How to Research for an Audition
As with any audition or casting call, you should always start preparing by doing some research. Knowing factors such as the company’s mission, the producer’s style, and the production’s origin can help you feel more familiar with the role you are auditioning for.
This will also help you get a better feel for what the casting directors will be examining as they make their decisions. Perhaps, they want a dancer who can embody a strange character. On the other hand, they may be looking for a dancer who specializes in a specific technique. Whatever the case may be, your research can give you the answers you need to be able to audition confidently.
If you’re curious to know what things you should research as you’re scouting new opportunities and preparing for auditions, keep reading!
Understand the Production
Before auditioning for any production, make sure you’ve researched its background and history. What’s the plot, setting, and theme of the production? Does the production have a moral for the audience to takeaway? Is its purpose to inform or simply to entertain? What’s the history of the production itself? For example, when was it created and where was it performed?
Knowing this information will give you more context about the production to help you understand the story it aims to tell, how it should be told, and how the production has developed over the years. This will likely help set the tone for the audition.
Get Familiar with the Role
If you’re auditioning for a specific role in a production, it is essential that you take time to learn everything you can about that character. Is the role based on a historical figure, an animal, or a fictitious creature? What’s the role’s purpose in the overall storyline of the production? If a version of the production can be viewed online, watch it, and study the person in that role. What do you notice about their movements? What would you do differently? What can you practice to help you get into character?
By researching the personality, mannerisms, and nature of the character you are auditioning for, you can learn to embody those characteristics through dance. When you go to an audition, you’ll be able to show that you’ve studied and practiced specifically for that role, which the casting directors will appreciate!
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Get to Know the Director
Find out everything you can about the director of the production you’d like to audition for. What’s their dance experience? What productions have they directed in the past? Can you find a consistent theme or style in the works they direct? What’s their teaching style? Do they have a website or social media account you can follow to learn more about their personality?
While it’s important to be yourself at auditions, being aware of the director’s style and preferences have the potential to benefit you. You’ll have insight into what the director expects from dancers, which will help you as you practice for the audition. You’ll also feel more confident if you meet the director because you’ve already got some relevant talking points up your sleeve.
Research the Company
If you are auditioning to join a professional dance studio or company, visit their website to learn more about what they have to offer. What kinds of performances do they sponsor? Where is the company located and what effect might that have on the company’s preferred style of teaching? Do an internet search to see what news and press the company is featured in. Does the company prefer dancers of diverse personalities and experience levels or do all of their dancers have a niche set of skills? What’s the company’s history? What values do they stand for, and what do they do in their communities?
Researching this beforehand will help you develop questions to ask during the auditioning process. Showing this kind of interest in the company will help you stand out by showing that you take your career seriously. Most importantly, this research will help to determine whether you and the company are a good fit for each other.
Tap Into Your Network
Connecting with dancers in your network will prove to be an excellent source of insight and advice for whatever your next steps may be. If you’re curious about a specific company, reach out to some of its current or former dancers to learn what they liked about the company. Follow them on social media just to see what other groups and activities they are involved in. Many times, companies are not just interested in your dancing talent but also what you do outside of the studio and how you carry yourself. Observe others so you can be aware of the expectations.
Are you auditioning for a role or production that’s been performed before? Contact dancers who’ve played that role or danced in that production just to learn more about their experience and any tips they have for getting into character. Asking for advice and sharing wisdom with other dancers is an awesome and easy way to enhance bonds within the dance community.
Related: Tips for Virtual Auditions
Success is found where preparation meets opportunity. Whenever you have an opportunity to audition, make sure you do this simple research to ensure you’re as prepared as possible. Before you audition, you already have insight into the things the director values and tends to gravitate toward. When you join a company, you’ve already vetted it to ensure that it’s a good representation of you.
This knowledge gives you motivation and a purpose behind what you’re doing, and will also fortify your values and character as a dancer. Perhaps you’ll learn more about yourself in the process. You may discover a specialty you have or specific types of roles you like to play.
Ultimately, this research will help you gain a better understanding of what you are hoping to be a part of. After all, you’ll be devoting your time and energy to this opportunity for the next few weeks, months, or years!
Dancers, drop your dance research tips in the comments below!