AUDITION DATES
CASTING POLICIES: Auditions are open to youth in the 3rd-12th grades, however the director for each show may look for a more specific age range that may not always include the younger ages. Specific age requirements and casting information will be posted about 3-4 weeks before the auditions for each respective show. No roles have been pre-cast unless otherwise specifically stated in the audition notice. Youth of all ethnicities and backgrounds are encouraged to audition.
ETIQUETTE: Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to fill out any necessary information sheets. You will audition in the order that you arrive. Make sure to wear clothes and shoes that are comfortable to move around in.
PREPARATION: For non-musicals, all auditionees are required to prepare a 1 minute monologue for the audition. If you do not have a monologue, one will be provided for you at the audition. Monologues will also be available prior to auditions at the Spartanburg Youth Theatre offices.
For musicals, all auditionees are required to prepare 16-32 bars of a musical theatre song for the audition. Please bring sheet music. An accompanist will be provided. If you do not have a song, one will be provided for you at the audition.
WHERE: All auditions are held at the Chapman Cultural Center Youth Theatre Classroom at 200 E. St. John Street, Spartanburg, South Carolina, 29306.
WHEN: Please note the above audition dates and times for the current Spartanburg Youth Theatre season. Auditions are always on the Monday and Tuesday from 5:30-7:30 pm immediately following the previous SYT production. Callbacks are on the Thursday following auditions.
GENERAL AUDITION INFO
CASTING POLICIES: Auditions are open to youth in the 3rd-12th grades, however the director for each show may look for a more specific age range that may not always include the younger ages. Specific age requirements and casting information for each show are posted in the Audition Notice for each production above. No roles have been pre-cast unless otherwise specifically stated in the audition notice. Youth of all ethnicities and backgrounds are encouraged to audition.
ETIQUETTE:
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Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to fill out any necessary information sheets. Actors will audition in the order that they arrive. They do not need to stay the entire 2 hours of auditions. They will be able to leave once they audition.
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Make sure to wear clothes and shoes that are comfortable to move around in. SYT discourages actors from "dressing up" for the part they desire. Actors should wear clothes that they feel comfortable in and that show their own personality and style.
PREPARATION:
Plays:
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Actors are required to prepare a 1 minute monologue for the audition.
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Actors should choose a monologue that shows off strong acting choices, clear diction and volume, and that is age-appropriate.
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Memorization of your monologue is highly encouraged.
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If you do not have a monologue, one will be provided for you at the audition. Monologues are available ahead of time, one month prior to auditions, at the Spartanburg Youth Theatre offices in the kiosk at the end of the hallway when you walk down the stairs to our area. You may use one of these monologues, or you may use one of your own choosing.
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Bring your schedule to fill-in all of your potential rehearsal conflicts on the audition form - conflicts may NOT be added after casting!
Musicals:
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Actors are required to prepare 16-32 bars of a musical theatre song for the audition. A song from a musical is recommended, however actors may sing any type of song.
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Actors should choose a song that shows off vocal range, allows for strong acting choices, and that is age-appropriate.
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Actors should bring their own sheet music. An accompanist will be provided. Singing from a music track or singing acapella is highly discouraged.
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Memorization of your song is highly encouraged.
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Singing a song from the specific show you're auditioning for is discouraged. We prefer to hear your own style and range in a song you're comfortable with from any show other than the one you're auditioning for. Callbacks are when we'll be able to hear you sing songs from the show.
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If you do not have a song, one will be provided for you at the audition. Songs are available ahead of time, one month prior to auditions, at the Spartanburg Youth Theatre offices in the kiosk at the end of the hallway when you walk down the stairs to our area. You may use one of these songs, or you may use one of your own choosing.
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A great resource for purchasing sheet music is www.musicnotes.com.
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For musicals, you will not dance at auditions. You will only dance at callbacks (if called back).
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Bring your schedule to fill-in all of your potential rehearsal conflicts on the audition form - conflicts may NOT be added after casting!
REGISTRATION: Save time and fill out your audition form ahead of time. An online audition form will be available the Friday before auditions on the Auditions page of our website (above). If you fill out your form ahead of time, head straight to the check-in table when you arrive and tell them you filled out your form online. It is not mandatory to fill out your form in advance. You may still fill out the form when you arrive.
WHERE: All auditions are held at the Chapman Cultural Center at 200 E. St. John Street, Spartanburg, South Carolina, 29306. Look for signs directing you where to go for registration.
WHEN: Please note the above audition dates and times for the current Spartanburg Youth Theatre season. Auditions are typically Tuesdays & Wednesdays from 5:30-7:30pm. Actors may arrive at any time during the 2 hour slot. Actors will audition in the order that they arrive. They do not need to stay the entire 2 hours of auditions. They will be able to leave once they audition.
Actors should only audition one of the two nights offered. If an actor cannot audition on the two offered dates, we MAY be able to accommodate a separate audition date, but we cannot guarantee it. Please contact us directly.
CALLBACKS: If necessary, the director may hold callbacks to see certain actors again before casting the show. If callbacks are necessary, they are typically held the Saturday following auditions, however callbacks are subject to change depending on actor and director availability. If an actor is unable to attend callbacks, we MAY be able to accommodate a separate callback date, but we cannot guarantee it. If called back, contact us and we will see what we can do.
If an actor must arrive late or leave early, we will do our best to accommodate the conflict, but cannot guarantee that we will be able to make sure the actor is seen before they have to leave early or after they've arrived late.
A callback list will be posted on the Auditions page of our website (above), usually the Thursday after auditions. At callbacks, actors will read scenes from the script. For musicals, in addition to reading scenes, actors will learn songs from the show and learn a short dance combination.
HOW AUDITIONS WORK
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You will arrive at the theatre at the designated audition time. We recommend filling your form out ahead of time at www.spartanburgyouththeatre.com/auditions. It’s ok if you don’t fill out ahead of time. You may still fill out the form when you arrive.
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After you fill out the proper forms and a conflict calendar which you’ll receive when you arrive, you’ll go back to the check-in table and receive an audition number.
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Actor’s will be seen in the order that they arrive. Once an actor has auditioned, they may leave. They do not need to stay the entire 5:30-7:30pm frame. Actors may leave once they are done auditioning.
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Once it’s time to audition, you will be escorted to the audition room.
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For musicals: When you walk in the room to audition, walk with confidence. Greet everyone with a smile, then head towards the accompanist. Hand the accompanist your sheet music, tell them where to start and stop, and the tempo you prefer. Feel free to ask them to play the intro for you if you need to hear it. Once you’re ready to sing, come towards the director’s table and stand on the X that will be marked in the room.
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For plays: When you walk in the room to audition, walk with confidence. Greet everyone with a smile, and stand on the X that will be marked in the room.
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We highly recommend that you come with your song or monologue completely memorized. For musicals, you’ll bring a copy of the sheet music for your accompanist, but please don’t bring a “cheat sheet” for yourself. Actors who bring lyrics or their monologue to look at during their audition tend to stare at the sheet instead of performing for us, so we recommend not bringing a sheet to look at. You’ve got it! Just perform for us!
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Once you’re ready, it’s time to “slate.” A slate is just a quick introduction. Tell us your name, and the song you’re singing (for musicals), or the monologue you're performing (for plays). “Hi, my name is John Doe, and I will be singing “A Whole New World” from Aladdin." No need to share any other information than that. It is not recommended telling the director what role you want or what you have done before. That’s what your audition form is for. The director can see all of that information later.
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If it's a musical, indicate to the accompanist that you’re ready to start, then off you go! For plays, take a second to focus, and then just start your monologue when you're ready.
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For musicals, remember that performing and showing expression is equally as important as how well you can sing. We want you to sing beautifully, but most importantly we want to see you act the song! Show us expression, emotion, and opinions about the words the character of the song is singing. Please don’t just look blankly ahead without showing any expression.
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For plays, the same idea applies. What is most important to us is that you show us expression, emotion and opinion about the words your character is saying in the monologue. Please don't just look blankly ahead and recite the monologue without any expression.
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When your song or monologue is over, thank the director and creative team for their time and then exit the room, unless they have questions for you or ask you to stay.
AUDITION TIPS
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It is completely normal to be nervous at auditions! Every actor, no matter how experienced, still gets nervous at auditions. Take a deep breath, and know that the director and creative team are excited to see you! They have a show to cast and NEED actors. They are on your side and want you to succeed!
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It is possible you may know the director or members of the creative team that you’re auditioning for. Proper audition etiquette is to treat the team like it is the first time you are meeting them. Don’t expect special treatment if you have worked with them previously. Perform as if it is their first time seeing you!
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Things might go wrong in the audition. That totally happens to the best of the best! If your accompanist messes up, or if you forget a word or crack on a note, KEEP GOING! Don’t show us you’ve messed up. Mishaps happen onstage during shows all the time, so if we see you keep going during auditions even if a mishap has occurred, this show us that you would be able to handle it onstage when things go awry!
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For callbacks, give the director grace for all they have to accomplish in a short amount of time! We completely understand that actors have conflicts and have to arrive late or leave early to callbacks sometimes, but it is often difficult to try to accommodate those conflicts while also accomplishing all that needs to get done at callbacks.
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How do I know how to improve if I can't receive feedback after my audition?
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Great question! We understand it's difficult to know how to improve without specific feedback. Taking a class or audition workshop with SYT helps you get that individual feedback from our instructors on where you need to improve.
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Keep in mind we see 70-100 actors at auditions for our shows. We often make quick decisions in the moment about who we need to callback, and unfortunately don’t have the opportunity to take specific notes on each child that auditions.
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Often times, there are few common reasons actors don’t get called back or cast:
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The actor just doesn’t fit the director’s vision for the show, and that’s ok! It’s nothing against you, the director is just trying to find actor’s that fit the exact vision they have for the production.
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If we have a hard time hearing you in the audition room, then we assume we might have a hard time hearing you onstage in front of 450 people. Inability to hear you or understand you will often tell us that you’re just not quite ready...YET! Keep taking classes and workshops to improve upon these skills! These skills come over time with lots of work. It’s totally okay if you’re not quite ready yet, because if you keep working, you will definitely be ready in the future!
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Having a beautiful singing voice is important, but if we don’t see you perform the song, or have much expression, it’s hard to stand out against other actors who show expression and great acting choices. Be sure to focus just as much on the performing as you do at singing! The same idea applies to monologues. These are skills that we teach and foster in our SYT classes. If you’ve auditioned a few times and haven’t made it, please consider taking classes with us to continue to develop these skills. You’ll get there, and we want to help you improve!
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Behavior is very important. If we see you misbehaving or being unkind to others, that can highly affect our casting decision. Teamwork is essential for theatre! We want actors who can work with others and support each other.
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The rehearsal process for our shows is very short, and every second counts! Excessive actor conflicts make it very hard to put the show together, so unfortunately if you have significant conflicts listed, it will heavily factor into casting. A conflict here and there is acceptable, but week-long or frequent conflicts are difficult to accommodate.
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PARTICIPATING IN AN SYT PRODUCTION
ACTIVITY FEE: If cast, there is a $25 activity fee to participate in an SYT production. The fee helps cover meals that we will feed the cast during production week.
REHEARSAL SCHEDULE: For most productions, rehearsals are Monday-Friday from 5:30-7:30pm. The schedule may vary depending on the specific director. Some directors may rehearse some Sundays from 2-4pm, and some Saturdays from 10am-12pm, however this is very rare. Depending on the role, certain actors may not be called for every rehearsal. Potential rehearsal dates for all productions are listed in the Audition Notice for each show above.
CONFLICTS: Conflicts are allowed up until two weeks before the production opens. Auditionees should bring their schedule with them to auditions and list all conflicts on the audition form. Conflicts cannot be added once an actor is cast. Conflicts can factor into casting so it is important that all conflicts are listed on the audition form. If an actor adds conflicts after rehearsals have begun, it may result in curtailed performance opportunities or dismissal from the production.
TECH WEEK: Tech week is the Saturday-Wednesday before school shows begin. Actors are required to be at the theatre 10am-4pm on Saturday, 12-9pm on Sunday, and 4:30-9:30pm on Monday-Wednesday.
SCHOOL SHOWS: For each SYT production, there will be two days of school time performances that will occur during school hours. If cast in an SYT production, actors must miss school for these days.
