How to Transform Your Audition Process into a Learning Opportunity for Students

Theatre auditions have a multitude of purposes. Most obviously, they help theatre leaders scope out talent for their shows and vitally assist in the casting process. But, when organized and carried out correctly, auditions can serve a much greater purpose and positively affect everyone involved. 

Creating a positive and educational audition environment lends itself to multiple teaching moments – both for auditionees and auditioners – and also offers benefits for students like hard and soft skill development, confidence building, and the diminishment of stage fright or performance anxiety. 

You might wonder: how can I curate this positive atmosphere during my auditions instead of the staid, serious process I utilize now? Look no further for some tips! On The Stage offers several ways to transform your audition process into a positive learning opportunity for students. 

How To Help Students Learn During Auditions

Shift the Perspective 

Audition day feels more like judgment day for many performers, regardless of age or skill level. The anxiety, lack of confidence, and stage fright all culminate into what is often a negative experience. 

As a theatre leader, you have a very real opportunity to reshape the idea of auditions at large, shifting the perspective into something positive and, dare we say it, even fun. If you aren’t sure where to start, here are a few ways to flip the script:

• Before auditions, reframe the process as an important stepping stone for up-and-coming actors, rather than a tense, pressure-ridden affair. Presenting it as a rite of passage rather than something to fear will help students relax and, as a result, perform better. 
• Emphasize growth and learning during the audition process by creating a safe space for auditionees to take risks, make mistakes, and learn more about their crafts. A judgment-free zone is key – both for judges and administrators, but also for other students. 
• Encourage students to see auditions not as a pass-or-fail experience, but rather a chance to learn more about how the process works and to gain experience for the future. An audition is not a test – it is a learning experience. 

Prepare Students for the Process

The best way to diminish fear and anxiety in students is by shining a light on the entire audition process. This means preparing your students and equipping them with the tools they need to succeed. And not the day before, but weeks in advance. 

While your bandwidth, time availability, and financial resources may fluctuate depending on the time of year, there are a variety of ways to help students out before audition day. These include:

• Hosting pre-audition workshops that students can attend. There, you can teach actors the skills they’ll need to ace an audition – like cold readings, general stage presence, monologue and vocal performance, and improvisation. 
• Providing easily digestible resources or guidance on audition etiquette. After all, every actor has to learn the rules of the trade at some point. Why not lay out audition etiquette for everyone to ensure equal footing on audition day? This helps in creating an equitable and fair process for all. 
• Being clear about expectations in terms of preparation and day-of requests. Don’t beat around the bush with your expectations. How long does the monologue need to be? Will there be choreography to learn? How many bars of a song are needed? What should the students wear? How long should they be prepared to stay? While this information might not be readily available in the ‘real world,’ you aren’t doing a disservice by offering students all the tools they need to feel confident. 
• Encouraging students to take the process seriously by practicing and experimenting with their material. Let them know that this is something they should be working on well in advance. Thus, while creating a calm, low-stress environment, you also emphasize the importance of being prepared. 

Foster a Supportive Environment

At its core, a theatre should always be a place of warmth and inclusivity. And, while students can do a lot of that community formation on their own, it’s your responsibility to light that fire and set a good example for everyone else.  Creating a supportive environment for your students can look different for everyone, but here are a few suggestions to get you started:

• Encourage students from all backgrounds and skill levels to apply. This is especially important if you’re working in a school ecosystem. The last thing you want is to create a clique within the theatre department – a problem we see all too often. This will discourage students from other backgrounds from even approaching you! Instead, ensure you’re marketing your audition information across the community and make sure everyone is welcome to come in, audition, learn, and grow.
• Offer constructive feedback – whether before auditions with individual students or during the process. The objective is to help students grow, not discourage them from auditioning again. Additionally, avoid “yes” and “no” answers to students’ feedback questions; it’s your responsibility to help them improve. 
• Present insight into what directors tend to look for in auditions. This, again, comes back to giving students all the tools they need to succeed. Let actors know exactly what they should be doing to secure a callback. 
• Remain impartial across the board. Ask any student; it’s fairly obvious when a teacher has a favorite. Make sure this doesn’t happen to you. Don’t show bias to auditionees who come through your doors – even if it’s the best audition you’ve seen. Everyone should be on a level playing field, so avoid standing ovations, eyebrow raises, or audible commentary. 

Incorporate Educational Elements

As we’ve stressed, the audition process can and should be, a teaching moment for your students. This means incorporating some form of education into the process so students can be better equipped moving forward. Consider:

• Organizing mock auditions. Simply walking through the motions of something often takes away a lot of the stress. If you sense that your students are anxious about the process, give them a trial run with mock auditions so they can acclimate to the experience. Here, you can be a bit looser with the rules of engagement, offering real-time feedback and suggestions to make the day-of run smoother.
• Providing group learning opportunities. Peer feedback sessions are an excellent example of this. Allow students to collaborate and engage with one another, taking and giving advice as they see fit. (You can, of course, step in if things are veering off course). Not only are they learning, but they’re also bonding – which means the audition process will be less frightening. It’s not as scary to perform in front of a room of your friends, right? 
• Using the audition process to teach professionalism and resilience. In theatre and in life in general, professionalism and grit go a long way. This means handling things with grace. The audition process is a great time to teach your students how to behave professionally – especially if things don’t go their way. 

Follow-Up Post-Audition

The learning process shouldn’t end the moment the auditions are over. Instead, extend the educational component of auditions by following up with students after the process concludes. A few ways to do so include: 

• Providing individual feedback to students on their performance. Giving constructive criticism is a foundational element in later success. Celebrate the wins and examine the issues. Once students know their strengths and weaknesses, they can move forward confidently. 
• Sharing ways students can improve or explore their strengths further. So, you’ve given your students their high and low points. Now, offer ways to expand on those highs and improve upon those lows. Offer resources, tips, and suggestions to hone their crafts and come back stronger than ever for the next audition. 
• Recognizing students’ efforts publicly to encourage continued participation. Let’s be real: we all want a little validation, and students are no exception. Make sure your students feel celebrated for taking the risk of auditioning. If they do, you’ll likely see them again for the next showcase. 

How On The Stage Can Help

From audition day to opening night, creating a theatre showcase is a lot of work, especially for a theatre teacher balancing a lot of other creative, educational, and administrative plates. 

If you are looking for a partner to help lighten the load, On The Stage can help. On The Stage empowers educators to nurture their students’ unique talents while simplifying theatre management. This means you can focus on what matters: your students and your shows.

Offering ticketing, box office, marketing, fundraising, and reporting tools in one robust platform – for free – On The Stage will help you elevate your offerings and create a more expansive, supportive, and engaging classroom for your students. To get started, book a personalized demo today.