Nerves under pressure are normal in any audition or tryout and Monday’s audition for Players’ spring show Pippin was no different. Hearts jittering inside chests, knees bouncing in anticipation, senses heightened as stomachs begin to turn. But are these anxious sensations only felt by the less-experienced younger auditionees? Does the experience Seniors and Juniors bring to the table make them exempt from anxiety, confident in their ability to be cast in a leading role? Does seniority – the privileged status gained by older or longer-serving members of a community – factor into the casting of Players performances such as Pippin?
The resounding answer was an “it’s complicated” from the Senior, Junior, Sophomore, and Freshman who were interviewed.
The first opinion came from Senior Naomi Becker, who has been performing in Players since her sophomore year and first play, Lost Girl. “I feel like, as you get older and you go into Players more, they kind of get a better sense of you as an actor or an actress,” Becker commented. “They trust you more because they see more of you, and then they give you a better role.” The more familiar the directing team is with an actor and the more confidence they have in that actor’s ability, the bigger role they will get.
From a student’s perspective, it is not as straightforward as casting the person in the higher grade: it is the talent that stems from years of involvement and participation. “I think what’s most important to the directors is honestly your ability, not to sing, but to be able to make your own decisions and act, which kind of comes with experience and age, which is why I think they lean towards casting older people,” says Junior Roman Bostick. Roman has been participating in Players since Into the Woods in his freshman year. “I think they like having people who are able to ad-lib and be flexible, and that comes with experience.” The high quality of other Players shows, Bostick said, has also been partially due to the actors’ abilities to speak off the cuff if something goes wrong or isn’t working in rehearsal. “We’ve had scenes, some of our best scenes, and some of our best shows have been [where] something went wrong and we have to improv something. We just decided to add something into the show because we felt like it changed.” This trait of talented actors, as Bostick said, comes from experience.
Experience can also change how comfortable one feels acting and exaggerating a role. This point was emphasized by sophomore Sky Matta, who is now in her second performance in the cast of Players. “I feel as though your grade also correlates to how willing you are to step out of the box or step out of bounds,” Matta said. “The older you are, the more comfortable you are, I think, going the extra mile sometimes.” The extra mile, Matta thinks, can help someone stand out to the directors during an audition or callback. “People think it’s about your quality, but it’s really about making a statement,” commented Matta. “If you truly embody the character, if you make it different, if you add your own touch to it, it just really makes them see you.” Once actors begin to challenge themselves during auditions and make choices to resemble and connect with their character, they begin getting cast.
However, while being frequently cast in Players performances is exciting, it does have its downsides. Seasoned performer Naomi Becker commented about the positives and negatives of being an experienced and continually chosen upperclassman. “They see more of you as an actor, but that also means that they kind of put you in a box of what your character is,” Naomi said. “If you’ve been cast as something before, as a certain kind of character, you’re likely going to get cast as it again.” Charlotte Brown, a freshman who recently finished her first Players show 13 Past Midnight, echoed Naomi’s thoughts. “It’s hard, when the directors know that you play a role so well, to change it and become another character type,” Brown said. But despite this, the consensus was that the Players directors try their best to let grade level affect casting as little as possible. “I think that it truly depends on talent,” said Brown. “I don’t think that [the directors] overlook anybody ever,” Matta also stated.
Freshmen: do not fret. While the audition process is stressful and you may feel that the seniors auditioning will get all of the lead roles, it is only because they have more experience than you do. As your time in Players increases, you will grow as an actor and be more successful in your pursuit of leading parts. This is what Naomi Becker, Roman Bostick, Sky Matta, and Charlotte Brown have found, and will continue to find. Bostick summed it up: “Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get a major role especially if you’re younger, your time is going to come.”
