General Audition Information

 UPCOMING 2012 PRODUCTIONS:

• Spring in CYT Denver SOUTHEAST - Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr (performing at the new PACE Center!) - Auditions Friday February 24th!
• Spring in CYT Denver SOUTHWEST - Music Man Jr - Auditions Friday February 24th!

Each 10 week session has a concurring full scale musical production. Only currently enrolled CYT students ages 8-18 years are eligible to audition for a production. A student must be enrolled in a particular area (South Central, Southeast, Southwest) in order to audition for THAT Area's production. Auditions are held within the session's first week of classes.  Upcoming audition dates and times can be viewed in the Calendar.

*Reminder: Once a student is cast, they must regularly attend their session's weekly class. If they do not attend their class, they will be removed from the cast. If the student has more than 2 absences, the area coordinator may decide to pull them from the show.

Rehearsals for the production are held on Fridays (4:30-8:30pm) and Saturdays (10am-2pm), with additional rehearsals occasionally being called according to the director’s discretion. All families in the production are required to volunteer a minimum of 20 hours on a parent committee, attend two Mandatory Parent Meetings, sell 10 tickets per cast family, and pay the Mandatory Production Fees of $115 per child.

***Being cast in a CYT production is a commitment of both the cast member and their family. Please read through ALL infomation including the Audition Packet and the Calendar in order to make the best decision as to whether to audition.  Any unexcused absence from rehearsals or performances will result in a cast member being removed from a production.***

CYT Denver practices open auditions. This means that vocal auditions are open to immediate family and friends of the child auditioning in order to give those auditioning maximum encouragement. Parents, family members and friends will be asked to leave the audition room once their child's group has completed their vocal auditions. Dance auditions and any subsequent callbacks are closed. This will enable the students to concentrate on the instructions being given to them by the dance instructor or director.


PREPARATION
Prepare the best audition you can! Practice, practice, practice! For callbacks, listen closely to the director and follow all oral directions to the best of your ability.

*Check out the AUDITION PREPARATION INFO for more tips and resources in preparing an audition*

BEHAVIOR
Directors want to work with students who are well behaved and reliable. They may even ask your Area Coordinator and other directors and teachers about your behavior AND attendance history. Always be mindful that poor behavior at classes, rehearsals, productions, special events, auditions, callbacks and late or missed rehearsal attendance could be something that gets considered when making casting decisions.

VOCAL TRAINING
Taking CYT classes and/or private instruction will improve your vocal range, confidence, and performance. Remember how important enunciation and projection are for musical theater!

DANCE TRAINING
Dancing is an important part of musical theater. Keep learning and practicing. Move with energy! Always keep smiling!

CALLBACKS & COLD READINGS
Showing strong character development and appropriate emotion is always an important factor when asked to perform a cold reading at callbacks. You need to convince the artistic team that you are this character!

*Getting a Callback OR not getting a Callback does not mean you are OR are not being considered for any particular role - in other words - it's not a "good" OR "bad" thing to get OR not get a Callback. Not everyone who auditions get a Callback!

OTHER UNCONTROLLABLE FACTORS
There are other factors involved in casting a show that the student can do nothing about. These factors may include physical characteristics such as height, coloring and vocal range. Many times a casting decision is made based on how two different students interact with one another. For example, a director may be looking to see how your height compares to someone already cast as a younger sibling. They will look at how the “chemistry” amongst various cast members feels. Sometimes a director is looking for a specific type of stage presence for a particular role. This may result in the elimination of a very talented child simply because they do not fit the character that the director has envisioned.

A Word about Disappointment - PLEASE READ
Although disappointment is painful, it can bring about a new understanding of goals and what the Lord has in store for you. How a person reacts to disappointment is a tremendous test of character. When disappointment comes your way, whether it be in auditioning or in another area of your life, take a deep breath, open your eyes and then see what wonderful new doors the Lord has in store for you!