Day 20: Copy & Collate

Today, I spent my entire day copying and collating. First, I photocpied a libretto (which takes MUCH longer than you think it would take) and some audition forms. Then, I had to go back and hole punch seven different photocopies of scripts from past productions and put them all into binders. Finally, I labeled the binders. I worked with paper for almost three hours and got no papercuts!

Day 19: Typing and Copying

Apparently there was a miscommunication and so nobody assembled the packets of sheet music that actors pick up prior to their auditions, so my mentor gave me the job.  I copied four songs (two for men and two for women) out of the piano book and collated all of the copies into packets (25 packets in total). Then, I finished working on the technical database. Almost 400 entries! I feel very accomplished because I had an extremely productive day.

Day 18: More Database Work

I’m still exhausted from last night. Today was pretty low-key; I kept working on the technical/production database. More than 200 entries so far and still tons more to go through…

Day 17: Open Casting Call

This evening from 6 to 11 I worked the front desk during the open casting call that we held. It was crazy – there were 140 people all in the lobby of the theatre warming up and getting ready for their auditions. I saw a lot of people there that I knew, too.  I was in charge of passing out pens & audition information sheets and then collecting them, stapling the info sheets/resumes/headshots together, and assigning each person a number.

It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. I’m exhausted, though. It was a late night…

Day 16: Technical Production Master List

Today I started working on a database of all of the technical workers who have worked for the theatre.  The list includes everybody from lighting/set/sound designers to directors to running crew to orchestra players. I’m getting all of this information from a huge folder that contains contact lists from almost every show that the theatre has produced in the last ten years. The folder is huge and it’s interesting to see all of the people that have worked her in the past.  Even more interesting is how much work some people have done here!

Day 15: More Databases

Today, I went through the “yes” pile from the meeting on Wednesday and assembled a database of auditioners who had piqued the interest of the casting staff. The database included their name, phone number, email address, and the shows that they were being considered for. I have learned a lot about using Excel during my time here!

Day 14: Program & Casting

I spent the first two hours today continuing to work on the program.  More people had sent in their bios and needed to be added to the program.  I also went through the libretto and put together the list of songs/scenes that goes in the program.  After that, I sat in on a casting meeting with my mentor and the owner of the theatre.  They went through the pile of resumes and headshots from the open call on Saturday and sorted them into “yes” and “no” piles.

Day 13: Program

I got to work on the Playbill for our upcoming show that opens next month.  I didn’t get to design it or anything but I went through my mentor’s email inbox and copied and pasted actor and technical bios into the template for the program.  Then, I copy-edited them and made sure that they were all in the same format. It was cool to  be working on something that so many people will eventually get to see!

Day 12: Continued Prep

More people responded to the email, so I continued to print out their responses and add them to the database.  The first open call is tomorrow so we did general prep work for that.  Overall, today was uneventful.

Day 11: Auditon Prep

There was a matinee show going on while I was at the theatre today so I got to listen to the music while I worked, which was very nice. We have our open calls coming up this month, so I sorted through all of the actors who have previously worked for us to see which ones have RSVP’d to an email that my mentor sent out – people on “the list” have worked for us previously and therefore don’t need to audition again and only need to mention which shows they are interested in.  I printed out the RSVP’s and alphabetized them. Then, I created a database that lists who has responded and which shows they are interested in.