Auditions
This short prepared performance piece is brought into an audition to showcase an actor’s skills.
This famous Russian theatre practitioner developed what became known as the Method system of acting.
Who is Konstantin Stanislavski?
This long-running NBC show, known for live sketches and political satire, launched the careers of many famous comedians.
What is Saturday Night Live?
This type of stage features the audience on only one side - like a framed picture.
What is a proscenium?
This Broadway musical tells the story of an orphan who sings “Tomorrow” while living with Daddy Warbucks.
What is "Annie"?
Directors often ask actors to read sides in this kind of audition where actors have not seen the script beforehand.
What is a cold read?
Stanislavski emphasized approaching a role through a character’s driving purpose, known as this.
What is the super-objective?
In sketch comedy writing, the concept that drives the joke - such as a character’s unusual flaw or an absurd premise - is known as this.
What is the 'game'?
This is the area of the stage closest to the audience.
What is downstage?
This 1971 rock musical, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, is a sung-through retelling of the last week of this Biblical figure's life.
What is "Jesus Christ Superstar"?
This term refers to being called back after the first audition for further evaluation.
What is a callback?
This question—“What would I do if I were in this situation?”—helps actors create truthful behavior on stage.
What is "the magic if"?
This British sketch show, featuring comedians like John Cleese and Terry Gilliam, was known for its surreal humor and aired both in the ’70s and '80s.
What is Monty Python?
A stage with audience seated on three sides -commonly used for intimacy and visibility - is called this.
What is a thrust?
Based on Gregory Maguire’s novel, this musical reframes a classic American tale from the perspective of two witches.
What is "Wicked"?
This document includes an actor’s experience, training, special skills, and contact info.
What is a resume?
Stanislavski encouraged actors to mine personal experiences to recall emotions needed for a role; this is known as this technique.
What is emotional recall?
This term refers to a technique in which a sketch repeats its central comedic game while raising stakes or absurdity with each beat.
What is heightening?
This term refers to the offstage areas to the left and right where actors wait before entering.
What are the wings?
This Andrew Lloyd Webber musical is about a stalker haunting the Paris Concert Hall who falls in love with a young soprano.
What is "Phantom of the Opera?"
This is the term for the initial scripted or improvised audition technique designed to observe the "spark" among actors.
What is a chemistry read?
The end goal of Stanislavski’s system is this heightened but truthful connection and responsiveness between actors onstage.
What is communion?
This comedy school, whose alumni include Steven Colbert, Chris Farley, and Steve Carrell, helped develop Chicago’s sketch-and-improv scene and still trains performers to this day.
What is Second City?
Invented in ancient Rome, this is the latin name for the passageways that run underneath the audience and stage.
What is the vomitorium?
With music by Stephen Sondheim and an intentionally fragmented, non-linear structure, this musical explores the disintegration of painter Georges Seurat’s relationships.
What is "Sundays In The Park With George"?