Question about auditions and inclusion

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

One of the things that Theatre@First has been considering over the past couple of years are ways to be more welcoming and inclusive as an organization, ways to celebrate the diversity within our theatre community, and ways to reach out more vigorously to our entire community.

If you're a local actor, I hope that you already know that we are holding auditions for our March 2012 production of Pride & Prejudice next week. If you didn't know and are interested, please visit our website for more info and to make an appointment.

We work hard to make our auditions as low-stress as possible, given what an inherently stressful situation it is. As the director of this show, I want to do everything I can to encourage interested actors, to help them to give their best performance in auditions, and to communicate that each actor receives my full consideration.

Here are some of the things we're already doing: We try to project a welcoming, supportive environment. We include a section about diversity in our mission statement. We put the readings we'll be using on our website, so that they're not really "cold". We don't ask for resumes or head shots and our audition forms don't ask the actors to give us their age or any information about their appearance. We provide water and snacks. We try to explain our process as much as possible. We have people whose main job at auditions is to mingle with the actors, focusing on the new faces, answering questions, making a personal connection and helping everyone to relax and feel comfortable with us.

A recent article has me thinking about stereotype threat and considering whether there are stereotypes likely to be activated in the audition situation and whether there are ways to mitigate that potential.

If you have any suggestions or perspective to offer, I'm interested in your thoughts.

Comments

[spacehawk.livejournal.com]

Suppose a non-op trans*/genderqueer person wants to audition for a part that is of the gender opposite that which they were assigned at birth. Is your organization open to that person getting that role if he/she/ze can act well, yet does not pass (or pass easily)?

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

As an organization, Theatre@First is entirely open to whatever casting decisions a show director makes.

Personally, I am delighted to audition actors for the roles they are excited about. After that it comes down to whether I am convinced that a particular actor is the best choice for a particular role.

[spacehawk.livejournal.com]

Thanks, that's what I'm asking about, what goes into deciding what makes someone the "best choice" for the role. I've seen this come up in LARP, for instance, and it can get messy because while some GMs are open to casting people according to the gender(s) with which they identify (or cross-casting), others are against it, and that becomes discriminatory.

So, I'm reading from your response here that Theatre@First does not have a non-discrimination policy that covers this specifically, and it is left entirely up to the individual casting directors?

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Since theatre is a artistic endeavor, it's a very subjective process. I sit in on other directors auditions and have learned to be fascinated, rather than appalled, as they make choices that I would never make. They see things that I don't, and vice versa. As an organization we welcome volunteers on a non-discriminatory basis, but whether and what roles an actor is cast in is at the sole discretion of the individual show directors. If you have thoughts on how it could be otherwise, I'd be interested in having that conversation--feel free to email me at this username.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, I am a T@F/PMRP actor and cis-female who has been cast in male roles (which I played as male -- we didn't change the character's gender) multiple times without being able to pass at all. I like to believe that I won the roles because of choices I made in gesticulation, posture, carriage and use of voice --- whatever the reason I landed the roles, it certainly wasn't for the way I looked. I'm not an isolated case.

Every audition form I've ever filled out for T@F asked me what gender(s) I would be willing to play without asking my own gender. (The very first one may have, but that was 8 years ago and I don't remember. I got a male role, though :-))

I hope you'll audition if you want to.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

I think they do have a general policy that covers this specifically, in that I just pulled this from their website:

The mission of Theatre@First is to work together to provide a fun, friendly, and creative theater experience for cast, crew, and audience alike. We welcome volunteers at all levels of experience, without regard to race, color, religion, ethnicity, ancestry, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, national origin, body type, age or disability.

As a theater group, I think they do at least try to openly address about this question. Does the wording of that statement address the question well, or does it fall short? I'm sure they would want to know if it did fall short.

That said, yes, a policy statement is one thing, and what happens when people are doing the casting can be another, and I think lillibet's answer is more nuanced and in depth about the actual casting process.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

I think you should provide an anonymous way of giving this feedback, because the last thing many people want is to look like they are whining about not being cast when they have concerns about the fact they are not being cast. Not 'anyone can email me' unless you are never going to direct or act again (ie, you are not going to be responsible for that person not getting a role because you made the decision or competed for the role), I mean a genuine anonymous option.

I have genuine concerns about the fact I have *never* been cast in a T@F production. And there are real reasons why I have not been cast; I am well aware my morbid obesity makes it harder to cast me, even in a group that does have a lot of larger women. It is harder to balance me, especially on the small stages T@F uses. But I have been in 20 plays between 1985 and 2005 in 4 cities in 2 countries. 2 of them were paid. I have auditioned for T@F about 20 times in the past 6 years, so maybe 150 roles? Have I genuinely been bad for every single one of them? I certainly cannot act everything, but I can act.

If this had been a limited thing, or if I even got a non-speaking role or some other sinecure role, it would not concern me. But it has been going on long enough and consistently enough. I have nailed a couple auditions, and been told so by other actors.

It does not even need to be a case of every director having issues; if half of the directors don't cast me because I am wrong for their parts, and half the directors don't cast me because of the obesity, the end result is the same. But if even one of them does not cast me because of the obesity, you wind up with the same meritocracy fail. I do not know what to do about that.

There are unimportant reasons why I feel safe saying that at this point, but that is not actually my point. Having said that, I will not audition for T@F again, certainly not in the near future - because if I were cast, I would feel it would be a sympathy casting. So I feel ok opening this as a dialogue. But I cannot see how anyone who had not reached that point would be willing to tell you the problems that you feel might exist and how they affect them, without anonymity.

Unless you come up with a way of providing this info anonymously, you are not likely to get feedback, except from people who no longer care about their chances auditioning for T@F.

[spacehawk.livejournal.com]

I second this suggestion.

[ron_newman]

Perhaps - temporarily allow anonymous comments at theatreatfirst for a few days, repost this there, and link to it from here?

(I don't think there is any way for me as a davis_square mod to turn on allowing anon comments for a single post such as this one)

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

theatreatfirst is already set up to accept anonymous comments (with a Captcha), so this could happen.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

I have created a post (http://theatreatfirst.livejournal.com/140543.html) in the Theatre@First community. Anonymous comments are enabled, but must be unscreened.

[lac.livejournal.com]

I am looking to get into doing some local theatre actually. I've always wanted to and never have. Now, as a slightly older version of my younger self (heh...I'm 42), I am not sure if I've sort of missed the boat there. Although, I don't particularly look my age, which is a blessing really. I'd like to audition but never having done it, the whole thing kind of unnerves me. But I suppose the best thing to do would be to just do it. So, I'm more worried about ageism and not being an actual local actor at this point.

Lots to think about...

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

We are lucking to have snowballed some good age diversity -- gone are the days when at 40 I was one of the oldest. I'm 47 now and there are many older than me getting cast. Go forth and audition, whippersnapper! ;-)

[lac.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I think I will.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

You'd always be welcome. In P&P there are roles for a wide range of ages. On our audition forms we ask about acting experience--the ticky-boxes are "first show," "some," "not for a long time," and "many, many shows". We've had many actors begin acting with T@F and are very excited to bring new people to the stage.

I'm not gonna lie--auditioning can be stressful. I'm going to judge you and probably reject you, along with most of the other people auditioning--that's the job and it's not a fun part of it. But I will also be impressed that you stand up there on the stage, glad to have you there, and pleased to meet you. Please do consider it, either for this show or a future one.

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

On our audition forms we ask about acting experience--the ticky-boxes are "first show," "some," "not for a long time," and "many, many shows"

Hmmm... this has me thinking...

If I were maybe sorta considering auditioning (which I'm not, but that has to do with time-allocation issues and nothing else), I would find this very reassuring. Those ticky-boxes sound non-threatening to me. BUT If I hadn't read this far into this post b/c I'm generally interested in T@F's efforst on this topic, I wouldn't know how non-threatening the audition form is.

I wonder if it makes sense to put the audition form (assuming it's not that long) up in a jpg behind a cut, when you announce auditions on DSLJ? I mean, If I were scared to audition because it sounds intimidating, I might not go to the T@F website to see the resources there. But if I saw these friendly-sounding ticky-boxes in the anouncements, it might help me feel like this is something for me.

The question about gender above, f'rinstance. If I had been discriminated against for my gender-presentation frequently enough, I might start from a position of assuming that auditioning isn't for me. But if I saw what plumtreeblossom described-- only boxes asking what gender roles I'm comfortable playing, and not a question asking my own gender--that might put a little more at ease.

Which is all to say, I suspect your process is already quite unthreatening, and I wonder if you can somehow reveal more of it in the actual audition announcement?

[muffyjo]

The form is on the website

[lac.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Rejection actually does not bother me too much. My family is one of a performing bent and my mother was a stage performer and was in a band so I think if she thought I got pissy about rejection, she'd be annoyed. Plus, I work craft fairs with my jewelry and no one rejects like someone who thinks your stuff is crap.

So, I would expect to get rejected but that wouldn't stop me from trying again.

[bex77]

It would be great to see you at auditions! We have a diverse range of ages in the casts and crews. I don't know or care about the ages of actors, but I think all five actors in our last show were your age or older, and several of those auditioning were in their 70's. And I'd guess that actors in our last main stage production ranged in age from early 20's to late 60's. Also, we average about 50% new actors in each show. The last show, three of the five actors were new to us.

If you don't get cast this time, I hope you'll consider helping out in other ways. It takes a lot of people who are not acting to put on a show. And we have a lot of fun off-stage.

[lac.livejournal.com]

Actually, I would be more than happy to help out in other ways...it's a nice way to get involved.

Thanks so much!

[dpolicar]

Speaking as a 42-year-old T@F regular (cast in several plays, including some lead roles, directed a few times, active in the steering committee): please audition!

[lac.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the encouragement! I actually did make an appt to audition and I appreciate all the encouragement.

[ifotismeni]

i love this question, i've often wondered the same.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Somebody deleted the question. What was it?

[ifotismeni]

see below :)

[violet-helix.livejournal.com]

My bad.

[violet-helix.livejournal.com]

A few years ago, I wanted to work as crew for T@F. I went to the website signed up to volunteer and waited... and waited. I eventually ran into some T@F folks at Arisia and told them that I really wanted to work with them. I was given information about the upcoming volunteer day for their current production and I made it a point to attend. I was welcomed warmly and my help was appreciated, but it was very clear that I was "a volunteer" not "crew". I had really wanted to be a part of the team and that just didn't happen.

I've discussed this with a few T@F actors I know and their take has been that crew is usually drawn from those who audition but are not offered roles. Although I've since left the area, I'm still left wondering how someone with no desire to be on stage can become an active part of T@F.

I realize that this is only tangentially related to the question being asked, but I've wanted to get this out there for a while so I grabbed my chance.

[violet-helix.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I deleted my post because I realized there was some atrocious spelling. I didn't notice that there was already a reply.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

I've wanted to get this out there for a while so I grabbed my chance.

I'm glad that you did. I'm very sorry that was your experience. The only explanation I can offer is that someone dropped the ball, possibly me. You did all the right things. I'm bummed that you've left the area, because that makes it hard for us to make it right with you, but I will make sure that this becomes a cautionary tale for our Technical Directors and Producers.

It is not the case that our tech crew is drawn from non-cast actors. It is sometimes the case that people who have not been cast find an offstage niche on the show, but we've usually recruited much of our crew before auditions happen. Sometimes it does take a show or two before people find their niche, but we try to do a better job than you describe at integrating interested volunteers into the process.

If someone else reading this is interested in working crew on P&P, the best thing to do is to email tech at theatreatfirst dot org, introduce yourself and let us know how you'd like to get involved. If you're less of a techie, more of an administrative type, then info at theatreatfirst is the better bet. Or you can email me at this username and I'll see that the right connections are made.

[desireearmfeldt]

As someone who's had to recruit crew in the past, I think the problem you're encountering is that we're not strong on centralized, non-show-specific communications -- so if you're not volunteering to someone in charge of crew for a specific show, the information that you exist may not end up getting propagated to the person who will be recruiting two months from now. My impression is that auditioners are a source, but not the main one, of crew. But producers/directors end up networking for crew, which means they often end up recruiting people known to them or someone close to them--not because we wouldn't love new recruits, but because we haven't asked the right person to lead us to the new people. The group is still working on between-shows infrastructure, in general; part if still being a relatively young, volunteer-run group.

[muffyjo]

This has certainly been true over the years but is no longer the case. We now have a centralized volunteer list of people who have written in asking to volunteer, what things they'd like to help with and how they have asked that we reach them. We have reached out to all of the people on the list and are working on ways to meet them (if they are new) and encourage their participation. With the help of this list we found a variety of new crew from Producers to Stage Managers.

I would encourage people interested in volunteering to write to tech AT theatreatfirst DOT org.

[desireearmfeldt]

Hooray! (I should have added the caveat to my original comment, that the last time I looked for crew for a full-scale show was several years ago, which in the life of a group that's just coming up on a decade old, is like forever...I still think of it as recent, but it wasn't, really.)

[bex77]

I am so sorry this happened. Thank you very much for bringing it up! I am happy to report that we are making progress to make sure it doesn't happen again. The tech coordinator has started a google doc with names and areas of interest/experience of anyone who volunteers, and is sharing it with producers to help them fill positions, and to be sure folks who are willing get called on to help.

[smacaski.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry this happened to you! Like you, I've had no desire to ever appear on stage--I managed to get a crew position in my first show because I was friends with the festival director, who gave my name to the Tech Director... it was a fortuitous bit of networking. I can see that it could be hard without that "in."

When I've TD'd and produced in the past, I've tried to keep in contact with auditioners who expressed interest in crew/house positions. As lillibet noted below, most of the crew positions are filled even before auditions, so I think I didn't feel a need to expand the search for crew.

I did run into a situation earlier this year when I was trying to find a substitute for a crew member, so I posted on the Theatre@First LJ and Facebook page and to our mailing list--it didn't occur to me to try the DSLJ. If you're not subscribed to those, I'd recommend doing that, especially the
mailing list (http://www.theatreatfirst.org/mailinglist.shtml)--it's a good way to keep up to date on T@F happenings and even other theatre projects in the area, some of which also sometimes are asking for crewmembers. We try not to be spammy.

It usually works that way...

[litia2005.livejournal.com]

You know somebody who knows somebody. How else could it work, really? :)