6a Pilot Observation

Pilot Observation Results

For my pilot observation I decided to watch a recent audition we held at the theatre for singers and dancers for our upcoming Broadway series shows. Here I was acting as an insider-researcher. For this I sat at the back of the theatre and observed and took notes on the process.

Some of the observations I made are below:
- Candidates entered and waited in the lobby. About 50 candidates showed up
- The Director hired a pianist to play for the singing part of the audition
- Candidates were handed a form by some of the helpers to complete and attach their photo and resume to
- Each person was measured by wardrobe department for costuming before waiting to sing
- Each person sung two contrasting songs with the piano accompaniment and showed off any musical skills they had
- The director was handed the resume of each person before they went up, which he looked and the name and put on the floor! He knew what he was looking for and cared about talent and casting for the role, not previous experience
- Candidates could sit and watch after singing. The auditorium was open for people to view!
- I noticed the director was asking how many were left after about 1 1/2. It was a lot to sit through which made me realise how much you have to grab their attention and stand out.
- Candidates that did something different (funny, played something, wore something bright) stood out!
- The director asked for them to stand near the piano (stage left). Some came up and didn't. You have to show you can take direction and this was not good on their behalf.
- After singing it was the dancing call. I took this in groups of 20. I taught them a difficult routine very quickly and then they performed in smaller groups of 8.
- There were no cuts made and everyone was seen

Although I have attended many auditions myself, it was very interesting to be on the other side of it for once. I observed just how important it is to stand out. It is a long procces and directors get bored. They want to see something fresh and with so many people it is important to get noticed and be remembered. I spoke with the director at the end and we went through the pile of resumes. Only a few stood out to us some of which we are recalling. A couple of people got automatically cast for roles and many didn't make the cut. From this pilot observation I learned the process of auditioning from the companies point of view and what they look for. Next time I think video recording such an event would be useful to analyse as you cannot always write everything you see down.