how young is too young for an open call

College Majors Musical Theater Major
21

<p>The Spring Awakening kids are definitely a very talented group. Keep in mind, though, that even as talented as they are, almost all of them are very experienced and are not still teens. Many have been acting professionally since they were children. A few have extensive tv and film credits as well as many off-Broadway, regional, and national tour credits. Some of these kids who have been with SA since the beginning were very young when they started, but those tend to be the ones who also have been onstage across the country since they were kids, like Lea and Remy.</p>

<p>I think this is a different situation than auditioning for an Equity production of a show like A Chorus Line, which traditionally does not have teens in it, and thus the age appropriateness of the call parameters. Even the example of an 18 year old boy being cast, which may not be all that unusual if he is able to play the appropriate age onstage, is different than that of a 15 year old girl having a possibility. There really is no role that is a real possibility for a 15 year old to play in the show, even if she looks older, she's not going to have a mid-20's to mid-30's look.</p>

22

<p>Again for us it is really that it is so close and the experience of the dance call which is not something easy to get here in the midwest that we would be going. In reality I have no idea if D is ready for this kind of dance (and this is my biggest fear) level since she only competes against locals and sometimes returning MT college students. She does very well in that arena. She did OK with the only other broadway dance call but found it very hard.</p>

<p>D she is tall, 5'7' and can look 20ish, so in a dance group she is unlikely to look like a child. Last summer she was the age "baby" of Ragtime - two yers younger than the Little girl, but played 20. In the make up and costume my sister could not tell who she was, but Ragtime custumes, hats and hairstyle tended to age all the cast. In a leotard with her hair up for dance she will look younger.</p>

<p>She has spent most of her time in dance recently, where going to audition is akin to taking a master class, which is how D would look at it. A cool master class with top people in the area, more than an audition. We would of course bring music on the odd chance she was asked to sing, but have no expectation of that she would be asked to stay.</p>

<p>And Ken- we saw the rival of La Cage with Robert Guillele (I know that is not the spelling) which gives both ACL and La Cage a special place in my D's heart. The dance in La Cage was amazing and fun. I am very impressed with your friendbeing cast at 16!</p>

23

<p>Has this audition already happened? If not, I also say to go for it. ACL would likely not only be auditioning leads but also the cut dancers in the opening number - and age would not be as important a factor for them. But yeah, they probably wouldn't cast someone under 18 due to the studio teacher requirement......</p>

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<p>My d was 18 when she attended an open call for ACL before the original cast for this revival was set. She made it to the end. She auditioned again (at 19) at another open call, and the same thing happened. She was thrilled with the experience!</p>

25

<p>Yay Churchmusicmom! Your daughter seems to fare very well at these dance calls and must be very talented. </p>

<p>I do think an 18 year old, like your D, should give it a go! My opinion for a 15 year old for THIS particular BROADWAY show, is different. Another show, I might have a different opinion. Another venue? Same thing. </p>

<p>Unrelated to that....but speaking to the point about trying the audition to assess how she can compete at this higher level of auditioning (post #22)....In general, I agree with that notion as far as trying auditions at this level to see how you fare. But in this case, I am not sure your D needs to be able to compete at that level amongst 20-30 year olds YET. Rather, had this been an audition for a Broadway show looking to cast TEENS and she tried an audition to see how she could compete with teens from all over the country at that level, I'd say it would be a great thing to experience. I do think it is good to self assess against a higher talent pool than one's local community, school, etc. There are ways of doing that...such as entering state or national level adjudications, attending programs that draw from a national talent pool, and so forth. As well, attending auditions in NYC for Broadway/Tours, etc. amongst kids with many credits....all will garner the young person an opportunity to experience and self assess in a greater and more competitive talent pool....which is what BFA admissions can be like. It is good to have chances to self evaluate where you might stand in such a pool of talented people. But in this instance, I don't think it is necessary or even that reasonable to be able to compete with 20-30 year olds when one is still 15. I'd rather put a 15 year old in a Broadway audition with other teens vying for a teen role and let the child experience that and the competition involved. So, I agree with the notion of seeing the competition and experiencing a much higher level audition but I just would not have chosen THIS audition for a 15 year old given she won't be considered for the part and also that she should not be expected to be able to compete with 20-30 year olds yet. However, her experiences auditioning for roles like Inez, were good ones because she could see that she made it to callbacks in a more competitive field than her local community. That IS a valuable experience. And...mucho congrats that she made it that far in that audition!</p>

26

<p>Sooz, i agree with you!</p>

<p>ACL is not appropriate for a 15 year old, at least the original version...</p>

<p>I understand the desire to attend the audition, however. My d had an absolute blast doing it. Thing is, since she is a neuroscience major and not neccessarily "counting" on getting a performing job, she does not feel as much "pressure" when she goes to these calls. I suspect she will be doing fewer and fewer, though, as she gets farther into her major. </p>

<p>BTW, she will be going to the call-backs today for Rockettes....a job she would like to do some day, ummmmm, for "kicks"</p>

<p>sorry....:)</p>

<p>I digress. Back to the original topic....</p>

27

<p>MTMama...I would like to speak with you about AADA...but your mailbox is full !</p>

28

<p>Well the audition is this morning and D is not there. In a sense age was the defining factor. Today is the last review day before her math final (not a strong subject) and she felt she had to be there for the review. I am happy that she is able to keep a sense of balance and priority in all of this. For D getting successfully out of high school is her first goal, and finishing all her required math credits as fast as possible is an important part of that. However our discussions around going to the audition or not did provide an openning into her long and short term goals/plans which she has a good "big picture" idea of, and long and short term fit together well.
If anyone went to the open calls either here in Ohio or one of the other states they were having them in we would like to hear about them.</p>

29

<p>Keepingcalm,
Thanks for the update and follow up. Alas, it did not work out to go. Actually, this is pretty common for students. It is hard to miss school to go to auditions and callbacks. I recall this when my child was in K-12. It actually even pertains to now in college. She doesn't go to outside auditions because not only is it hard to miss school, there is a very strict attendance policy in the BFA program. But her main reason for not going is she wants to stay in school. It is her priority now to be educated and also get her training and she doesn't want to be pulled from that. I recall similar issues but with a slight twist for the age even in grade/high school, and what would have to be missed and so forth. </p>

<p>I think your D is doing great and if she can attend regional auditions for theater in your area, she still will gain valuable audition experience. </p>

<p>Seeing how she fares amongst a highly talented or competitive pool of people is valuable. But if she went to the open call, she need not compare herself to women in their 20s with more training, etc. If your D can enter any regional, state, or national adjudications, she'll get a sense of how she fares beyond her community. If she ever attends any summer programs drawing from a national pool of teens, that also will give her a self evaluative tool. </p>

<p>As far as experiencing a high level audition, perhaps there are some on a professional level in your area that will give her a similar idea as the one for A Chorus Line because that open call was just for folks in the Cinci area, and may be similar types of artists as those that show up for professional theater auditions in that region. It is not like the ACL audition drew the same crowd as it does in NYC. So, there may still be opportunities for your D to experience a high level audition to see what it is like, at a professional theater in your area. </p>

<p>Anyway, it is good that your D has short and long term goals. The journey is a long one and she is still young. </p>

<p>PS...tell her at some BFA programs, you do not have to take math. That is the case at my D's program (NYU/Tisch). Believe me, she is glad. She was always a very good math student, and accelerated in the subject, but has never liked math. So, ever since AP Calculus junior year, she has not touched another math book and never will. :D There is light at the end of that tunnel but first one must pay their dues taking subjects they don't like as much.</p>

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<p>Keepingcalm, if the audition was anything like the ones held in NYC, the first "cut" is a simple double pirouette. And a CRAZY number of dancers (ones that my d knew were excellent) did NOT make it past that first cut both times she did the audition. So I am very glad your d did not miss school and her math review in order to attend. Her desire for the "experience" of the dance part of the audition might not have even been fulfilled if she did not make it past that first cut, and I would hate for that to be her very first experience with this!</p>

<p>Coincidentally, these "local" auditions that Binder is holding come here to Atlanta Thursday and my d is planning to (once again) attend as she is home for a couple of weeks. And she is going with the very realistic expectation that she could be cut on that double turn. This even though she has done the ACL open call twice and gone a good long way through the process each time...</p>

<p>It's all so very serendipitous!</p>

<p>All the best to your d! It sounds like she has a great head on her shoulders and a great mom to guide her.</p>