Hamilton-Gibson Blog

Call Backs

Call backs. They’re just what it sounds like: I call back a few people to audition again. I probably only use call-backs less than half the auditions I have. I use them when there are just too many people who could skillfully fill a role, or if I want to see the dynamic between actors who hadn’t auditioned on the same night, or if I’m having a difficult time seeing a particular actor in a role but there is something nagging in my mind that says perhaps he/she could play the role.

If I don’t call back an actor, it doesn’t mean they haven’t gotten a part. It could mean that I have actually already cast them in a role and I don’t need to see them again for an audition. It may mean that I need to narrow down the other roles before I can consider the role they might fill.  Conversely, if I do call back someone, it doesn’t mean they have the part.

Hopefully this week will offer more time to muse and calculate and ponder. And I’m on the hunt for Georgie…

How wonderful it would be...

How wonderful it would be if I had only to ponder the casting of this show! This week, I have over 12 hours of rehearsal for GRACE AND GLORIE, a CABARET IN THE GALLERY to prepare for tonight (Friday), the set to complete for G&G, interviews for the director of the Deane Center, meeting for the Black Box of the Deane Center, the choir kick-off (7 hours), the National Anthem at the Little League World Series on Wednesday, driving over to Mansfield to see if the high school auditorium will work for the winter drama camp for kids instead of Steadman—since we can’t use Steadman, negotiating if we should change the beginning time of Tuesday choir rehearsals so kids from other districts can get there on time after school, an HG board meeting on Tuesday night…and trying to clean off my desk!

How wonderful it would be if I had only to ponder the casting of this show! And I want a Down Syndrome boy for Georgie. I’ve contacted a number of folks who work with Special Olympics and work in the schools in special education, and I’m close to being determined that we’re going to find the right Georgie. Georgie is crucial. What a stupid thing to say; everyone in this cast is crucial…it’s a classic ensemble piece. But having a boy with Down Syndrome play Georgie would be really wonderful…in so many ways.

So…I think I’m ready to have call-backs.

Casting

So someone asked me the other day who all auditioned for the play. (This was a person who had not auditioned and had no real vested interest beyond curiosity.) I gave this person the list. “Oh, well you’d have a difficult time convincing an audience that these two are related,” said the person about two actors I was considering—but hadn’t told this person—for father and son. “No way an audience could suspend their disbelief with that relationship.”

Really? That threw me back to second guessing. I’m always wondering if the audience will buy it? Of course, that’s the whole challenge of casting, isn’t it: getting people in there who can convince an audience of a desired truth.

Well, we cast a few 50+ year olds as 80+ year old women in HE HELD ME GRAND…and I think the audience bought it completely. In fact, few people cast in this show were the same age as the characters: most were 20 or more years younger.  We did cast appropriate to gender and race in this show. But look at HAIRSPRAY: since the original movie, most productions cast a male as the girl’s heavy-set mother. When I just saw it in Williamsport—a terrific production by the way—the high school kid who played the mother was not only decades younger than the character, but also about 150 pounds lighter, and a guy! And the audience bought it.

Mike Crum has always encouraged me in musicals to cast the best actor…not the best singer. I have generally followed his advice: a good actor can carry a role whether their singing voice is the strongest or not. Of course you wouldn’t cast a tone-deaf person to sing one of those main roles in LES MIS, but…well, maybe so! A good actor can do just about anything.

I just found out this morning that one of the actors I have been leaning toward has a medical issue that might prohibit them from participating. Back to the drawing boards….

The Killer Week

This week is the killer week. Of the whole process, this is the most challenging, frustrating, exciting, scary. Sometimes this part of the process takes a really long time. I announce that I’ll have a cast by a certain date (usually a week after the last audition date) and then I agonize all that week…and still don’t have a cast. There usually comes a time during the casting time when one cast member just seems to fit into place. I’m not sure what it takes, but I seem to need time for each character to settle in my brain. I may need to adjust my perception of the role to another one; an actor may bring an entirely new take on the role and I need time to re-envision that possibility.  Once one role is cast, often the others begin fitting into place…as if there now is an anchor or a point of reference.

Sometimes this agonizing week stretches into a few weeks. It’s hell for actors to have to wait; and it’s completely unkind—and unfair—of me. But I do feel a responsibility to audience members and to other members of the cast, to be sure we have the very best match of actor and role. I’m not sure how to speed up the process; I do a lot of second guessing and imagining and re-envisioning….and it simply takes time.

When we have new actors audition, it makes for an even livelier process. When we cast new people the only thing I have to work with is their audition; and some people just do not audition well—for a variety of reasons. By “not audition well” I mean that the audition does not adequately demonstrate what the person can do. Some people just do not read well. Others have a more difficult time grasping my sometimes poor explanation of the character and/or the scene so their “take” on the role may not be anywhere close to what I’m looking for.

When actors who have been in plays before with us audition, their role in previous plays enters into the envisioning. The role they’ve played before and the current role may be miles apart, so it’s a challenge to disengage them—and me--from the previous role to enter the skin of the current role.

We had a lot of people audition. It was actually a good turn-out for us. I haven’t counted up yet how many are new to HG and how many have either auditioned before or been cast before. I’ll do that soon. Two days past the last audition and the marinating has begun. Nothing has settled in yet, but there is some gravitational pull for a few of the roles to certain actors.

The cool thing is that everyone who auditioned has talent! I don’t think there was one person who I simply would not cast in any play. It’s too bad we don’t have even more plays throughout the year so everyone who auditions can be in one. No…wait…I don’t think I could handle too many more of these weeks. 

First Auditions

First auditions for OVER THE TAVERN were last night. Three males and ten females. Further breakdown: two boys and one man; three girls and seven women. Not bad for a weekday and the first audition date. Most of the people who auditioned I know; most have been in a play before. Most seemed very relaxed; they all sat around small round tables and shared scripts. Only a few times did I have anyone get up out of their seats. Everyone read really well. It’s a cold read for most of them; only a few had read the script before.

During auditions I don’t worry too much about which emotion or expression or approach is taken/offered: I just want to see if a person is able to have some expression…some  varied expression, whether it fits the particular line or not. Since it is a cold read, and we begin reading the scene oftentimes in the middle, it’s a bit tough to know really what is going on. Everyone had lots of expression, lots of variety in their pitch levels…and I think lots of fun.

I’m much more aware of eyes. Sometimes in the past I’ve wondered what is “off” about an actor…why I have trouble believing him/her. I’ve been reminded of the crucial importance of eyes. It’s easy to see in movies with close-ups; even the slightest flicker or change of focus can be powerful. In live theatre on the stage I think actors and directors miss it, perhaps because they think that due to the distance of the audience from the actor something as small as an eye isn’t going to be seen. I’m focusing on eyes and eye contact and what is happening with the person’s eyes.

I also have worked with some actors who are thinking so hard about the scene or blocking that their eyes become empty. I’m not sure how to help an actor through this, but I know that it greatly diminishes their capacity to communicate to an audience.

Of course, last night in the auditions it’s tough to evaluate the eyes since everyone has theirs on the script…but I found myself watching eyes last night.

I was reminded…painfully reminded…again last night of the little things involved in casting. Size of the person. Hair color. Hair style. Voice quality. Voice projection. Age. Perceived age. Height. Weight. ….and Eyes. Some of these can be altered or modified with costuming and make-up and haircuts. Others cannot. And two or three or four or five women between the ages of 30 and 50 might be able to act equally well and play the mother, Ellen: but if one of the above qualities or conditions above doesn’t quite fit, that could help make the decision. The painful and challenging point: there’s only one mother in this play…and so far we’ve had six women who have auditioned specifically for that one role.

I’m looking forward to Saturday night and round two.

Tonight!

Tonight is the first round of auditions. I’m not sure why I’m so concerned about these auditions. I’m guessing it’s because the roles for kids are so important and I want just the right actors.

Many plays don’t have what seems to be such unique roles, so a number of different people could play any given part. We’ve been so incredibly fortunate to find actors for all the roles in the last 20 years, though there have been a few times I wasn’t so sure. I try very hard to cast from the people who audition, but I believe I have an obligation to the people who buy tickets to find the very strongest match for reach role.

A few scary moments come to mind. We were auditioning for THE ELEPHANT MAN a number of years ago. The role of David Merrick is unique: he spends most of his time on stage nearly naked! So, how do I determine if an actor is comfortable on stage with nothing on but a loose diaper-like thing? I asked the actors who auditioned to take off their shirts. Jeez…talk about uncomfortable…and a situation that could gender some rumors. Not many young men auditioned for that role; and none of them had the quiet intensity that I was looking for. So I cast all the other roles and began rehearsals…without a title character. We were well into rehearsals when we came across a young man named Jason Auman. He was brilliant…just the right dignity and poise and anguish…and he was comfortable on stage in just an oversized diaper.

No costume issues—or lack thereof—in this play, but other considerations.

I’ve had three people call in the past few days to indicate they’d like to audition: NEW people! This is encouraging. One mother called and indicated her son would like to audition, but is concerned about the crude language and the fact that he is Catholic. This is why I’m insisting parents read the play.

I read through the play again this morning to finalize the scenes I’ll have people read for auditions, and once again was reminded how much I love this play.  I’m looking forward to tonight. (Did I mention that there have been some audition nights when NO ONE showed up?)

OVER THE TAVERN AUDITIONS

OVER THE TAVERN auditions are this week. We’ve been advertising, but because it is summer, I’m concerned that people aren’t getting the word; they may be just too busy or in “vacation” mode to pay attention to audition announcements. This is especially true due to kids being out of school…and we need four kids. We’ve advertised in the newspaper with a few articles, in the trade papers, sent out PSAs to radio stations, posted on FB and HG website, and put up posters. I’ve talked to just about everyone I think may have anything to do with kids between the ages of 12 and 18. And I’m still concerned; what if no one shows up for auditions?

We need a boy 12 years old, one 13, one 15, and a girl 16. Each of these roles is a unique and vital part of the play. It’s a solid ensemble piece, and with only seven characters, each one needs to be strong and hold up their part. Throw in the complication that they ought to look as if they’re from the same two parents, and my concerns grow!

We’ve tried making flyers for every student in the whole county and taking them to schools, and have been disappointed with the results. Not for this play, but for other projects. Some teachers just don’t hand them out. Some kids don’t even look at them and toss them in the basket. So I don’t think we’re missing anything by not having school in session so we could do that.

Oh, yeah…another complication: there’s bad language in this play. So that knocks out any families that have strong reservations about what comes out of their kid’s mouth. I’m trying to clearly advertise that there may be some language (and subject matter) that some families may find offensive or objectionable; parents must read the whole script before I’ll even consider casting a child.

It’s such a good play! I really am eager for just the right cast! Each of the roles are prime; an actor’s dream. I don’t have anyone even in mind for any of the roles. (Some people think I’ve cast plays even before the auditions; what would be the point of having auditions?) Sometimes I have in mind someone who might be able to play a particular role, but I always wait to see who shows up at the auditions. Many times there are new people whom I have never considered. Having new people show up for auditions is great fun and a great encouragement…at least someone is being reached by all of our efforts to get the word out about auditions!

For GRACE AND GLORIE…the play that we’re rehearsing right now…Gretchen Forbes showed up at the audition. I had met Gretchen briefly at a local farmers market meeting in February in Mansfield. I certainly had no thoughts about her as an actress...and at that time I don’t think she did either. She hasn’t been in a play since she was in school…a number of decades ago. But she found out about auditions for G&G and fell in love with the character of Grace. Wait till you see her in this play; a great delight.

So…I shouldn’t worry…right? Kids will show up. Three adults will show up. They’ll all look alike…well, all but the old nun…and they’ll be just perfect for these roles.  I’m not going to worry. If they don’t show up on Thursday, they’ll come on Saturday…or Sunday. Auditions: the first—and oftentime biggest—challenge of the whole process.

HG Artistic Director Thomas Putnam will be updating the blog regularly this August through November as OVER THE TAVERN production begins. He's going to take you through the production process beginning with auditions through performances. If you have ever wondered what it takes to pull a show together, check back here often!