Seven Lakes High School Theatre Audition Process

To be Eligible to Audition

• Every year Studio VII Theatre Company puts on three main stage performances, and any student that attends Seven Lakes High School is able to audition!
• The week of or before the audition, the audition packet will be uploaded to the Studio VII Theatre Company website and fill out all the information on this form.
• Turn in your audition packet with a picture of yourself stapled to the back of the audition form a day or two before the audition.
• You must be passing all classes. Just like sports there is a strict no pass, no play policy.

With all those things done now you’re officially able to audition!

How to be Considered Being a Part of the Cast

• You have to be at a minimum of one audition day. If you aren’t able to attend a day, or you have to come late or leave early, talk to Mr. Chocs before the audition commences.

Tip: The more Mr. Chocs sees you the bigger chance you have to impress him. If he sees you around a lot you be sure to stand out when he casts!

• BE LOUD! If you’re on stage and Mr. Chocs can’t hear you he will not consider you as a cast member. If he can’t hear you how will the audience? The more you project your voice the better chance you’ll have.
• “Play the game” – this will show you take the audition seriously and it means a lot to Mr. Chocs. If you show up in a hoodie and leggings it’s disrespectful to the process and Mr. Chocs will immediately see you in a negative light. Dress to impress!
• Make sure to not have your phone during the audition Mr. Chocs hates phones and if he sees you on a phone he will definitely not want you in the show!!!!
• During the audition be quiet and respectful and sit one seat apart from anyone else. If Mr. Chocs catches you talking he will not be happy. “You’re always auditioning.”

What to Wear

Girls: wear dresses, make sure they’re not too short because you’re going to be moving around and you don’t want everyone seeing something inappropriate. If you’re nervous, wear spandex, Nike shorts, or some sort of shorts to wear underneath to be sure. You could also wear slacks and a nice shirt, or a romper. Dress to impress but make sure to stay comfortable, and make sure your outfit is reliable. A wardrobe mishap should be the last thing on your mind while onstage. Do not wear tennis shoes or sneakers. Sandals or heels are a good option, but make sure you can walk in them and that they aren’t too tall. You don’t want to look like Bambi wobbling all over the stage and you don’t want everyone watch you eat it because you’ve never worn heels before. Make sure your hair is out of your face and make sure to not be messing with it while on stage. That’s a big pet peeve of Mr. Chocs.

Boys: A nice button down dress shirt  is great with slacks and dress shoes. Make sure your socks aren’t white with black dress shoes, and that your collar is in place. That’s another one of Mr. Chocs big pet peeves.  

Tips to be Ahead of the Game

• Read the show before!! If you read the show before you’ll be able to background information during the cold read making your acting more believable
• Bring your own script to the audition. You can follow along and it’ll show you put in extra effort.
• Practice your projection before the audition!
• Prepare a monologue before the audition for a part you have your eye on, or just to have more time in the spotlight. Show Mr. Chocs your skills!
• During the audition, there are prepared cold reads so get a group together and practice a scene from the show to present for Mr. Chocs so when they give you 15 minutes to prepare, you won’t scramble for a group and you can practice beforehand.

When You Get to the Audition

You can either show up to school already dressed or you can bring a change of clothes. If you decide to change after school, change and get ready in the bathroom and then wait in the theatre hall until Mr. Chocs calls you into the PAC. Make sure to leave your things in the hall including your phone. You can bring a water bottle if you would like.

The Audition

Mr. Chocs will explain what the audition will consist of. But just to know prior to everyone will wait in the PAC until Mr. Chocs calls your name and you’ll read a scene from a side that are laid out on the apron chocs will pick the side and the part you’re reading for. The selection is randomized so don’t be scared if you get a one liner part to read. When you get on stage each group will have a few minutes to get familiarized with the side. First day of auditions will just be cold reads the next day will most likely include prepared cold reads and prepared monologues.

Tips!

• Make sure to talk to the group of people you’re acting with and plan out what you’re going to do. Ask who is playing what character so you know who you are acting to or talking about during the scene. It’ll make you look more professional and make the scene run more smoothly.
• Do something different! Be creative in your scene so it’s something different for Mr. Chocs to see. You don’t need to copy what everyone else is doing.
• Make sure to analyze each scene before your own, and how they perform it to make your own critiques and make the scene even better. First day of auditions will just be cold reads, and the next day will most likely include prepared cold reads and monologues!

Mr. Chocs will let you know when the cast list will be submitted on the Studio VII Theatre Company website. Mr. Heersen will play a game with the kids that auditioned where he will hide and delay the cast list submission. You’ll see his messages on the website or on twitter @StudioVII. He does this just to mess with the actors. Don’t worry about it too much because the list will go up eventually. This process is the same with UIL auditions, SDOAS, Scenes From…, the black box show.

Musicals

Musicals have the same acting audition, but the dance and singing auditions are very different.

To be Eligible to Audition

The eligibility standards for musicals are the same as straight plays, but with musicals you have to attend all three audition days because each audition day is different. One day is used entirely for acting, one for dancing, and one for singing.

When You Get to the Audition

With musical auditions same for straight plays, get ready and then wait in the theatre hallway for Mr. Chocs to call you into the PAC.

What to Wear

• For the acting and singing auditions, still dress to impress unless Mr. Chocs instructs differently. For dancing auditions, dress to move so wear tennis shoes, jazz shoes, leggings, basketball shorts or anything you feel comfortable working out in is acceptable. But of course, still follow school dress code.

Tips to be Ahead of the Musical Game

• Keep in contact with Mr. Chocs about all the information indicating the time, days of auditions will be.
• Prior to audition get the sheet from either Mr. Chocs or online at the studio vii website and practice with the music and bring your sheet music to the audition
• Ask Mr. Chocs if there will be any dance instruction before the actual dance audition so you can practice the dance at home.

The Audition

The acting audition will be the same as the straight play auditions.                                                                                                               

In the dancing audition, they’ll call you into the PAC and they’ll briefly teach you the dance, and then you’ll wait in the PAC seats until the dance instructor calls small groups to dance on stage.

In the singing audition, there are multiple songs for girls and boys to pick from.A group with the other people singing the same song as you will go into the choir room to practice the songs with the choir teacher, and then you go out to practice for a couple minutes, then they call you in. In small groups alphabetically, you’ll sing your song by yourself with music accompaniment then you are able to leave.  

With each audition, no matter how much you mess up, or if you don’t know the show at all, give everything you do your all. Confidence is KEY to nailing any audition and even if you don’t make it, never give up and persevere even through rejection.

Terminology used in this article

• Straight play – Every year on the first to third week of school, Studio VII Theatre Company has audition for a straight play. A straight play is a theatrical play with no dancing/ singing only acting.
• UIL – A straight play that is used in a competition against other schools in the state. Usually more excluded to upperclassmen and company member for the cast.
• SDOA’S – Student directed one acts are two different acts from two different straight plays where upperclassmen direct and cast. Gives underclassmen an opportunity to be on stage.
• Scenes from… – Upperclassmen from the highest theatre class direct multiple straight play scenes where students from theatre one mainly play the leads but auditions are open to other who want to be apart of it.
• Black Box show – A mainstage production that is put on every other year that is performed in the black box rather than on the pac stage.
• Musical – A mainstage production that is put on every other year which consists of dancing, singing and acting.
• Cast list – A list of people who made the show with what part they got.
• Cast – The actors as a group in a play.
• Project – To speak louder without yelling.
• Play the game – To dress nicely and appropriately for an audition.
• Cold Read – A type of audition style where actors have to put on a scene shortly after seeing the script for the first time.
• Prepared Cold Read – A type of audition style where students get to prepare a scene from the show prior to the audition.
• Prepared Monologues – A type of audition style where students get to prepare a monologue prior to the audition to perform for the director.
• Side’s – A cutting of the script into short scenes for the usage during the cold read style of audition.
• Mr. Heersen – The technical theatre teacher who manages the technical aspects of every performance put on by Studio VII.
• Audition – A display of acting singing or dancing talent /skill for a casting director.
• Sheet music – A printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece.
• Main stage – A performance put on by studio VII twice a year, can be a musical and straight play or a black box performance and straight play.
• Scene – A section of the play where an important factor of the story occurs.
• Script – The written version of a play or movie with the lines of each character.
• Act – A part of a play that is defined by the elements such as rising action, climax, and resolution.
• PAC – Performing arts center at Seven Lakes High School.
• Mr. Chocs – The theatre teacher and director at Seven Lakes.
• Studio VII – The theatre company at Seven Lakes.