AUDITIONING AND CASTING AT TKA
The audition process at TKA is unique for the theatre world.  We strive to give students an accurate representation of what a theatre audition would be like outside of school, but at the same time, we strive to make every student feel valued in the casting process.   Each student is a precious child of God whose identity is in Christ and not in the role they are asked to play.  Additionally, despite the type of role students are given, we want students to know that every role in the show is important.  1 Corinthians 12 is an excellent example of how every member in the body of Christ is valued and needed.

Please read our adaptation of 1 Corinthians 12:14-27 as it can be applied to the casting process.
“14Now the cast is not made up of one role but of many. 15If the ensemble should say, "Because I am not a lead, I do not belong to the cast," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the cast. 16And if the singer should say, "Because I am not a dancer, I do not belong to the cast," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the cast. 17If the whole cast were dancers, where would the singing be? If the whole cast were singers, where would the acting be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the cast, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the show be? 20As it is, there are many roles, but one cast.  21The leading roles cannot say to the dancers, "I don't need you!" And the dancers cannot say to the singers, "I don't need you!" 22On the contrary, those parts of the cast that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24while our principals need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the cast and has given greater honor to the roles that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the cast, but that its roles should have equal concern for each other. 26If one cast member suffers, every cast member suffers with them; if one cast member is honored, every cast member rejoices with them.”

CASTING POLICIES

Ever since the inception of The King’s Academy Drama Department in 1992, there has been a policy that everyone who auditions for the school musical will be cast.  As the program has grown over the years, we have maintained this policy.  However, when our spring musical cast reached over 115 students in the spring of 2008, we realized that we have reached our maximum.  We simply do not have the stage space to accommodate this high number of students.  While it is highly disappointing to turn students away, we will no longer be able to guarantee every student who auditions a role in our musical.

In addition to the musical, we also do two plays each year.  Due to the desire to expose students to a variety of classical and contemporary plays, we do not always cast every student who auditions for the fall and spring play.  Most plays are not written for large casts and in order to maintain the integrity of the script, we have to keep cast sizes to a minimum.

• Students are given the opportunity to preference roles on the audition form.  If they are not willing to take any role, they may not be cast if the director cannot give them the role they desire.  If students claim they will accept any role and then drop out after casting, they cannot try out for the next drama production at TKA whether it be within the same school year or the following fall.  The participation fee is not returned if a student drops out after the cast list is posted.

• The director aims to give everyone a “moment” on stage.  Casting is purposely designed to give different ensemble groups time to shine on stage.  When possible, songs or lines of leads may be given to other cast members to give more students an opportunity to shine.  This type of decision is always made before the casting process and songs and lines are not taken away from students during the rehearsal process.

• Students may not join the production after the audition process.

• Students who are involved in drama full time (i.e. take a drama class, do multiple TKA shows a year, or are on the Drama Student Republic leadership team) will naturally get the most consideration for roles.  This isn’t because of favoritism but because they have constant exposure to the director.  Students are told they are “always auditioning” so the more the director works with students, the more sides of their talent are shown.  “Full Time” drama students do not have to rely on their two minutes of audition time to shine.  Additionally, students who are this heavily invested in the program have worked hard to be where they are.  Students should also understand, however, that being a “Full Time” drama student does not guarantee a leading role.  The director has to cast performers in roles where they will be the most successful.

MYTHS ABOUT CASTING
Myth: The more a parent volunteers, the bigger the role the student will get.

Fact: Students are not given roles based on their parents’ involvement.  While it may be true that parents who are very involved have students who do well, it is usually the case that the parent got involved because the student’s talent and passion were discovered.
Myth: Seniors automatically get the leading roles and they are pre-cast in the production.

Fact: We do take the senior class into consideration when choosing the annual musical.  If the class is heavy on dancing talent, we aim to choose a show that will highlight their dancing.  If they are all strong singers, then we choose a vocally challenging show.  We aim to choose a show that our seniors will be successful in.  This does not mean, however, that seniors are guaranteed the leading roles.  Though we hope to highlight our seniors, through the audition process it sometimes becomes clear that a non-senior would be better for the role in terms of a specific area of talent, look, attitude, or responsibility.  With many students in the cast we must ensure that our leads are right for the roles and can carry the show.  We cannot have an unqualified student in a lead role simply because of their age.  However, if two similarly qualified students are up for the same role, the upperclassmen will get the part over the younger classman. Finally, it is important to note that no students are pre-cast.