Casting

As a youth community theatre, PYT casts everyone who wants a role, in any Main Stage show.

Casting is the hardest part of any production, for the actors, the parents, and the staff! It can be incredibly tough to manage young actors' expectations, and disappointment if they do not get the part they envisioned. BUT, there is a lot we can all do to make this as fair and as easy as it can be.

The first thing is that most children will not get a leading role, this is the nature and the numbers of any theatre production at any level. We hope to inspire all actors and parents to trust the casting team, who go to great lengths to make this process equitable, including removing any staff or adults from the process who have children auditioning.

PYT is ensemble focused, and our mission is to give as many young actors as much, and as positive an experience on stage as we can. So we are pro-ensemble. We love ensemble! Because we know this is how all actors grow, and that it provides the best opportunity for young actors to experience as wide as possible a breadth of the theatre and production. Every character with a non-leading role gets as much and as rich stage and rehearsal time as possible. We rework every show to make sure this is the case.

As a community-focused theatre, we prioritize the following in any casting decisions:

• How ready the actor is to take on any given role — age and experience come into this, but are not the overriding considerations
• Compatibility with the potential cast around them — who do they work well with, who do they have chemistry with, where do they best fit the ensemble?
• Behavior and attitude in auditions and callbacks. Were they talking when someone else was performing? Did they listen and respond to other actors and to staff? Did they demonstrate a willingness to work?
• Calendar conflicts — how many rehearsals the actor can commit to
• Requested carpool arrangements

Ensemble roles can get a bad rap elsewhere, but this is not our position at PYT! Ensemble roles are critical to any performance, which is why we celebrate an ensemble member with our biggest award, every show.