Wandering Minds

A Boston University Student- Theater Club
Acting
The Next Auditions will be held:
Next Fall! Most likely the first full week of classes in September. Follow us on our social media or check back here for updates on audition information!
How Auditions Work
Auditions are held at the beginning of the semester. We typically hold auditions for three days (Monday-Wednesday) as an open house between 5-10. What this means is you can come whenever you can and stay as long as you like. Most auditions will be held in 700 Beacon street-- it's kind of hard to get to so feel free to shoot us an email if you get lost!
When you arrive there should be signs to our base room, this is where you will fill out your audition form and various scenes for each play you can audition for. The audition forms are just a way for the individual director to ask specific questions about your schedule, comfort level, and experience (but no experience is required to audition or be cast!). You'll need to fill out a form for each play you audition for. When you're finished filling out your form you can choose "sides" to audition for.
Each director should also have a variety of sides from monologues to multiple people scenes. If you have a scene in which you need another person to read with you, feel free to reach out to anyone in the audition room. Once you've picked your sides, you have as much time as you want to rehearse your scene, we never require people to read cold. You can rehearse anywhere in the audition room or building, just don't leave the building!
Once you feel prepared, you can head up to the audition room for the play(s) you're auditioning for (these room numbers will be posted in the base room or you can ask anyone from Eboard to point you in the right direction!) Once you get to the audition room, hand your audition form to the director and act your heart out!
How Auditions Work - COVID Edition
Auditions are held at the beginning of the semester. This semester, due to the coronavirus and the hybrid model BU is working with, our auditions will be completely remote. The good news: you don't have to leave your dorm or house to audition and can be anywhere in the world! The bad news: we'll be testing a couple different ways to audition remotely, which means you'll have to be extra patient with us as we figure out Zoom (sorry about that).
Each director will have a different way they're auditions this semester, so be sure to follow the specific audition instructions for the show you want to audition for. If at any point you are confused or unsure about what to do, email us! We'll be happy to help clarify anything and everything.
Checking your email for any new audition information or material is going to be key! Make sure to check it daily and stay in contact with us throughout the audition process.
What happens after auditions
After you audition you are free to go! Callback lists will be posted on this website and on all our social media accounts Wednesday night, Thursday morning at the very latest. If you got a callback, congrats! If you didn't, that doesn't necessarily mean you didn't get cast. The callback email should contain all the necessary information you'll need to know about callbacks but they are typically held Thursday in the same place as auditions. You shouldn't need to prepare anything particular for callbacks, you'll be reading sides the same way as auditions. The director may have you read certain sides with certain people to test your chemistry so make sure if you have any conflicts email us and let us know! We usually require people to come as close to the beginning of callbacks as possible and stay as long as the individual director would need you.
After callbacks, the directors will confer with each other to create their cast lists. If you auditioned for more than one show, try and stay up a little later in case the director needs to contact you to discuss casting conflicts or preferences. Cast lists are usually posted here and on our social media accounts Thursday night or Friday morning at the latest.
If you got cast, congrats! Expect an email from the director in the upcoming week or so about rehearsal schedules and the necessary next steps. If you didn't get cast, don't worry! With 4 theater groups, casting can be ruthless but there's still a bunch of ways to get involved and we love to have new members. A great way to get involved with a show is joining a tech team! Tech meetings are usually held after auditions where you can sign up for a tech crew-- if you don't have any tech experience, don't worry! We can train you in any position you're interested in and the tech crews always become quite close so chances are you'll have a chance to dip your toes into a bunch of different things.
What to expect when acting in a show
First of all, congrats for getting cast! Expect an email from your director to set up rehearsal schedules within the next week. If you have any conflicts you didn't mark on your audition form, let the director know as soon as possible.
Most rehearsals will be in the evenings for no more than a couple hours. Most directors hold rehearsals once or twice a week depending on when you're called. For some plays, you may not get called to every rehearsal.
Before rehearsals begin, directors will usually host a read-through in which the whole cast will get together to read through the script. Sometimes the director will send a pdf of the script to you beforehand to read but if not, this is where you'll receive your script. You may be asked to bind it or print it yourself but some directors will do that for you.
After the read through, you should make sure to bring your script to every rehearsal. You may also want to bring some water, a pen, and homework in case there's any downtime during rehearsal. Rehearsals usually begin with warmups depending on the director, if you feel you need a warmup-- make sure to let the director know. Warmups are usually tongue twisters or games that help get your energy up so be prepared to move. After warmups, rehearsals will proceed differently depending on the director-- usually, they will consist of running certain scenes of the play but some may consist of various acting, dancing, or blocking exercises.
Most directors will set soft off-book and hard-off book dates. Make sure to pay attention to these and be working on memorizing your lines-- the sooner you can get off-book the easier rehearsals will be.
If you're going to miss a rehearsal make sure to let the director know as soon as possible. 48 hours in advance is usually the latest you should be letting a director know of an absence-- of course, emergencies happen, just make sure you're communicating with your director as much as possible so they can plan accordingly.
Finally, show week! The week of the show is called 'Tech week'. The Sunday of show week is what we call 'move in' you should try and be available this whole day to help move props, costumes, and set pieces into the theater as well as run the show. Expect to get out pretty late most days this week! Tech week is extremely important so make sure to let the tech director know of any conflicts you have (but please try not to have any this week!)
What to expect when acting in a show - Covid Edition
First of all, congrats for getting cast! Expect an email from your director to set up rehearsal schedules within the next week. If you have any conflicts you didn't mark on your audition form, let the director know as soon as possible.
Rehearsals are going to look a little different this semester. All rehearsals will have a remote option (for our lovely Learn from Anywhere folks), and some directors may choose to have some of their rehearsals in person as well. Your director will contact you about if/when in person rehearsals are happening.
Before rehearsals begin, directors will usually host a read-through in which the whole cast will get together to read through the script. The directors will most likely send you a PDF version of the script (since some may not be able to receive a hard copy in person). Again, the director will be in contact with you.
After the read through, you should make sure to bring your script to every rehearsal. Rehearsals will depend largely on whether the directors are staying 100% remote or if they're doing a hybrid rehearsal. In any case, make sure to have some water on-hand, a pen or pencil, and maybe some homework in case you have some downtime. Rehearsals usually start with some warm-ups, which are typically tongue twisters or Generic Theater Games TM. Then you'll dive into blocking (if there is any) and rehearsing. The shows this semester will be in podcast form, so the rehearsals will probably focus more on delivery than physicality.
Most directors will set soft off-book and hard-off book dates. Make sure to pay attention to these and be working on memorizing your lines-- the sooner you can get off-book the easier rehearsals will be. That being said, since these shows will be done as podcasts, being off-book may not be required by your director. The director will let you about their off-book policy!
If you're going to miss a rehearsal make sure to let the director know as soon as possible. 48 hours in advance is usually the latest you should be letting a director know of an absence-- of course, emergencies happen, just make sure you're communicating with your director as much as possible so they can plan accordingly.
Finally, show week! The week of the show is called 'Tech week'. Tech week this semester will look very different than previous semesters, but that's part of the experience! Tech week will most likely consist of recording and editing the show for it's release date. Tech week is extremely important so make sure to let the tech director know of any conflicts you have (but please try not to have any this week!)