Auditions

Jessica Bertrand in Rosamund Small’s TomorrowLove

Jessica Bertrand in Rosamund Small’s TomorrowLove. Directed by Andrea Donaldson. Set design by Anna Treusch. Costume design by Sharon E. Secord. Lighting design by Paul Cegys. November 2018.

Auditions FAQ Current Show

Production Auditions

We typically produce two or three mainstage shows per year - in November and March on the main stage Theatre of the Arts, and sometimes in June/July. Auditions usually happen in the first week of the term but occasionally auditions for winter shows happen late in the fall term and auditions for the spring show happen late in the winter term. Audition requirements are posted below and on the UWaterloo Theatre & Performance Facebook page.

There may also be student projects for directing courses or thesis projects which require actors from time to time. Check the Call Board for information. Notifications are also posted to the UWaterloo Theatre & Performance Facebook page.

Auditions for upcoming production

SHE KILLS MONSTERS

The Theatre and Performance program’s fall production will be She Kills Monsters, written by Qui Nguyen and directed by David Leyshon.

Synopsis:

painting of teenage girl fighting a blue five-headed dragon Average Agnes is finally leaving her childhood home following the death of her sister Tilly. However, when she stumbles upon Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, Agnes embarks on an action-packed adventure to discover more about her geeky sibling than she previously cared to know. A queer love story and heartwarming comedy about loss, bullies, and dragons

The roles are open to UWaterloo students from any faculty. Auditions will be held on:

Wednesday, September 6 from 5:30 – 10 p.m.

Thursday, September 7 from 5:30 – 10 p.m.

You are to prepare a 3-minute monologue. You can choose anything you like or choose one from the package of supplied monologues you will be sent when you sign up.

Each auditioner will have approximately fifteen minutes for their audition. The director will watch your monologue, offer some direction, and see how well you respond. Please read the play before your audition. Copies of the play can be signed out from Janelle in ML 122 (jrainvil@uwaterloo.ca)

QUESTIONS:

Janelle (ML 122)
jrainville@uwaterloo.ca

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have to be a Theatre and Performance major or minor to audition?

Any student from any Faculty and year level is welcome to audition. Please note that acting in the production is NOT an extra-curricular activity – it is a course. The course is dependent on which character you are playing as the lead roles require more rehearsal time than the supporting roles for this production. Some roles are a 0.5 credit (1 course) while others are 1.0 credits (2 courses).

When are rehearsals usually scheduled?

Normally there are 2 weekday evening rehearsals (4 hrs each) and a 7 hr rehearsal on Saturdays. These rehearsals are scheduled in Quest and are part of your course schedule.

Are there other time commitments outside of rehearsal?

Students are also required to attend a 2 hr class meeting time with the course instructor once a week. There are readings, writing assignments and preparation that must be done outside of rehearsal times as well.

During technical rehearsal and performance weeks (weeks 10 & 11 of the term), you should expect to be working up to 6 evenings per week and on Saturdays. Most students have course conflicts with matinee performances during performance week, so they need to miss some classes in other courses that week.

I am in my 1A term. Can I audition for the production or should I wait until my second term or even in my upper years when I have an elective?

Since participation in Theatre & Performance program productions means enrolling in a THPERF Production Participation (PP) course, you need to have at least one elective available in your 1A term. You also won’t know whether you are admitted to our PP course until the second week of term, so it’s a bit of a risk in your 1A term even if you do have space in your schedule.

After your 1A term, if you don’t have an elective available, your advisor *might* permit you to take a 6th course in one term (depending on your grades and your advisor’s assessment of your workload).

It’s also an advantage (though not required) to have THPERF 102 or THPERF 100 under your belt before you audition for the first time.

How is casting determined? Am I guaranteed a role?

There is no guarantee in any audition process that any actor will be cast in a larger or a smaller role. The only guarantee the program makes about casting is to THPERF majors, whose applications for capstone assignments in acting have been accepted. Even then, although those students are guaranteed significant roles, they are not always the largest roles. All other casting decisions are made on the basis of performers’ previous experience in acting courses and productions, the fit between their current skill level and the skills required to perform roles available (as evidenced in their audition), and the learning opportunity that any particular role would offer them.