Devising Auditions 101

Maybe you're like me and you've never been to a devising audition before. Sure, you know how to memorize a monologue. You've been trained rigorously to introduce yourself, your piece, and then say thank you before leaving. You know where to set your eyes so you don't make the important people in the room uncomfortable. And you're certain that what you have to offer is different from everyone else, and hopefully that will be enough.

Devising auditions-- so I've learned-- definitely don't work like that. Now, let me clarify: I attend a Devised Performance MFA program with a prestigious devising ensemble theatre company. This does not mean by any stretch of the imagination that I know everything about devising. This weekend was the first devising audition I've attended outside of auditioning by myself for this graduate program.

A company from Chicago came to Philadelphia this weekend to resurrect a show they first produced a few years ago. The people running this ensemble company studied in Europe and have similar methodologies to what we study here in Philly. But, in case you didn't know, every single devising process on the planet is different from every other. No two companies devise alike. Everyone has created a different way of getting to the end result--a show.

This process takes time to create, and requires building a common language between bodies. For this reason, most devising companies are ensembles--they don't audition others to join them. Teaching others to work like them, after not sharing a common bond for so long is daunting and often fraught with pitfalls. Sometimes when companies are auditioning, they invite collaborators who have seen them work or seen their process to the auditions. Sometimes they invite only one person to come in. And sometimes, they'll get a whole new group together for a project so they can learn together. I would say this Chicago company is doing the latter.

This company originally split us into two time slots, with each time slot being two hours long. As they continued to accept submissions, they realized they'd need to adjust the timing. So each of these two hour slots was split into one hour slots. When I arrived (early, as we all know you should do) I learned that the time slots would hold about 20 people per group. That's right, in a devised audition you are there to show the director that you can create something from nothing with an ensemble. There is no auditioning alone!

And here's the thing. I knew this going in. I understood that I would be auditioning with other performers I hadn't met before. What I didn't understand, is what exactly that would feel like, and how it would function. Here's the basic run down of how the audition functioned:

1. Everyone circled up with the director in the middle of the room and we agreed that we were there to audition the company as much as they were there to audition us. We each had a say in how interested we would be in continuing a relationship at the end of the time slot.
2. We introduced ourselves with our name, our pronouns, and then our favorite brand of cereal.
3. We made eye contact with someone in the room (to prove that we could function as an ensemble of course) and switched spaces with them.
4. We introduced ourselves again, then switched spaces. We discussed not leaving gaps in the circle to learn how to work in close quarters together.
5. We introduced ourselves a third time, and then the director proved he could say all of our names correctly by memory.
6. Then we were asked to perform the history of the American Revolution in 30 seconds, individually. We were given 3 minutes to prepare somewhere in the room. No words allowed, but sound was.
7. We performed in a random order.
8. Then we were split into groups of 3, given the same assignment, and performed it again.
9. Then we were split into 3 groups of 5-7 and performed it again.
10. The audition was over and we were told we would hear soon about callbacks that evening.

After this audition I spent some time reflecting on the process. I'm one of those crazy actors that loves to audition. I get so excited to get into a room and show you what I can do. That's because I was always very good at cold reading from a script and interpreting a character. Or showing a monologue that no one else would think to do. I had to spend some time dissecting not only how different this process felt and how I felt about it, but I also wanted to ruminate on what I felt was successful about how the audition was run.

A few years ago, I would have thought the only important part of an audition was how I performed. These days, I'm taught to think more process oriented, and I'm encouraged to question everything. This weekend I proposed the question to myself: How would I have run this devising audition? What could have made it better?

I'm certain (certain) that every devising audition is vastly different from another, because every devising project asks something different of us. In this audition they were looking for 7 performers who would perform physically together on a platform that's around 3ft x 7ft. This is their technique. Give the ensemble a huge obstacle and see what engaging theatre comes out of it.

That means this company was looking for: very physically precise performers, who could use their body in multiple ways, and knew how to share space and give focus. There were other things like accents, singing, and characters involved. But generally speaking, you're looking for a specific kind of performer, probably of not too varying height, and they did specify preferring people of color.

What I learned from watching my entire group perform is that these 30 second individual pieces didn't seem to serve the audition well. Many people did the same things, and for those of us (like me) whose idea was taken by someone else early in the line up, we were forced to try and take a risk being different doing something we hadn't rehearsed. Yes, the director gets to see an individual body move. Could that have been accomplished with a less in depth exercise? Absolutely. Did individual creativity matter from a 3 minute rehearsal? My experience in ensemble work is that you're learning to create together. Being a great individual creator doesn't make you a great ensemble member. In my opinion, giving such a labor intensive creation exercise to be judged on individually didn't reap huge rewards, especially when auditioning for a show that is not improvisation based.

I did think the sections of being grouped off in small and large ensembles was very effective. Perhaps if we'd had the extra time from the individual round allotted to this section they could have witnessed some very creative pieces. Again, many things were repeated. Certain groups agreed on an abstract aesthetic, and some agreed to be more literal. When not knowing your fellow creators, it can be difficult to find consensus on the kind of work you want to present in a high stakes audition. With our 3 minutes to rehearse my experience was going with the first idea and trying to sell it.

Reflecting on the audition I don't know that a creative space was made in the room until the end group performances. There wasn't an opportunity through exercises to showcase physicality. Because people were trying to show they could work in a small space, most stayed central during their performance. The time spent saying names and switching places didn't translate into anything helpful when we worked in groups later. Repeating the same story (American Revolution) in every audition performance could have bred creativity to try something different, but with the time crunch created instead a recycling of things. There seemed to be a lot of missed opportunities, and I'd like to think that's because they had to quickly restructure the time slots to accommodate more bodies. What would I have done differently?

I would have capped the number of people auditioning. I would have accepted no one late to the audition. I would have started with group exercises and not focused so much on names. Perhaps some trust exercises, certainly exercises of weight sharing or building images. I would have put the individual performances at the end, and prompted it to be a different story overall.

Something about asking people to perform individually in front of each other before creating a space for the group felt counter intuitive. As if the individual comes first, and not the ensemble. I would have cut exercises to give space for others to grow. And I would have been clear about what I was searching for. If you're searching for an individual who can be abstract, then let them know. If you want a literal representation--that's important to create with in mind. If you just want to see who improvises well, explain how that informs the process of the show.

To be fair, I can't know for certain exactly what they were searching for in this audition. I've seen clips of the show and know the end result. However, the show could have been half cast and they were searching for a specific role, height, size, or attitude of attack in someone. Maybe they were casting the entire thing and looking at people who were similar to who filled the roles before. There's no way to know, and it's pointless to speculate.

What I care about is how to create a space for devisers of varying degrees of experience to come together in a short amount of time and show their best selves. Unlike in a regular theatre audition, we didn't get to prepare something ahead of time, and we had to audition one after the other seeing when someone else was taking an idea of ours before we had the chance to implement it. There was a different level of trying to stand out, and an anxiety of people searching for what to show of themselves. It was unclear if being incredibly physical was more important than being precise, or if being thorough was more important than being interesting. With so many questions in the room and no time to answer them, I learned that a room with that energy didn't give as much space for creativity, jeu (play), or risks.

And if there's no risk, there's no reward.

Looking back on it, I didn't not enjoy myself. But I'm in a program where I audition every week a new idea I have. Sometimes every day. And I know by now the difference between when my creativity is being squashed and when it's being pushed.  I also know by now, that if you asked others at this audition they would disagree with me. That's the beauty of devising, I suppose. Everybody likes to do it differently. If you're lucky enough to find others who enjoy doing it the way you do, that's something special.

I think devising auditions don't happen very often, and because of that it's something without form. Even still--it needs to function. It needs to serve the purpose of seeing the best sides of your performers, by setting them up for success before they enter the room--and definitely when they're in it.

Life on the Road: Lessons to be learned from a Touring Artist

My tour of Washington included many murals.

I've been staying pretty busy with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I was cast in November, rehearsed all of January and opened in February. We started out with a few shows here and there but the pace has really picked up.

We left Seattle for the month of April to travel to Northern and Eastern Washington (and eventually a bit of Idaho)  on what Book-It calls an expansion tour. It was my first taste of life on the road as a job. We'd previously been making mostly day trips in the Seattle area, and a few over night trips on several of the islands. Now we were leaving home with our bags and not coming back for three weeks.

Three actors, one touring van, and a sizable set took off to see the state! I have to say that I really enjoyed it. Tour life agrees with me. Many of the schools we went to were full of children that had never seen a live production before, and several of them had booked tours with Book-It Rep in the past and were really looking forward to their one annual theatrical performance.

Children's Theatre is an incredibly rewarding experience in many ways, but I think my favorite is getting to introduce the performing arts to young creative minds. After every show (of which we did two a day) we held 'talk-backs' where the kids got to ask us questions. I had the lucky opportunity to run these talk backs and I got to facilitate the answering of all the questions.   Many of the children that hadn't seen theatre before were amazed at simple things like quick costume changes and remembering all the lines. Others wanted to know how long we'd been acting, how did we learn to do it, and was it too late to start?  My absolute favorite part was seeing kids faces light up when they fully understood that acting was our job, and that it could be their job too.

One great quote from a question and answer session came from a one building school house in a very rural part of Eastern Washington. There were about 40 kids in attendance and after the show a little girl (maybe first or second grade) asked me, "Why is the Queen of Heart's so mean?" I play the Queen in our production, and she can be a very intimidating character so I was prepared to field the question. "Do you ever wake up on the wrong side of the bed somedays?" I asked, like I usually do. "No," the little girl said--which totally stumped me. Then out of nowhere an older boy spoke up and very simply said, "It's just how she feels." To which the little girl nodded sagely. And we looked around and realized that everyone understood that explanation! So simple. So cute. And so wise.

We had several especially fun performances, one of which was a school of about 600 students who were celebrating facial hair day. We came out onstage, and I looked up to say my first line only to see 600 or so bearded and mustachioed children looking back at me (clearly having forgotten that they had all drawn on their faces in colored markers) expectantly. That was possibly the biggest challenge not to break I've faced.

I have to say that this tour has taught me a lot about the different kind of theatrical experiences you can have in your professional career.  Every show is different, and every company is different. But it's important to take lessons away from each production you do to help you on the winding path to success in this crazy business. Here are several lessons I learned:

Like getting a flat tire when you're supposed to perform in 30 minutes.

1. Doing a show without a stage manager is as fun as it is frustrating. We have no stage manager touring with us, which means that we're in charge of our own show. We run our tech, we make our own executive decisions about show adjustments, and we keep track of our own schedules. This can be very freeing, not having a person to answer to. However, I now know that I don't enjoy fixing my own props, sewing my torn costumes, or generally not having someone who is responsible for issues that arise. My 'mainstage' mentality has had to adjust to tour life quite a bit.

2. It's important to introduce children to live theatre not just so they can experience acting and storytelling, but also so they can learn audience etiquette. I'd never thought about what age children are when they learn how to be an audience member. Many students had to be told by the faculty that cheering was for sporting events and clapping was for when you enjoy something at the theatre. Other student audiences were so incredibly free with their laughter and vocal responses because they'd never been told they had to sit in silence respectfully--and that was a beautiful thing. Children's Theatre is definitely a lesson in audience engagement.

3. It's hard to be healthy on the road. Many hotels (surprisingly) don't have gyms or aren't in safe places to go for a run. Without a kitchen it can be difficult to make your own food, especially if you want it to be fresh food, not from a box. We were lucky enough to stay in a suite for a week that had a kitchen, but I know this isn't a normal accommodation for a touring actor.

4. SAVE. The whole point of touring is that you aren't paying for lodging, so you should be saving that rent money. If you're with a wonderful company who pays you per diem or a stipend for food you should be able to save most of that as well. Budget what you think you'll need for food before you leave. And get your fellow actors on the same page. My cast agreed to do mostly grocery shopping and very little eating out. I shopped before I left and barely bought anything while we were out. If you're smart about it, you can walk away with more money than you'd think. Also, just don't ever accept a touring job that doesn't pay for your food. That's cheap and you're worth more.

5. A positive attitude is a must in any professional work environment--but especially so in a small van or a shared hotel room. If you have something to vent about do it and then leave it behind. There's no room for an attitude.

6. Two shows a day for three weeks teaches you that water and a good warm up really are the most important tools an actor has at their disposal.

7. Take time to go out and enjoy your new surroundings. We visited parks, local hole in the wall restaurants, did some wine tasting, and even attended a guest lecture by Jared Diamond while on tour. The whole point of going on the road is to really experience all the places you're traveling too. That could mean walking in a corn field, checking out the mountain biking path, or going dancing at the nearest downtown hot spot. Take time away from the show to remember you like doing other things--you'll need the distance.

8. On the flip side of that, don't be afraid to stay in with your cast and watch Dirty Dancing and Boy Meets World. Relaxing is important too.

9. Do a tour. If you haven't done it and you think you'd like it--do it. And then get ready for all the other touring companies to call you and ask you to do theirs. They will because being a touring artist is a special skill. Not everyone enjoys it. Not everyone wants to be away from home for that long. But once you do one you can really set the bar for where your professional standards are. I lucked into a great one for my first touring gig. And I don't think I fully appreciated how great it was until I had other offers. You would be surprised at how many companies want you to travel 1,000+ miles a week for $300 or less. You'd be surprised at how many companies want to book you for an entire six months on the road with no vacation except your weekends. And you'd be surprised at how many give you pennies for a food stipend. Do your homework and be prepared to ask yourself some serious questions about what you think you'd enjoy. Not just what you can handle, but what you actually want to spend a significant amount of time putting yourself through.

10. Figure out the direction you want to take in your career. This is something I'm still juggling (obviously. And aren't we all?). Once you do Children's Theatre you have an in with a lot of companies. They'll see it on your resume and know that they can use you and your experience to help them get all that educational grant money they want. As they should! Educational theatre is incredibly important for the next generation of artists and theatre goers alike! But do you want a career of Children's Theatre? Do you want to tour for a significant amount of time? Do you think other companies looking for their next Shakespearean ingenue will skip over you for an audition because they see your last few credits are for kids? Do you want the money you can save by going on tour more than the opportunity to play a role that reviewers will write about even if you have to give 3/4 of your paycheck to your landlord for rent?  Really put your business hat on and realize that Children's Theatre and being a touring artist will open new doors for you--and it's your responsibility to keep all the doors you're interested in open.

It's been a crazy 4 1/2 months of theatre for me.  I've learned a lot. More than I think I usually do purely because this is the longest contract I've ever taken. By the end of this run I will have done 70+ performances of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. One more month to go!

But as usual, I'm enjoying this crazy theatrical life--and already looking ahead. I have some fun big announcements coming your way as soon as I'm clear to reveal all!

I can dunk in an elementary school gym!

The best BBQ in all of Eastern Washington is in the tiny town of Republic. GO THERE.