This year’s musical, Newsies, centers around Newsies and their leader Jack Kelly as they hold a strike against the raising of their paper prices. But what may be the most important first step in creating Newsies is the process of casting the best students for each role. Each character must be played by the best actor for the role, carefully chosen by the directors, Adam Fry and Linda Searles, after a grueling audition process. “I will say the casting is the most difficult part of directing.” says Fry. “A lot of the time I will base it upon their actual personality first. If I don’t find it meshes, then oftentimes I will check if they can actually bring something interesting to their character.”
The audition process isn’t just difficult for the directors, however; auditioning students must also put in a lot of effort in order to get the role they want. 8th-grader Lily Glidden speaks for many students when she expresses the tediousness of getting a video audition right. “The most challenging part of the process for me was perfecting my video. I would record it over and over again and I would keep finding falsifications with the one I did before. I was up really late trying to perfect it.”
Even though auditions may be demanding, auditioners like Selah Jones are always eager to try out. Selah likes auditioning for the musicals for the experience and the people. “I decided to audition for Newsies because I really like being in musicals, it’s a really fun experience for me, and I’ve been doing it since I was in sixth grade, and it’s so nice to be able to meet new people.” Although for some people, especially sixth graders, it must seem very scary to have to audition in front of teachers you have never met before, do it! It’s a good experience and helps you practice for the next time you want to audition for something, and you never know, you might just get in. Fry says that auditioning has benefits, even though the chances of your getting in may be slim. “Do it and just go through the motions of it. I feel like the more you do it, the better you get,” he says. “If you haven’t gone through the audition process, it can be something very foreign to you, because it’s all you, and it feels like you’re putting yourself out there, on the line. It can be very humbling, in a way, so if you haven’t done it before, it can be very overwhelming, so I would just say do it.”
According to Mr. Fry, there are a few ways that anyone can easily improve their audition. “I can always tell in your audition if you’ve put time and energy into it” he explains. “It is really important that you know the show, and know the parts so that nothing comes as a surprise for you.” While at first it may seem to be a daunting task, auditioning is all about the level of commitment and confidence the auditioner possesses. You must put in the time and effort, otherwise it will be clear for the director to see, and it can jeopardize your chances of getting into the production. Make sure to be able to understand the plot of the show, and understand the characters so when the time comes for callbacks or auditions, you know how to behave and act for that certain character.