Our Vision Who We Are YDAPA Sustainability Project Board of Directors Advisory Committee     Executive Director Management Team Artistic Team How to Join Audition Procedures and Casting Previous Shows About Us > Casting Policies and Procedures YDAPA was not formed to create stars. Indeed, its founders are convinced that everyone should be given the opportunity to share in the joy of performance with a heightened appreciation for themselves and those around them. For this reason no eligible applicant has been refused a role in a YDAPA production or program. No-one has ever been excluded for an artistic reason. This means that a comprehensive audition process has evolved to steer potential members into positions where they will be challenged and will best contribute to the growth of the company. Since casting is like an enormous "jigsaw puzzle and dominos game" rolled into one it takes a little bit of our time and your understanding to get everyone in their place. Cast members and parents should remember that casting is an objective process designed to make each show a successful artistic achievement. Obviously the best suited person for the role will enhance the experience for everyone. Musical and dramatic skills are only one small part of the requirement to be a lead in one of our shows. It is equally important to find leads who are willing to take risks, can follow directions extraordinarily well and who can contribute countless extra hours to scene rehearsals and script memorization. YDAPA has developed a comprehensive, non-threatening process to identify the best person for our lead roles through objective assessment by a panel of independent professionals who are incredibly well versed in youth theatre and show repertoire. Indeed the YDAPA artistic team has a combined stage experience of almost 100 years. Cast placement and lead roles will be determined at an audition/interview. This year everyone who registers for a stage role will be asked to attend an interview/audition so that they can be placed in the role and the show that best suits their abilities and goals. This more individualized process will streamline the group auditions that YDAPA has organized for the last five years. It represents a move on the part of staff to more carefully assess the expertise and capabilities of each participant so they can be challenged and develop more fully as stage performers. The interview/audition will be a non-threatening opportunity for the participants to express their interests and demonstrate their skills. They are welcome to attend alone, in pairs or small groups, sing along with a CD, to read a passage from a favourite story or to dance a familiar hip hop sequence. However there is no need to prepare anything -the interviewers will be prepared to guide everyone through the process so that they leave feeling good about themselves. Everyone will be asked to do the following. 1. Sing Prepare and present a song (your choice) with or without musical accompaniment and lyrics. Feel free to sing along with a recording. Bring music. Stereo will be provided. 2. Read Prepare and present a short reading or monologue (no more than 1 minute). This does not have to be memorized. Minor Lead Roles There are usually many minor lead roles, singing solos and speaking parts in most musicals. Most of the "minor leads" appear in solo parts in the wonderful music which is used so creatively to develop the plot and reveal character. These parts may be assigned by the directing team as required and will be determined by observation at rehearsals...they will not generally be auditioned. We also need to remember that being assigned a lead character in one show does not necessarily mean that a person should be assigned a lead role in their next show. In fact. there may be a need on the part of the company to "rest" a lead who is identified by our audience as a specific character. Chorus All too often we hear that someone in one of our shows was "only" in the chorus. We take huge exception to that statement since as directors we spend most of our time teaching the chorus. In reality, the attitude, skill and work ethic of the chorus largely determines the artistic outcome of the show. How many times have you gone to a movie or a stage production and come away saying that the lead character was great but the rest of the movie was awful? Certainly the most successful productions are the ones where the talented leads and an equally talented chorus work together to suspend reality and make the audience believe they have been transported into the action on stage. We try to maintain equality throughout our planning and presentation of a show. Here are some guidelines we follow to heighten the stage experience for all of our performers. The chorus and leads will rehearse together whenever possible. All performers will be on stage for a minimum of four scenes. All performers will have equal access to technical support where required. All performers will have costume changes and make up applied professionally. All performers will share dressing room facilities. Press releases and newspaper photos will not be limited to lead characters. Group rather than individual bows will be encouraged. At YDAPA we say that our cast members are "promoted to" not "placed in" the Chorus.