Auditions

No. We welcome first-time auditioners alongside returning performers. Come as you are.

Use the "Sign up to audition" button on the show you're interested in. It will take you to our sign-up page where you can pick a slot.

Actors arrive at PYT studios 15-30 minutes prior to their scheduled audition time. They check in with their paperwork complete, are given a number, and measured for their costume(s). For most auditions, actors are taken into the audition room in groups of ten. The group goes into our studio and take turns performing their monologue and song to the casting team. They then learn a short dance routine with the choreographer. Plan on spending 1 – 1.5 hours at the studio for your audition. This can go longer if we start running behind – check with the producers when you arrive to get an accurate sense of when you will be finished for the day.

It varies by production. Each show's audition sign-up page lists exactly what to prepare. Usually you will memorize a 1 minute monologue, and for musicals, 1 minute of a song, both to perform at the audition. Make sure you know your song and monologue so well that you won’t forget it, even if you’re nervous. Being nervous is a totally normal part of auditioning, and the best way to combat those nerves is to feel 100% prepared. Practice your audition full out speaking with a loud clear voice. What we rehearse is what we perform, so if you only practice quietly in your head, your audition will be quiet, too. Make sure that each time you practice you use good breath support, diction, and you make strong acting choices. Practice your opening introduction each time you rehearse your monologue. Always begin your audition with, “Hello, my name is __________ and I will be performing _________.” Practice your monologue and song in front of other people. You’ll be auditioning for the artistic staff, but there will also be up to 9 other actors in the room with you. Don’t let those extra people catch you off guard. On the day of your audition, make sure you are well rested and fed, and don’t forget to drink plenty of water so that you’ll be well hydrated. Dress appropriately for your audition. Wear comfortable clothing that you can move freely in and close toed shoes or dance shoes. Make sure you bring everything you need with you to your audition: a water bottle, your recorded accompaniment, and your monologue and music to review before you go into your audition. Remember that directors pay attention to more than just your monologue and song. If you’re quiet, attentive, and respectful while you wait your turn, they will see that. Conversely, they will also notice when you are chatting with your neighbor, playing with your phone or fidgeting in your seat. Your behavior can make or break and audition. Have fun during your audition! Auditioning can be scary, but it can still be fun at the same time. Think of it like bungee jumping, watching a scary movie, or going through a Halloween corn maze. Use that nervous energy to give you audition that extra pizazz that will help you stand out from the crowd.

Choose a monologue from a play. Television and movie monologues are usually associated with a celebrity performer, and the directors can’t help but compare you to the original artist. Plays are written for multiple interpreters and usually not associated with any single performer. Stand-alone monologues (like the ones you find online or in monologue books) are ok, but they require you to come up with the backstory for your character. A monologue from a play clearly provides you with a context and reason for the character to say these words, but make sure you read the whole play so you get all of that information. Make sure your monologue is no longer than 1 minute in length when performed. Choose an age appropriate monologue. Choose a monologue that is active, and contains a beginning, middle, and end. Avoid monologues that simply recount what happened in the past, as these can be traps in which you play attitude and mood rather than action. Know whom you are talking to and what you want from them. Choose a monologue that engages your interest and is about something you care about. If you do not like your monologue, you probably won’t practice it very much. Avoid dialects, exaggerated characterizations, cartoon or two-dimensional characters and/or use of props. There are many lists of overdone monologues available (search “overdone monologues” on the Web). Check a few of them, and make sure your monologue isn’t on one of those lists. Do not choose a monologue from the play you’re auditioning for. Choose a monologue with appropriate content. Monologues with strong language, mature themes or innuendo are not appropriate for a PYT audition. Choose a monologue that contains a change of some kind. It could be serio-comic (i.e. begins funny but then turns serious at the end), or demonstrates the character experiencing a change in attitude or perspective. The idea is to give yourself as many opportunities to be cast as possible, so showing you’re range is key in helping the director find the right role for you. PYT has a binder full of monologues at PYT Studios and at the Mountain View Library. If you’re having trouble finding a good monologue feel free to stop by during office hours and take a look at the binder.

Choose a song from a musical that is close in style to the musical you’re auditioning for. Pop songs don’t give the directors as much information about your vocal or acting abilities as songs that were written for musical theatre. Choose a song that sits comfortably in your range but shows as much of your range as possible. Choose a song for which you can find recorded music in the right key for your voice. The music should be instrumental (no voices). Make sure you’re prepared to sing only a minute of the song. You can either prepare to stop singing at the minute mark or use software to cut the recording down to the section that best shows off your voice. Choose a song that allows you to make specific acting choices while singing. Choose a song that provides a contrast to your monologue selection. If your monologue was broad and comedic, try a song that will demonstrate your ability to make more natural acting choices.

When you do the dance portion of the audition, you will be taught a dance combination by the choreographer and then asked to perform it in small groups. You will not have to prepare anything in advance. Make sure you are dressed to dance. Comfortable clothes you can move in are key. You also want to make sure you have on shoes you can dance in. If you own jazz shoes, they are always a good choice. If you don’t, don’t go out and buy them for the audition. Wear a comfortable pair of closed toed shoes that are flexible enough for you to be able to point your toes. Uggs, sandals, and flip-flops are not recommended for either dance or acting/vocal auditions. If you don’t have a ton of dance experience, don’t worry! Energy, enthusiasm, and a great big smile will get you noticed. If you do have dance experience, practice learning new routines quickly with your dance friends. Remember to keep your chin up, be specific with your hands and feet (energy in hands, pointed toes, etc.), and keep smiling. If you’ve got great technique, big energy and a bigger smile will put you over the top in a dance audition. Remember that in an audition it’s better to be big and wrong than little and sort of right. Commit to your movement, put all your energy into it, and don’t worry if you turn the wrong way or start on the wrong foot. Those things are easy to fix; self-confidence is not. Show the Choreographer you believe in yourself and you’re willing to go all out, even when you’re unsure of what you’re doing.

Callbacks are the directors way of gathering more information from a given actor, or seeing how they interact with other performers. Having a callback is not a guarantee of a role, and not receiving one doesn’t mean you won’t be cast in a great role. It means the director gathered enough information during your initial audition to cast you without seeing you again. Callback time is limited so directors may call you back for one role and use your callback as a way to evaluate you for a variety of roles.

At the end of your audition, you will be given a sheet that tells you if you need to come to callbacks, and when. Not everyone will be called back, and there are no make-up callback times if you have a conflict during callbacks.

PYT holds group-based auditions. Other actors auditioning, along with the director, the choreographer, the music or vocal director, and a person to time auditions and track callback materials can be in the room.

The director, music or vocal director, and the choreographer. These three staff members work together as a collaborative team. If any have a conflict of interest within the casting process (e.g. private students or children of the artistic staff), then another impartial PYT staff member may be appointed to support casting decisions. The team begins to discuss and evaluate the audition participants as soon as each group of ten participants completes the audition process. This has to be done in order to initiate the callback process. These staff members continue to email and talk with to one another during the entire casting process. The director will make the final decision, especially if the three staff members cannot agree on a casting choice. In extremely rare cases, PYT’s Executive Artistic Director or Managing Director may overturn a casting decision if it is not in line with PYT’s mission and values.

While talent does carry weight in casting, there are other considerations. Casting is something like putting a big jigsaw puzzle together except you won’t know what it actually looks like for another 6-8 weeks. Sometimes, there are things that influence casting that are completely outside of the actor’s control – things like height and who else is auditioning can affect casting. With youth theater, we have added the complications of carpools, schedule conflicts and casting youth in adult age ranges. Finally, the creative team's experiences with actors can be a factor - behavior and attitude towards others and the work of a production make a difference, especially for major roles. Please see our casting philosophy for more information https://pyt-website.pages.dev/casting/

Directors are hoping to get a sense of who the actor is as a person and as a performer. This is part of the reason actors introduce themselves and their audition piece. It gives the artistic staff a brief moment to see the person before he/she begins acting as someone else. They are also looking to see how well prepared the actor is. (Do they truly know their monologue/song? Do they know what the character wants/needs?) They make note of those who are engaged, make strong choices, and follow directions well. Being a pleasure to work with informs casting choices heavily. The ideal actor: Is well prepared, with an appropriate monologue from a published source. Shows an understanding of the role and a commitment to the requirements of the role. Has a well-prepared, appropriate song in the correct key, with recorded instrumental music. Has a good attitude, accepts responsibility, and does not make excuses. Demonstrates maturity and the ability to stay focused and “on track” in spite of mistakes or other distractions. Gives 100% performance energy all of the time. Is willing to accept any role. Has few or no conflicts. Dresses appropriately for the audition, including movement clothes and shoes for the dance audition. Things that can influence casting include: - Training and experience - Motivation and energy - Attitude - Being well prepared - Choice of monologue and/or song - Vocal range and singing ability - Previous work with the Director, Music Director or Choreographer - Matching the director’s vision of the role - Excessive conflicts - Only accepting specific roles

This period gives the casting team time to check the cast list for errors and omissions. This is particularly helpful when casting a large cast.

No. Directors routinely cast first time PYT actors in major roles. What matters most is that you come in well prepared with good audition material and great acting choices. While past positive experience may weigh into a final casting decision, the director’s main objective is to cast the best person for the role regardless of whether or not they’ve done a PYT production before.

We strongly advise you go into auditions with a positive attitude and an understanding that a show is only as good as its whole cast. Every member of the cast has a critical part to play in the success of the show. The best performers have spent time in the ensemble and take every opportunity to work on their theater skills – and it’s a lot of fun! That said, if you will only accept particular parts, you must say specifically on your audition sheet which parts you will accept by name. Do not put “principal role” or “speaking part” unless you are really willing to take any role that we consider a principal role or speaking part. If you say that you will only accept a particular part and do not get cast in that part, your name will not appear on the cast list and you will receive a pro-rated refund (see refund policy).

No, they do not. The director, choreographer, and vocal director make all casting decisions as a group.

How often you will be called to rehearsal depends on many factors: the size of the show, the role you have, the cast you are in, the number of participants in the show. We generally hold rehearsals from 6:30pm – 9pm on weekday evenings and from 10am – 2pm on Saturday. On average, you can plan on being called at least 2-3 times per week. Actors with larger roles or significant stage time should plan to be at rehearsal more often. You will get a final rehearsal schedule at the parent meeting. We do our best to stick to the schedule once posted as closely as possible so that you can plan your other commitments around your scheduled rehearsals.

It's critical to the success of every production that we know when performers are available for rehearsal. The conflict calendar should be filled out completely prior to auditions. Be sure to consider school, family, work, travel and religious obligations. Please note: NO CONFLICTS ARE ALLOWED DURING TECH REHEARSALS AND PERFORMANCES. Remember also that you will not be called to every rehearsal. PYT makes a concerted effort to only call performers when they will be needed.

We reserve the right not to cast anyone who has more than the maximum allowable conflicts set for the production, as well as the right to cut anyone from the show who has unexcused absences, or anyone who adds conflicts to tech week or performances. Generally, the maximum number of conflicts and actor can have and still be guaranteed casting is equal to 1 per week of rehearsal (not including tech). Please verify each production’s audition details for more specific information. Directors cast all actors with up to the maximum allowed conflicts, unless the actor’s casting restrictions cannot be met or the production has a limited amount of roles. Any threshold applied to one actor in the restriction of casting due to conflicts must be applied to all actors of the given production. For example, if an actor is not cast due to excessive conflicts, no other actor may be cast with the same number of conflicts or more. Actors can list partial conflicts. These conflicts may be weighted differently than full conflicts for casting purposes. Unexcused absences will be handled at the discretion of creative staff in consultation with producing artistic director. No matter the reason for the absence, unexcused absences may require an actor be cut from scenes, songs, or the show as a whole depending upon the number of absences, the role, and the needs of the production. Actors should not come to rehearsal if they have a fever, are vomiting, have head lice, or any other condition that would be considered reasonable to hold the actor out of school. More than 3 missed rehearsals due to illness, however, may require follow up meeting with staff and could lead to removal from scenes, songs, or the show as a whole depending upon the number of absences, the role, and the needs of the production. Any unexcused absence, emergency, or illness must be accompanied with a written notice from the actor’s parent or guardian to the producers explaining the absence. PYT cannot plan rehearsals without an accurate understanding of who is available at any given rehearsal. We see your conflict calendar as a commitment to attend any rehearsal for which you are called that doesn’t have a conflict.

We have one week to run these shows at the theater with all of the production elements – set, lights, costumes, orchestra – in place. A stage is exciting, but it can also be dangerous. You are walking around in the dark with things flying in and out, and large pieces of scenery moving around. It is critically important that the cast be present and understand what they need to do and where they need to be on stage.

We have a very limited number of hours to get a lot of work done – and most of our parent volunteers are coming after their day jobs. We try to keep to our schedule, because we know how difficult late nights can be for our performers.

As part of PYT’s community outreach, we present special weekday morning performances of our productions for school groups in the area. PYT will supply you with a letter to give to your school principal requesting permission for you to miss school that morning. School Matinee performances are not optional, so if you are at all concerned about missing school, check with your teacher and principal before auditioning.

PYT MainStage musicals are a huge undertaking. There is no way that we could complete these shows without our community of parents pitching in to help. The labor costs involved would make participation and tickets cost prohibitive for most families. We have lots of ways for you to meet that commitment, some of which can be done outside of the studio. We also find that working together on a show is a great family project!

PYT does not arrange carpools. The carpool request line on the audition form is for families who know each other in advance of casting and wish to carpool together. We try to place participants who make carpool requests in the same cast, and if possible, in the same group(s). Make sure if you are listing someone as a carpool request that they list you on their form as well. Cast requests work similarly. If you request a specific cast for conflict reasons or to be placed in the same cast as another participant, we will do our best to accommodate those requests. Remember that the only time casts are separated are for designer run-thrus, dress rehearsals, and performances. The vast majority of rehearsals will include both casts at the same time.

If you cancel an audition appointment 24 hours or more before your scheduled audition, you will receive a pro-rated refund of the registration fee less $10 to cover the costs charged by the online registration system. To cancel an audition, contact PYT in writing at auditions@pytnet.org. Should you not attend your pre-scheduled audition, and make no arrangement to cancel or schedule a make-up audition, you will receive a pro-rated refund less $20. Should you decide not to participate for any reason AFTER auditions, you must inform the production team in writing NO LATER THAN THE END OF CALLBACKS in order to receive a pro-rated refund. PYT will retain $50 of the registration fee toward expenses associated with the audition process. The rest of the registration fee will be refunded. You can email the written notice to auditions@pytnet.org. Participants not cast due to excessive conflicts or a casting request that cannot be accommodated will be refunded the same amount as those who drop before the deadline (registration fee less $50 to cover the audition costs). Participants willing to accept any role and do not exceed the maximum number of conflicts but are not cast will receive a full refund. As all shows offer limited opportunities to participate and there is an extensive amount of work that must be done to recast a part once casting decisions have been made, no refunds are offered for those who drop after the cast list is posted.

For MainStage productions, actors are cast unless they exceed the maximum number of conflicts allowed, are unable to commit to all the tech rehearsals and performances of at least one cast, or present casting requirements that cannot be met. Unless advertised as a limited cast production, there will be two casts, and all roles will be double cast unless a suitable double is unavailable based on the talent pool. Every effort will be made to feature each performer in some way and maximize their stage time. Any conflicts of interest are disclosed prior to casting (including private students and children of the artistic staff). All actors will be cast within the ages published with the audition notice unless approved in advance of casting by the Executive Artistic Director, and then only if there are no suitable choices