How to Run a Youth Theater: Holding Effective Auditions
In all non-paid theaters, such as community youth theaters and those in schools or religious institutions, children should never be rejected from participating in a show. If they want to be in it, they are already motivated to behave in most cases. Plus, everyone should have a chance to show their talents, even those who are still developing theirs. Run your Youth Theater with compassion and understanding for every child. Run your Youth Theater with the intention of keeping it fun for everyone.
Kids gain so much from participating in a Youth Theater production that it is really worth it to begin to develop even the shyest kid’s potential. Participating in a Youth Theater gives kids a sense of cooperation, builds self-esteem, builds community, allows them to be role models, gives them a sense of accomplishment and pride, and a challenge. Kids love to sing, and even those who do not want solos could be a part of a group or chorus in a production.
It isn’t the quality of the singing voice that matters in a Youth Theater production, as much as the expression of the performer. A really interesting, animated person who sings loudly and enthusiastically off-key is more exciting to watch than a great singer with no expression. Try to cast based on the idea that one can work more easily with someone on pitch, but it’s tougher to work on personality.
From year to year, students grow in confidence and talent. The experience of being in Youth Theater shows and completing their work with pride really helps the kids to feel ready for the next show. Before you know it, the mousy student who barely eeked out her lines will be belting a song from the radio for her audition!
Make everyone sing in front of everyone else. If a kid does not want a solo, he does not have to sing for an audition, only introduce him or herself and maybe tell a joke or a short story. Establishing that everyone has made it into the show simply by coming helps to relax everyone. Tell them that you are only having them sing so you can decide which part will be theirs. Also, let the youth theater kids know that since they will be singing in front of each other during every rehearsal and then in front of an audience for the performance, we will begin now. We’re all in this together, you should emphasize.
Building support is so important. After each kid sings, everyone else should applaud, regardless of the level of talent in their audition. Just trying can make people nervous, so everyone deserves applause. This helps the kids to feel valid. You want your Youth Theater to be a place of community. Supporting each other is a way to encourage this feeling.
It helps if you do a mock tryout first. It will set expectations, and show them that you are not afraid to sing in front of them, so they should not be afraid to sing in front of you. You might want to show two examples of an audition, one shy and with beautiful pitch, and one loud, expressive and wildly off-key. This will help you to emphasize the point that the most interesting production has actors who display the most expressive character. They probably won’t even mind the off-key, and it will make them laugh, which also helps to relax their nerves.
Take notes as the kids try-out. It is easy to use a 1-5 scale on two categories, volume and expression. Make separate notes if you envision them in a specific part, or if they are especially shy. Your Youth Theater will have a variety of performers, and that is a good thing. Just try to cast them evenly.
You should know your show really well before the tryouts so you know what you are looking for in characters. Then you can narrow down your list during the auditions, and afterward, by your notes, you can do the rest of the casting. Only have call backs if absolutely necessary. Kids get nervous enough the first time. They can feel like a nervous wreck if they get called back to compete for a part. You want to minimize competition in a Youth Theater and encourage cooperation.
Youth Theaters are a great outlet for the expressive as well as shy child. Let yours be a place to nurture the best in all of the participants. Everyone will have a great feeling, and your Youth Theater will grow in popularity and have great performances too, because the kids will all have fun.
