the People by Cynthia L. Dorsey, BroadwayWorld | The playwright talks storytelling, audiences, artistic leadership, Hip-Hop, young Black boys, and what American theatre may need to remember before it can move forward. Read...

In the U.S., many schools are now back in session, and others will be soon. That means it’s time to get the ball rolling on your theatre season! Here at The Scene, we were surprised to learn that many school theatre directors dive directly into auditions without prefacing them with an introductory meeting. To properly set your program up for success, don’t skip this crucial step.

A pre-audition information session can take many forms, but the primary objective is to establish your program’s priorities and increase familiarity with your selected show while remaining clear, professional and positive.

This session is your chance to:

• Set your program up for success

• Drum up excitement

• Establish clear goals and expectations

Here are some ideas for your preview session:

• Briefly summarize the plot of the show.

• Discuss the show’s history, highlighting notable productions (Broadway, off-Broadway or regional). If appropriate, mention the original cast and drop some celebrity names.

• Discuss the show’s themes and their relevance to your cast, crew and audience.

• If there’s a live capture or pro shot, share video selections from the show.

• If there’s a cast recording, listen to highlights from selected tracks and discuss them.

• Depending on how much time you have, you can talk through the show’s narrative and play selections from each track as you come to them.

• Will you be doing a steampunk version of Our Town? Will your production of The SpongeBob Musical be inspired by 1960s pop art? Are you setting Hadestown: Teen Edition in an insane asylum? (If so, please invite The Scene! We’re curious to see what those would look like.) In any case, get your potential cast and crew on board by letting them share in your vision.

• Remind everyone (repeatedly) of the date and time of auditions.

• Advise them on what to wear and/or bring to the audition.

• Let auditioners know what to expect. How long will each of them have to audition individually? What, exactly, are they expected to do when it is their turn? Do they need to prepare anything before audition day? Do they need to “slate” before they audition? If so, how? Who will be monitoring/attending the audition? Will they be auditioning in front of other auditioners? The more they know, the less anxious they’ll be.

• Let them know which sides (dialogue selections from the script) or song cuts you will expect them to read, citing page numbers from your (licensed!) scripts or vocal books. Pro tip: Some titles, particularly Youth and Teen editions, include audition sides in the back of the scripts.

• As a group, sing through the song cuts you plan to use at the audition.

• Remind everyone that there are no small roles! Establish your priorities from the start, making it clear that everyone involved in the show is important to the whole and that everyone has value.

• If you plan to double cast some roles, make that clear, and let them know how the actors will alternate in rehearsal and performance.

• Explain your approach to casting and gender. That is, if you feel (or your license requires) that some roles must be played by actors of a specific gender, let your auditioners know. If you have a specific idea in mind (e.g., if you plan to cast a male character with an actor of another gender, for example), share that information up front. If all roles are open to actors of any gender, be sure to make that clear.

• If you have any hard rules for casting or attendance (e.g., leads are only played by actors in upper grades; any parental involvement in casting will result in the dismissal of the actor; actors audition to be in the show, not for a specific role; only those auditioning for certain roles will be required to dance at the audition, etc.) state those explicitly and unequivocally. Leave no room for error or misinterpretation.

• Invite parents to join the meeting, maybe only for the last section, for a quick question-and-answer session. This is also a great way to recruit volunteers for help with design and construction, ushering, transportation or other needs.

• Remind them that the audition is a safe space, and it’s okay for them to make mistakes.

• Assure them that you want them to be good. Everyone is rooting for them to succeed!

• Let them know it’s healthy and perfectly normal to be a bit nervous, but overcoming our fears can help us grow and flourish.

• Encourage them to have fun!

Generate excitement

• Share your enthusiasm for the material and get everyone jazzed about being part of the project. If you succeed in sharing your excitement, your pre-audition preview will get students buzzing about the show, increasing your pool of auditioners and crew and giving you a boost in ticket sales.

Your pre-audition info session will undoubtedly set your program on the path to success. So, if you don’t already have it on the books, get that session into your calendar! You’ll be so glad you did.

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(Short Musical, Comedy / 5w, 4m + ensemble)

Emma, a senior at Highbury Prep, is certain she knows what’s best for her classmates’ love lives. But will Emma’s relentless matchmaking get in the way of finding her own happiness? Based on Jane Austen’s classic novel, this sparkling new musical features the hit songs of legendary girl groups and iconic female singers from The Supremes to Katy Perry. Girl power has never sounded so good!

Also available: The original Emma! A Pop Musical.

Learn More

• Royal Court Playwright’s Podcast #10.3: Kimberly Belflower by Elizabeth Smyth, RCPP | Kimberly Belflower, hailing from the rich tradition of storytelling in Appalachia, chats about her play John Proctor Is the Villain. Listen...

More than 400 years after their creation, the plays of William Shakespeare continue to inspire and entertain audiences worldwide. On Breaking Character, writer Ally Varitek compiles a list of witty, dramatic and out-of-the-box plays and musicals inspired by Shakespeare’s work, sorted by their Shakespearean equivalent. Here’s a sampling:

Dreamland by Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen (US/UK)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 4w, 4m, 18 any gender + optional ensemble)
It’s Shakespeare with aliens! An over-the-top, B-movie-style musical comedy with a score that blends contemporary musical theatre pop with the 1950s, Dreamland is a musical riff on Shakespeare’s farce set during the declassification of Area 51.

Desperate Measures by David Friedman and Peter Kellogg (US)
(Full-Length Musical, Comedy / 2w, 4m)
This witty and wild new musical shakes up the Bard’s comedy with a toe-tappin’ score. When dangerously handsome Johnny Blood’s life is on the line, he must put his fate into the hands of a mysterious sheriff, an eccentric priest, a narcissistic governor, a saloon girl gone good, and a nun out of the habit.

Peerless by Jiehae Park (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy / 3w, 2m)
Asian-American twins M and L have given up everything to get into The College. So when D, a one-sixteenth Native American classmate, gets “their” spot instead, they figure they’ve got only one option: kill him. This darkly comedic take on “The Scottish Play” hilariously explores the cutthroat world of college admissions.

Shakespeare in Love by Lee Hall, Marc Norman & Tom Stoppard (US/UK)
(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 6w, 18m)
Based on the Academy Award-winning film, this enchanting, hilarious, romantic stage play imagines William Shakespeare’s creative process – and explores his inspiration – as he writes his most famous romance. Also available in a High School Edition (US/UK).

For more plays and musicals based on the Bard’s plays and legacy, check out The Play’s the Thing: Shows Inspired by Shakespeare.

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• Ride the Cyclone Musical Releases New Trailer with Divina De Campo and More by Stephi Wild, BroadwayWorld | The show returns to Southwark Playhouse from June 17 until August 22. Watch...

• Yard Theatre announces casting for for colored girls… revival by Alex Wood, WhatsOnStage | The revival production marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark piece. Read...