Let It Snow! - Auditions

Improvisors Wanted!

The Un-Scripted Theater Company is holding auditions for its next show, Let It Snow!, an improvised musical for the holidays, filled with good old-fashioned Broadway singing and dancing. (Think The Music Man.) The show is set every night in the hometown of an audience member, and over the three seasons that we've performed the show, we've visited small towns from North Pole AK to Manunka Chunk NJ to Wailua HI, and lots of places in between. It's a really fun show to perform, and always an audience (and improvisor) favorite.

We're looking for improvisors who ideally have longform experience as well as an enthusiasm for singing/dance.

** Auditions will be in the evening, on Monday, Sept. 14th, and Tuesday, Sept. 15th.
Rehearsals will be on Tuesdays, starting Sept. 29th; the show runs
Nov. 19th - Dec. 19th.
All of the above in downtown SF near Union Square.

If you're interested in auditioning, email Susan (click here) for more information or to reserve yourself a slot -- make sure to mention which date you'd prefer. Our auditions are conducted more like a rehearsal or class, so be prepared to stay for at least an hour. If you're wondering whether you should audition, the answer is almost always yes! We pride ourselves on our fun, low-pressure auditions, and we always love meeting improvisors, so come on down and give it a shot!

www.un-scripted.com

Audition Recap

I am directing our next show, Un-Scripted: unscripted, and we had auditions Monday and Tuesday night! We always try to make our auditions as low-stress and fun as possible, and it seems to work pretty well. Both nights we did essentially the same things, so here’s the breakdown.

We started by forming a big circle so I could introduce myself and the rest of the production team, explain the show, and explain what specifically I was looking for to get cast in the show. This show is really about ensemble, so the ability to make other people look good and have a good time is very important. We’re also looking for strong committed acting skills, because once this show starts, no one ever plays themselves on stage.

Then I ran my favorite name game. At Un-Scripted we tend to call it “Alan’s Name Game” even though I lay no claim on inventing it. (In fact I recently learned that improv musician Joshua Raoul Brody invented it.) I just like to play it and generally lead it when we do. It’s a name pattern game that I’ll explain in more detail someday.

Then I had everyone break up into pairs and tell some word at a time stories. Then in different pairs I had them play What Are You Doing. There are actually 2 ways of playing that game. I had Clay set it up and since he only knew the one way (the non-sequitor way), that’s how we did it. We’ll probably play it the other way at callbacks.

At this point I wanted to dive right into scene work. Both nights we had a lot of people, so the more I could see them the better. To start with I had 5 auditioners come up on stage with 2 members of the Un-Scripted ensemble and had them do 3 scenes in a row of anything they wanted. They could set up games. They could just do scenes. It didn’t matter. Cycling through this a few times was a good way to get everyone warmed up and to see how they do in short “laughy” scenes, scenes that are about finding the quick laugh and end as soon as they’ve peaked.

After a short break, I started setting people up in scenes. Or rather, I would select the people I wanted to see and Clay would give them a set up. Then I might side coach the scene or stop it to give direction and restart it, if I wanted to push people, test their range, or simply just see how they take direction.

And that was pretty much it.

One set-up that I particularly enjoyed was rediscovering an old setup that Tara, Christian, Dave, and the Fibbs used to use a lot in workouts called “Lost in a Tank”. Basically, you’re two people in the military in a tank, but you’re lost. Only in the auditions I set four people up in the scene. It was waaaay fun with four people.

Now I just have to decide who to call back. Fortunately we had a lot of really great people. Unfortunately we had a lot of really great people.

What I Learned from Running the Bollywood Auditions

We had auditions last week for the Great Bollywood Puppet Extravaganza. As the producer for this show, I was in charge of coordinating the auditions. About a week or two earlier, I attended Impact Theatre’s season auditions because I will be directing Briefs for them next spring. A lot of actors didn’t show up for their scheduled auditions slots, and we all sat around talking wondering if actors realize that directors remember when they don’t show up. The next time they audition for the same director, they already have a preconceived notion that the actor is a flake.

When I was putting together my email to send to auditioners giving them all the details on the audition, I thought of that conversation. I wondered if maybe actors had just never thought of the idea that flaking now could bite them in the ass later. So I added this line to my email:

If you're going to be late or can't make it, call me at as soon as possible. Failure to do so will hurt your chances of getting cast in this and/or future productions.

Wow, did that work! Everyone who cancelled gave me plenty of warning they weren’t coming, and not a single auditioner was late.

So if you’re running auditions any time soon, you might think about saying something like that to your auditioners. Having it spelled out like that really hit home.

Bollywood Production Meeting #1

We had our first of an indeterminate amount of production meetings for Bollywood on Friday. It went well as production meetings go. We talked a lot about auditions, which are coming up next week, and we brainstormed ideas for the set and scenery. It’s been a long time since I produced a show and I’m having trouble getting myself back up to speed. I’m sure there’s a million things I should be doing. Right now I’m just focused on making sure the auditions go smoothly.

Bollywood Auditions

The Un-Scripted Theater Company (www.un-scripted.com) is looking for
experienced improvisors for their upcoming show: The Great Puppet
Bollywood Extravaganza!

This November, we'll be bringing you a show that will send our sixth
season out with a bang. The puppets from "The Great Puppet Musical"
are back, visiting an exciting new world: India. Classic, universal
stories of true love, family, and adventure unfold, along with music
and dance, all in the style of a Bollywood movie. People and puppets
will be improvising together onstage as they sing and dance their way
through a 2-hour Bollywood adventure. Don't miss it!

We're looking for improvisors who ideally have experience improvising
longforms. Singing and dance experience is a definite plus;
puppeteering and/or Bollywood experience would be an awesome bonus,
but is NOT required.

Rehearsals will begin September 30th, and will run Tuesdays with
occasional Wednesdays, until the end of the run.
Performances will be weekends, at the SF Playhouse Stage 2: Nov. 28 -
Dec. 20, probably Thursday/Friday/Saturday with a possible Saturday
matinee as well. There is a $50 stipend for the run of shows.

Auditions will be conducted as a group in one two-hour block, with
everyone present at once. In order to give you the best opportunity to
show us your improv skills, we try to keep our auditions as light and
low-pressure as possible (more like a workout or improv jam than a
normal theater audition). We'll even email you the audition paperwork
ahead of time, so you can fill it out in the comfort of your own home
and bring it with you. We want our auditions to be fun and
stress-free, so you can just come and play with other improvisors who
love improvising as much as you do.

To reserve an audition slot, send an email here with your choice of
audition date: Monday, September 15th, or Tuesday, September 16th.
Auditions will be in the Union Square neighborhood; you should be
prepared to show up around 7:15 and you'll likely be done by 9:30.

Once we receive your email, we'll send you a confirmation notice with
your date and time, location, and the audition sheet to fill out at
home.

Let us know if you have any questions. Cheers!
Mandy Khoshnevisan, Director
Dave Dyson, Assistant Director
Alan Goy, Producer

Auditions!

The Un-Scripted Theater Company is looking for experienced improvisors for our upcoming improvised show: Un-Scripted: unscripted.

Show Description:
To heck with formats! This August, Un-Scripted breaks down the walls between us and the audience, bringing you . . . whatever we want! Short scenes, songs, musical instruments, things we did long ago and want to bring back, things we've never ever tried before and always wanted to. It's a shortform show that will seamlessly flow along without breaks for introduction, sweeping the improvisors and the audience on a ride of improvised possibility. Fun, huh?

Auditions will be Monday and Tuesday, June 16 & 17, 2008. They're group auditions, so you should plan to be there from about 7pm to 9:30pm. To sign up, email the producer Mandy (rhymes with Gandhi) and let us know whether you prefer Monday or Tuesday. Mandy will send you a confirmation with your date, the location (still TBA), and your handy-dandy audition paperwork.

In order to give you the best opportunity to show us your improv skills, we try to keep our auditions as light and low-pressure as possible (more like a workout or improv jam than a normal theater audition). We'll even email you the audition paperwork ahead of time, so you can fill it out in the comfort of your own home and bring it with you. We want our auditions to be fun and stress-free, so you can just come and play with other improvisors who love improvising as much as you do.

If you'd like more information about the audition and rehearsal process, and what we might be looking for when casting, you can visit the auditions page of our website. We offer a stipend of $50 for the run of the show.

Rehearsals will begin around June 24th and continue on Tuesdays until the show is over. The show performs Thursday-Saturday, August 2 - 30 at 8pm, at the SF Playhouse Stage 2, 533 Sutter St. in San Francisco.