Cast

In the end it was a mix of difficult and easy decisions.

There was only one person who auditioned for the lead role of Lord Arthur, and luckily he is emminently suitable for the part, so that was a shoe-in.

On the other hand, we had 12 ladies auditioning for 5 parts. And at least 5 of them put their names down for the role of Sybil. So that made a really tough choice.

With the help of my trusted advisors, though, I think we managed to choose the best candidates for each role. I certainly hope so anyway.

I've spend some time this week putting together a rehearsal schedule. It's a tricky task, trying to guess how many pages we will be able to work on each night in the early stages and splitting the text up into manageable chunks so that you don't have to call all the actors for every rehearsal. I think that I've just about managed it though.

Next big day is Sunday when we have our first read-through with the cast and we finally get down to proper rehearsals...

Halfway Hall

We had the first evening of auditions last night - the next is on Sunday.

A very good turnout - I could cast the play from those alone, if I were to choose to. But that would be unfair on the people who are coming on Sunday, so I won't!

We've even had a couple of new prospective members coming along, with at least one or two more expected at the weekend. It's very gratifying that people want to join Ottershaw Players - we've obviously got a good reputation to attract new members - but unfortunately there aren't enough parts for all the exisiting members, let alone the new folks. I hope that if people don't get a part they understand that it's nothing personal!

The hardest decisions to make when casting are having to leave out someone who is a very talented actor. Sometimes they are just not physically right for the part (too old; too young; too tall; too short; too stout; too thin) and even though you know they would give a corking performance, if only the character was different, there's just no way you can shoehorn them in. I sometimes wonder, when telling someone these reasons for not casting them, whether they really believe you, or if they think it's just an excuse.

All I do know is that on Sunday night I'm going to have some tough decisions to make...

Audition Dates

I've booked the hall for the auditions (Feb 25th and 28th, if you're interested), so now I just need to forge on with putting together an audition pack. I can't quite decide whether I will include extracts from the play in the pack to use as audition pieces. Part of me wants to do something different this time around. I may use some extracts from a different Wilde play and spend some time playing games and doing improvs, just to see how people react to that.

In other news, my very favourite stage manager has agreed to SM the show. Thank you Lyn! I can't emphasise enough how secure it makes me feel to have a good SM on board from the get-go. Not only do I know that the show itself will run like clockwork, from the tech rehearsal onwards, but there's also the small matter of knowing that all those decisions made in rehearsal will be diligently recorded in The Book for ongoing reference. It's also grand to have an extra pair of eyes, able to catch things that I may not spot straight away.

Actually, I'll have TWO extra pairs of eyes helping me in this production. One of the group, Lisel, would like to start learning about directing and has asked to be assistant director for the production. I'm glad to help and very willing to share my meagre knowledge, but I do worry slightly that I'm not a natural teacher by any means. I'm sure Lisel would be glad to do any odd jobs that may need doing - and I'll be glad of the help - but I have to make sure that I don't take that assistance for granted!