Some notes for the Ben Hur auditions

​Hello lovely people! 

We are really looking forward to meeting you on Sunday Aug 29th for the auditions. It's so wonderful to be slowly getting back to working on shows again.  We just wanted to share some additional information ahead of the day. 

COVID SAFETY
With times as they are, we would be hugely grateful if people attending could do a lateral flow test at home before coming. We won't be asking you for results, and will be working on a trust system,  BUT Should you find yourself testing positive, please dont panic - send us a quick message and we will arrange a Zoom/ Facebook Messenger meeting to audition later in the later afternoon / early evening. 

When you arrive, we are in the downstairs room at Chestnut Community Centre - doors will be open for a maximum of good ventilation with a through-draught. We would be really grateful for people to wear masks as there are likely to be quite a few people present. When doing your auditions, though, we will ask you to remove your mask so we can see your facial expressions. 
If, however, you rely on lip-reading, please let us know so that the casting panel can also remove our masks when speaking. 

We will be asking everyone to sign in and out. 

For those filling out audition forms at the community centre, please bring your diary, as the forms do ask about your availability - this is really important as we will use this information to create the rehearsal schedules for the selected cast. 

AMENITIES
Toilets and coffee/tea making facilities are available - we will be supplying coffee, tea, squash. The room and the adjoining loo are both fully wheelchair accessible. 

GETTING THERE
Chestnut Community Centre is a little out of town. For those who drive, the address and postcode is 1-3 Poplar Close, Brixham, TQ5 0SA for the satnav.

For public transport, the nearest bus up from town is the 18 - for which you can download the timetable at https://www.stagecoachbus.com/routes/south-west/18/brixham-kingswear/xdao018.o.  The stops are on a road parallel to the centre, so there is a short walk - the easiest is to get off at Laywell Lane and to walk up Chestnut Drive. 
Alternatively, if getting a taxi from town, Ace Taxis are pretty good, on 01803 882121, or there are usually taxis at the taxi rank in the town centre just around from the central bus stops. 

If you find you are running late, please drop a quick message to us to let us know.  

WHAT TO EXPECT
- Doors will be open by 12.30pm. 
-  We will start promptly at 1pm; with a brief introduction about the project, and an introduction of the crew members present. We will also throw open the room to any questions at this point. We aim to finish this part by 1.30pm. 
- The casting will consist of two parts. The first part will involve auditioning using character sides, where cast members will work with the scene excerpts. We may ask for some of these to be run twice, especially if someone has not requested character sides in advance, or has also decided to try out for a different character. 
- The second part will be a brief improvisation from each person, for up to two of the characters for whom they are auditioning. 

After the auditions have taken place, everyone will be free to leave. The panel will then catch up with zoom auditions for anyone needing to quarantine from Covid, etc, and then the panel will be discussing the castings. 

Please note that there is no right or wrong way to audition, and it will not be judged on second-guessing what the director may have in mind. We will also not be judging on the pronunciation of any obscure words or names. 

We will be looking at: 
- good time keeping
- pleasant interaction with others in the room
- definite choices about the scene you are auditioning with (it does not in any way have to be "the director's vision" but what we do like to see at this point is a convincing strong choice on how to play the scene.) 

We may photograph or video auditions for reference back during the casting decisions. Once the casting choices are made, those photos and videos will be deleted. 

We aim to have contacted everyone with the outcomes of the auditions by the end of the week. We do ask you to reply to any offers of roles as soon as possible, so that we can finalise the castings. 

On Sunday September 5th (same time and place) there will be a cast readthrough of the script, to work with the whole script, to cover things like pronunciations, cover actors agreements, and do other bits of housekeeping before the main rehearsals begin.

And that is about it. Do please get in touch with any questions that you may have ahead of the 29th, and it will be great to see you in person! 

Laura and the rest of the crew.