Don’t be shy
HAT auditions offer chance to join theatre community
On Sunday, November 4, Sydney’s Highland Arts Theatre is having auditions for performers for their 2019 seasons of plays. Some of the readers of this column might be considering trying out for them but are hesitating out of nerves or shyness or some other reason that will stop them from being an important part of a wonderful life changing experience.
Well, I’m here to help you follow your dream.
And I can say that because I have auditioned for a role in a play exactly one time in my entire community theatre career.
However, as a director, I have auditioned hundreds of aspiring performers so I know something about that side of the process.
The list of requirements about what you need to bring can seem daunting. For the complete set of audition guidelines and the list of upcoming productions, see www.facebook.com/HighlandArtsTheatre/
For auditioning in person, the HAT asks for a “contemporary monologue or one musical theatre song from a show of your choice – pieces should be no more than two minutes. Feel free to bring an accompaniment track or sing acapella” (solo voice without accompaniment). Those sending a video are advised to do the same but are advised if possible to use a karaoke track or piano accompaniment in your video.
So what to choose?
As much as directors like to see someone tackle challenging material, they also like to see their potential actors bring a piece of themselves to the stage. So, select something you are passionate about; be it a scene from a play or a movie you like and connect to or a song you love that is in your singing range and you can put your heart into.
Avoid choosing something you might think your director wants to hear (like a song from one of the show being cast) because everybody else will have the same idea and you will have to stand out from an endless line of renditions of the same song. Better to be known as the person who put their heart and soul into “Take Me Out To The Ball Game.”
Have fun with your monologue. Treat the people auditioning you as a real audience and directly engage them in your performance. If it is a dramatic piece, don’t just recite it, eyes on the ceiling, look at them and make them a part of the scene.
And remember this: everybody in that room is there to support you and want to help you give your best work possible. They are not there to judge you as a human being, just gently, kindly, appreciatively evaluate your strengths and weaknesses as a performer. And they fully understand what a nervewracking experience it is to audition because they have done many, many times themselves. They haven’t gotten every part they ever went out for but they persevered and that is why they succeeded. And they want the same for you.
The other thing you have working for you is that community theatre in Cape Breton is a community and an extremely welcoming one. It has roles for everyone from junior high school students to retirees and is a great social activity. You might become friends with people you have passed in the street and never exchanged a word with only to discover during the rehearsal process they are a passionate musical theatre fan just like you.
And, if you are accepted for a role, you will work with theatre professionals who will provide valuable training in voice and movement that actually has applications in the world outside the theatre (and that’s another column for another time).
Playwright and actor Alex Poirier, an Inverness County native and alumni of Toronto’s Humber School of Creative and Performing Arts, returns to the Highland Arts Theatre with two encore performances of his original play “Tough Call,” on Friday, November 3 and Saturday, November 3, 8 p.m. both nights.
The funny and raw play premiered earlier this year at the HAT and was an immediate hit with audiences with its story of a young man at work at a TV station on New Year’s Eve when a wrong number finds him taking to a young man contemplating suicide on the other end of the line.
“Tough Call,” a Viewer Discretion Production, contains mature themes and language that may not be suitable for children. Tickets are $20 each, and are available at the HAT box office, 40 Bentinck Street, Sydney, or at 902 565-3637, and online: /tickets.highlandartstheatre.com/