Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support the IDS in College Media Madness! Donate here March 24 - April 8.
Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

arts

Students audition for fall productions

entTheatreAuditions

By Tyler Mohr

Junior Ryan Claus could not sit still while waiting for his audition. He was filled with excitement while he paced back and forth in the sunlit hall.

“You have to find a good way to channel your nerves while also displaying your passion,” Claus said.

With the men in blazers and dress shoes and the women in heels and dresses, dozens of students waited outside room A200 in the IU Theater building Thursday evening to audition for upcoming plays in the 2015 fall semester.

According to the IU Theatre and Drama website, the three plays students auditioned for were “Hedda Gabler,” directed by Dale McFadden; “Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric play,” directed by Jonathon Michaelsen; and “Antigone,” directed by Katie Horwitz.

“We call it cattle calls because everyone auditions for multiple plays,” junior Kat Cox said.

According to Cox, two monologues were to be memorized before the audition. She performed the two monologues and turned in her headshot and résumé before ending her audition.

“This was the least nervous I have felt during an audition,” Cox said. “The more you audition, the more comfortable you become with it.”

Claus said the key to auditioning is finding good 
material.

“An excellent author will help make your piece sound better,” Claus said.

You also have to remember to breathe, he said.

“It is easy to tense up and completely forget about your breathing,” he said.

Claus said he had been preparing for his audition since June, and he was surprised to see a lot of people in the auditioning room.

“Usually just a few people evaluate you when you audition — there were more people than I expected,” Claus said.

Claus said he continues to become more serious about theater as he gets older. He said he has been participating in theater since high school.

“It is the most human thing that I have ever done,” Claus said.

Cox said she loves theater because of the feeling it gives her. The excitement and the nerves are familiar feelings, she said .

“You know how you feel when you get off a roller coaster and your adrenaline is pumping? That is how theater is for me,” Cox said.

Junior Richkard Saint-Victor prepared to audition for two of the three plays.

“The toughest part about auditioning is the little amount of control you have,” Saint-Victor said. “You prepare for months through rehearsal and can still get passed on.”

However, he said the fear of failure does not keep him from competing for a role.

“I love theater because people are so busy in today’s world,” Saint-Victor said. “But when you perform, everyone pays attention. There is a sense of community because everyone is being human rather than checking their phones.”

Get stories like this in your inbox
Subscribe