After auditions are complete, the artistic teams gather together to prepare for callbacks. Callbacks typically occur the day after auditions and allow artistic teams to see more from certain students. They are calling these students back to see more, thus the name, callbacks! Keep reading to learn more about the callback process.
There are lots of different ways to secure a callback! But the number one reason students are called back is because the artistic team needs to see more from them in a certain skill. For instance, in a show like Newsies, it’s important to see who can do complex dance routines, so the team would call back students who perform well in their dance audition.
The key to an audition that secures a callback is to be prepared. Learn more about how to prepare your first audition, or really any audition, by reading our blog post all about it!
At callbacks, the artistic team will have scenes and songs from the show selected for students to perform. For example, at a callback for Mary Poppins, the director might choose a scene between Mary Poppins and the Banks children alongside a selection from “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” This allows the team to see students step into the characters from the show to see who fits each role best!
Alongside the scenes and songs, choreographers may often have a dance callback. This dance combination is often at a higher level than the original dance audition. Choreographers may also ask for special dance skills like tap or acrobatic tricks.
When you receive the callback list, sometimes it will tell you what roles you are called back for! Sometimes, it won’t! The key is to prepare by knowing the show you’re auditioning for inside and out. When you arrive for callbacks, you should understand the plot of the show and be familiar with all of the characters. The more research you do, the better!
It’s also important to be as familiar with the music as possible. The music director will briefly work through the music cuts with you, but if you come in already knowing the show, you will feel so much better!
Whether you receive a callback or not, you should still be proud of yourself for auditioning! It is a brave and vulnerable thing to get up there and sing and dance in front of everyone, and it is an accomplishment just to audition.
If you don’t receive a callback, it doesn’t mean that you aren’t being considered for a role, it just means that the directors saw everything they needed to see from your audition.
And on the flip side, if you do receive a callback, you are not guaranteed a role. The casting process is one big puzzle, and there are only so many roles to be assigned. Whether you are cast as the main lead or as an ensemble member, every cast member is important to telling the story.
