2008 Woodie Awards
Working in the Annie
Kelly Castino
Issue date: 10/2/06 Section: Life & Times
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It is opening night of "Annie Get Your Gun," and I am waiting in the greenroom ready to help anyone who needs it. The crew has been practicing the show for the last week while the cast has been working on it for the past month. We have had production meetings to improve each of our performances. When you work in the production element of a show, you do not get much sleep and need to manage your time wisely, but by the time it is over you will be able to recite the majority of the play or musical along with a group of your fellow peers.
Before the director could start working on the show, though, Dr. Jennifer Jones Cavenaugh, the Winifred M. Warden Endowed Chair in the theatre department, had to choose a cast. So many people turned out for the audition, however, that the directors had to extend the auditioning time an extra two hours.
The directors put the callback lists up the next morning. For those who made it through the first round, they have to try out again with the directors and wait for another call back until the directors are finally complete in making their decisions. Eventually, they post the final "cast list" and rehearsals commence. This is when the real work begins.
The audition can be nerve-racking if it is a person's first time. I, for one, experience my first time in an audition at Rollins College. For this, I had to prepare either a one-minute monologue or sing sixteen bars and present it in front of the four directors for the season. At the audition, my hands were sweaty, my legs were shaking, and my throat was dry. I did not get the part but it was a great experience. I invite anyone who likes a challenge to try out for a play.
There are many misconceptions about being either on the theatre crew or in the cast of a show. I want to set those misconceptions straight because I used to be one of those persons before I actually got involved with the crew. Theatre is a very involved interest because it involves devoting many late-nights, and an endless amount of time. Depending on what crew a person is on or whether they are in the cast, the hours change.
Before the director could start working on the show, though, Dr. Jennifer Jones Cavenaugh, the Winifred M. Warden Endowed Chair in the theatre department, had to choose a cast. So many people turned out for the audition, however, that the directors had to extend the auditioning time an extra two hours.
The directors put the callback lists up the next morning. For those who made it through the first round, they have to try out again with the directors and wait for another call back until the directors are finally complete in making their decisions. Eventually, they post the final "cast list" and rehearsals commence. This is when the real work begins.
The audition can be nerve-racking if it is a person's first time. I, for one, experience my first time in an audition at Rollins College. For this, I had to prepare either a one-minute monologue or sing sixteen bars and present it in front of the four directors for the season. At the audition, my hands were sweaty, my legs were shaking, and my throat was dry. I did not get the part but it was a great experience. I invite anyone who likes a challenge to try out for a play.
There are many misconceptions about being either on the theatre crew or in the cast of a show. I want to set those misconceptions straight because I used to be one of those persons before I actually got involved with the crew. Theatre is a very involved interest because it involves devoting many late-nights, and an endless amount of time. Depending on what crew a person is on or whether they are in the cast, the hours change.
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