The Auditions
More stories from Madelyn Cottrell
Former student Emily Thomas showing Gabby Bruce and Natalie Marshal the tap dance
For some, auditions can be one of the most daunting experiences. Standing in front of 20 pairs of eyes and a focused director can be intimidating, but it is all part of the process that makes a show happen.
August 6th, the Mount Vernon Theatre Department hosted auditions for the fall show, Shrek The Musical. Students interested in being cast were asked to prepare about 30 seconds of a song, and everyone performed a short dance for the physical part of the audition.
Competition was intense, and during the night of callbacks, most students did not receive their casting notices until past 11 pm.
Casting for shows are unpredictable. Callbacks often do not determine anything, Callbacks often don’t determine roles, as stated in the MV Theatre Handbook. Sometimes actors are cast in roles they may not have read for.
There have been some noticeable changes in the way are being run, especially amongst cast members who have been in previous productions. Understudies are a new addition to the casting list, as well as swings who will be covering the tracks of several ensemble roles. Lexi Price stood in briefly during High School Musical as Gabriela Montez, but in Shrek, each lead has someone understudying their roles.
“We decided to implicate understudies and swings for this production incase the originals are unavailable or ill,” said Ms. Davis
Over 100 students applied for tech or auditioned to be part of the cas for Shrek The Musical. Thirty applications were accepted for tech, and 29 were cast to be in the company of Shrek.
“I’m very excited to be directing Shrek,” said Ms. Davis, an English teacher who doubles as the director of MV Theatre. “We had a fantastic turnout at auditions with new and old faces, and we are very excited to get started.”
The Kingdom of Duloc opens its gates to the community on November 21st-24th for anyone interested in the story of Shrek coming to life on stage.
