LOWT Auditions FAQ for Actors
What are the LOWT Areawide Annual
Auditions?
The
League
of Washington Theatres (LOWT) Annual Auditions are for the
professional, working actor in the
Washington metropolitan area. Actors can be seen by representatives of
60-65
area theatre companies as well as local production companies and
casting
agencies.
When
and where are the 2011 LOWT Areawide Auditions?
The 2011 LOWT
Area wide Auditions are scheduled for February 28-March 2, 2011, 10am
to 5pm
each day. The auditions will be held at
Round House Silver Spring, 8641 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD. Note:
The RHT Silver Spring Black Box is immediately
adjacent to the AFI in Silver Spring, and is
three blocks from the Silver Spring Metro station.
Directions and information about parking can
be found at www.roundhousetheatre.org.
[Note:
Washington Baltimore AEA
Liaison Committee will hold two days of auditions, also at Roudn House
Silver
Spring, for members of Actors' Equity Association (January 31-February
1). For more
information, visit http://www.actorsequity.org/NewsMedia/news2010/dec29.DCBaltAuditions.asp]
Who can
participate in the General Auditions?
The
League
of Washington Theatres (LOWT) Annual Auditions are aimed at the
professional,
working actor in the Washington metropolitan area. They are open to all
professional actors, union and non-union. Actors who audition at
the
Equity Liaison Committee auditions Jan 31-Feb 1 are not
eligible to participate in the LOWT Annual Auditions.
[Note: Because the emphasis is on
local actors, all
out-of-town actors who audition are asked to indicate on their resume
whether
they have local housing available.
Note to Local Actors: We
recommend, if you have an out-of-town phone number of your resume, you
include at
least the city and state of your residence so that auditors are clear
that you
are a local hire.]
Are there
any age restrictions?
You
must be over 10 years of age to register for the LOWT
Auditions.
[Note: We do not encourage
children without significant professional theatre experience to
register. Very few auditors are looking
for children at
these auditions.]
How many
audition appointments are there?
There
are approximately 440 audition appointments.
How
do I register for the Auditions?
Registration
for the LOWT auditions
on Feb 28-Mar 2 will be online only. Registration will
open on
Monday, February 7 at 10am and close on Friday, February 11 at 5pm, or
when all
appointments are filled. Because there are usually many more
actors
wanting to audition than appointments available, the appointments fill
very
quickly, usually within a few hours.
Can I
register
for a specific time?
Registration
is by session, e.g. Monday morning, Tuesday
afternoon. The auditions are divided
into half-hour segments; specific times are assigned to actors in the
order in
which they complete the online registration.
How
do I hear
whether or not I have been given a slot?
Registrants will receive a confirmation by
e-mail whether or not they receive a slot. Actors that
receive slots are encouraged to
read their notice very carefully for special instructions regarding
their
specific audition time, location, arrival time, confirming of their
slot and
materials to bring. A certain number of applicants will receive
notice that
they have been put on a waiting list, our way of ensuring no slot go
unused due
to cancellations.
What if I
am on
the waiting list?
A
limited waiting list is compiled, on a first come-first
served basis, at the time of the online registration. We will notify
you as
soon as possible if an audition slot becomes available. Inclusion on
the
waiting list does not guarantee than you will get an audition time. The waiting list is valid until Friday,
February 25.
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What if I don’t
get an appointment?
If you do not get an appointment from the online
registration (or the waiting list), you may try for standby audition
slot. To try for a standby slot, please
report to
the Actor Check-in desk on the morning of the day you wish to audition
to get
on the Standby List for that day. While we
try to get as many stand-bys in as possible, we do not know how
many—if any--stand-bys will be able to audition on any given day.
The
stand-by list starts over again each day.
Full standby procedures will be posted closer to the auditions.
How
many headshots and resumes (P/Rs)
will I have to bring?
Actors are asked to bring 65 with them on the day
of their audition and turn them in at Actor Check-in.
If this number changes prior to the
auditions, we will post the information on our website.
Remember:
your 8 x 10 headshot should have your resume printed on or
securely
attached to the back (at least 4 staples—one in each corner) Please review What’s a Theatrical Resume
Supposed to
Look Like?
for information
on preparing your resume.
If I'm given a
slot, how much time do I have?
You will have 1 ½ minutes for your audition, starting after you
complete the
introduction of your piece(s). This time is yours to fill as you see
fit, filling
the time in a way that you think best showcases your skills and
maximizes your
hiring potential. You may do one
monologue, 2 short contrasting monologues, a monologue and 16 bars of a
song
(an accompanist will be available)—just be sure that you observe the 90
second
time limit.
Will
there be an accompanist?
Yes, there will be a professional
accompanist. If you plan on singing, we
recommend you bring your sheet music, in the appropriate key with the
start and
stop place clearly marked. You will only
have a brief moment to confer with the pianist prior to beginning your
song.
Why
do we only get
1 ½ minutes?
Actors often feel that 1 ½ minutes is not enough to showcase
their talents, and
that it is difficult to find contrasting pieces to fit in the time
frame.
Remember the goal of these auditions is to get a callback. It is
extremely rare
for anyone to get a role only from their general audition. Keeping that
in
mind, this audition is the equivalent of a “casting handshake”. Give
the
directors a taste of what you can do and leave them wanting more. They
will be
delighted to call you back to see more of what you can offer. One and a
half
minutes are more than enough time to accomplish these goals.
Where can I get more information about the LOWT Auditions?
Please review our Guidelines for Actors
for more
information about the auditions.
What
if I have more questions?
Please contact Nicola Daval at info@lowt.org
with additional questions. Please DO NOT
contact Round House Theatre Company with questions about the auditions.