Thursday, June 07, 2007
A+E

06/10/07 A&E LEAD: Cattle call

Cattle call For veteran actors and newcomers alike, the Unified Auditions offer a chance to show their stuff BY BERT OSBORNE What do you get when you take nearly 200 local actors, plus casting...

Agnes Harty performs in "Educating Rita" at Red Clay Theatre in 2006. "It's so efficient—all those directors and casting people in one room," she says of the Unified Auditions. "Plus, I feel a sense of community at the Unifieds that I don't necessarily get at regular general auditions." CREDIT: Red Clay Theatre

Performing a monologue can feel "very random and unsupported in a general audition setting," says actor Mark Russ, "where you only have two or three minutes amid the hustle and bustle of the process." CREDIT: Courtesy of Mark Russ

"One location. One room. One two-minute audition. It’s environmentally friendly."—Suehyla El-Attar

Cattle call
For veteran actors and newcomers alike, the Unified Auditions offer a chance to show their stuff
BY BERT OSBORNE

What do you get when you take nearly 200 local actors, plus casting representatives from some 50 area theaters, and then mix them together over the course of two days at the 14th Street Playhouse? It’s no joke. It’s the Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts’ (ACPA) eighth annual Unified General Auditions, and it’s fairly serious business.

Held every spring, the auditions are designed to introduce the greatest number of actors to the greatest number of theaters in the most expeditious amount of time. In two- or two-and-a-half minute intervals—Actors’ Equity union members get an extra 30 seconds—they file onstage to recite monologues or sing songs, in what has come to be not-so-affectionately known as the “cattle call.” For the auditors in the audience, most of whose companies also conduct their own auditions (by season or by show), the process helps them in spotting actors they may want to call back for further consideration at a later date.

For a backstage glimpse of the inner workings of the Atlanta theater community, The Sunday Paper recently queried a sampling of participants on both sides of the stage.

I. THE AUDITORS

Q What are you looking for at these auditions?

JODY FELDMAN (Alliance Theatre): I’m basically looking for actors who interest me enough to want to spend more time with them.

MELISSA FOULGER (7 Stages): Typically, we’ll be looking for people to fill specific roles in the upcoming season, but it also allows me to see who’s new to the area.

RICHARD GARNER (Georgia Shakespeare): I’m looking for actors who handle text well, who are connected to their bodies, who can emotionally connect to the material they’re using and who have some sort of spark that will make them come alive onstage.

JON GOLDSTEIN (ART Station): First, looking for actors new to Atlanta, then quality of talent, then types and abilities, then specific parts for upcoming shows.

What can you really tell about an actor in two minutes?

JILL JANE CLEMENTS (Theatrical Outfit): I can tell if they sing well or not! I can get a feel for their character range, too. Their choice of material is also a clue about how they see themselves.

GARNER: You can certainly tell if they merit calling back to read for a specific show or role. It doesn’t take long to rule someone out—maybe they don’t have the vocal skills we need to fill a 500-seat house, maybe their dialect is too strong, or maybe they just aren’t physically right or in the right age range for the roles we’re looking to fill. If someone does a strong, solid audition that sets them apart from others, you can find that out in a couple of minutes. Then, when you call them back later, you can get more specific about what they handle.

PETER HARDY (Essential Theatre): You can tell if someone looks to be a well-rounded talent that you could call in for a wide variety of roles, or whether they simply have one quality that might be useful for a specific role.

MIRA HIRSCH (Jewish Theatre of the South): Most everything. I can see if they have training, presence, likeability, technique, naturalism. I can determine if they are enjoyable to watch, if they are engaging, if they can convey something true and believable. I know within the first 30 seconds if I’m going to stay tuned in or if I’m going to tune out for the next 120.

TIM McDONOUGH (Theater Emory): One gets impressions from the choice of material, the sensibility with respect to treatment of the material, and something about the person’s voice, body, emotional wiring, comic sensibility.

Do these auditions show you anything new about actors whose work you already know?

FELDMAN: It depends on what they actually do. It’s always nice to be reminded how talented someone is.

GOLDSTEIN: Sometimes they can show growth and development in an actor’s abilities, or physical changes over time for both older, aging actors or those who’ve just been using the same headshot for too many years!

Can you cite any specific examples of casting an actor as a direct result of his Unified audition?

CLEMENTS: At the 2006 Unifieds, I saw Eric Mendenhall and liked his look and talent. That’s why I called him in to read for our most recent show [“The Chase”].

FELDMAN: It’s very rare that I put an actor in front of a director strictly on the basis on a Unified audition, if that’s my first time ever seeing them.

GARNER: Yes. It just happened. In our remount of “Twelfth Night” for Shake at the Lake this year, [original co-star] Neal Ghant had to drop out due to a conflicting project. I’d just been at the Unifieds and saw David Howard there. He fit the bill—solid text skills, he sings, and it didn’t hurt that he was close to Neal’s size, which made the costume staff happy. I called him in to read for the director and he had the role within a week of my seeing him at the Unifieds.

HARDY: It happened with us just this year. I’d already held auditions for one of our shows and hadn’t been able to cast one of the roles to my satisfaction. I saw Fracena Byrd’s audition at the Unifieds and could tell she had what I was looking for, so I offered her the role outright, without having her read for it, and she accepted.

HIRSCH: Two years ago, I saw Enoch King for the first time at the Unifieds. I was intrigued by him, but we didn’t have anything in our season for him at that time. I did, however, have a role come up in our play-reading series last spring that I thought he would be right for, just based on what I’d seen him do at the Unifieds. He really blew me away, so when a role came up for an African-American actor in our last show [“Hank Kimmel’s Shorts”], I knew just who I wanted.

II. THE ACTORS

Q Why do you feel it's necessary to attend these auditions?

ELIZABETH WELLS BERKES (“Stick Fly”): The ACPA appealed to the Atlanta membership of Actors’ Equity, requesting a stronger showing of union members at the Unifieds. I decided to go partly in a show of team spirit, and partly because I wanted to sing. It seems Atlanta theaters are doing more and more musicals these days, and I haven’t really marketed myself as a singer. The Unifieds seemed like a good opportunity to put myself out there in a new way.

MATTHEW FELTEN (“Love’s Labour’s Lost”): I felt it was more beneficial than necessary. I’ve been working steadily since I moved to Atlanta, but there are theaters I haven’t worked with yet, and I just want to keep myself in their minds. Are they necessary? No. Are they helpful? Yes.

AGNES HARTY (“Cabaret”): It had been a few years since I did the Unifieds and I felt it was time to remind the powers-that-be that I’m still out here. Also, it forces me to come up with fresh material, which is always a good thing. Keeping those audition muscles toned is important to me, so I don’t get too lazy.

Given that most theaters hold their own auditions, what makes these important?

BERKES: It affords newcomers to Atlanta a chance to be seen by nearly everyone in town at once, which is a great way to introduce oneself to the theater community. For established performers, the Unifieds can provide an opportunity to take risks and do something different.

SUEHYLA EL-ATTAR (“9 Parts of Desire”): One location. One room. One two-minute audition. It’s environmentally friendly.

BETHANY IRBY (“Guys & Dolls”): It’s about getting your foot in the door. Most theaters invite actors to audition for their shows, and they have to know you to invite you. The Unifieds are a great way for them to get to know you.

Can any actor truly show off his capabilities in two minutes?

CHRISTOPHER EKHOLM (“All the King’s Men”): Yes, because as any director will tell you, one can tell inside of 30 seconds whether the auditioner is any good or not.

EL-ATTAR: Show off? No. One will rarely win a Tony award with an audition piece. Show talent? Yes. One can see that within 20 seconds.

FELTEN: Heck, no! I’ve seen some people give a great audition but be terrible in a production. I’ve also seen people have a terrible audition but then be amazing in a show.

HARTY: Yes, if you put your mind to it. Perhaps you won’t show the entire range of your capabilities, but if you’re doing it right, it’s enough time to make people sit up and take notice.

BILL MURPHEY (“The Chase”): If you’re singing, directors can get an idea of your range and abilities. They can tell how well you can project and articulate, and see what kind of stage presence you have. I would say good directors can tell in that time whether they’re interested in seeing more, or whether they’ve seen enough.

MARK RUSS (“Wrong Turn at Lungfish”): Absolutely not. There are inherent limitations to the process, but what else can you do?

What goes into your selection of audition material?

BERKES: It depends on what I’m hoping to achieve in the audition. Ideally, an actor has a repertoire of material to select from that he or she can tailor to the situation at hand. Do I want to come across like the girl next door? An intellectual? A scenery-chewing bitch?

EKHOLM: Audition material should be something that shows off your strong points, are truly contrasting, and ultimately something you enjoy doing.

RUSS: A lot of head-aching. Most monologues are passive and contemplative by nature, and they work in the context of the surrounding action of a play when it’s performed as a whole. The same monologue feels very random and unsupported in a general audition setting, where you only have two or three minutes amid the hustle and bustle of the process, with the shuffling of papers going on among the auditors, or with the set of “Always, Patsy Cline” behind you.