Preparing for callbacks - Wednesday night, Presser Hall.

Congratulations on making it to the next step!  I was impressed with the preparation for the auditions, and I hope to see even more preparation and commitment on Wednesday night.

Below are a few pointers for auditions and callbacks in general; for some of you this is new information, for some it's a gentle reminder:

• Dress as if you were going to a job interview; you'd be amazed at how much better your audition is when you look like you're taking it seriously.  
• Only on the most rare of instances should your reading be completely "cold".  If the script exists, find it and read it before the audition.  If excerpts exist, find them and read those.
• Monologues or Scenes - don't forget the basics:  Know WHO you are, to WHOM you are speaking, and WHAT you want from them.  Make a choice, and make it bold.
• Google can be your best friend.  If you're preparing something, make certain that you know all of the references in your piece.  Pay attention to events, locations, and people; don't talk about them without knowing about them.
• Get to the audition early and prepare.  A brief vocal warmup?  Stretching to take away the butterflies? Just quiet time to refocus?  Doing any or all of these things can never hurt, but NOT doing any of them rarely helps.  
• Thank the director, casting director, and any assistants that are there.  It's polite, and professional, and those are two qualities that you want people to use when describing you.

Now, to the callbacks for the (as yet) Untitled Choir / Theatre Project:

The show is about people telling stories.  Remember the words of Reynolds Price:  

The need to tell and hear stories is essential to the species Homo Sapiens,

second in necessity apparently after nourishment and before love and shelter.

Telling stories is how we share our feelings, hopes, dreams, and fears.  We tell our stories so that we can stay connected to one another.

So for the callback, please write a brief monologue - an absolutely true one - about the day that you were the most afraid.  Let it be between 150-175 words, written in first person.  Prepare it so that you're speaking the words you've written, not paraphrasing them.  Take the "script" with you, but just as with the auditions, the less you look at the paper, the more connected to the material you can be.  Remember that you need to be speaking to someone in particular, not a bunch of people in general.

I look forward to hearing your stories.

If you have questions, comments, or concerns, don't hesitate to stop into my office (COPE 141) or email me:  kernkp@mountunion.edu

Kevin