General Audition Information

AUDITION INFORMATION

PARTICIPATING IN GCP SHOWS:  Good Company Players produces 6 shows a year in Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater (1226 N. Wishon Ave., Fresno, CA 93728). The shows mounted at Roger Rocka’s are mostly musicals and run 8 to 9 weeks.  Performances are generally Thursday through Sunday nights, including Sunday matinees.  In addition, Good Company Players produces 6 plays annually at their own 2nd Space Theatre (928 E. Olive, Fresno, CA. 93728).  These shows also run 8 to 9 weeks, with performances Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, plus Sunday matinees.  GCP rehearsal periods are typically six weeks long for musicals and five weeks for straight plays. We rehearse Mondays through Fridays, starting at 6 p.m..  Longer rehearsals are held on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights, with shorter rehearsals on Thursdays and Fridays. Variations on this schedule are at the discretion of the individual director.

Please Note, Good Company Players is an amateur theater company, which produces plays and a Pre-Show performance at Roger Rocka’s Dinner Theater and 2nd Space Theatre. Any member of the community is welcome to audition for all roles in all shows. All performers and crew members are volunteers seeking training and/or a performance outlet.

BEFORE THE AUDITION:  Starting about 6 weeks prior to the audition, GCP has scripts available for 3-day checkout. During the week of auditions, scripts must be read in the office and cannot be checked out.  Scripts can be checked out at GCP’s Business Office, 1105 N. Wishon, Fresno, CA 93728.  Office Hours: 10 – 5:30, Tuesday – Friday.

AT THE AUDITION: You will receive a Fact Sheet with information on the specific length of commitment for each show along with an audition form to fill out.  We ask auditionees to look at the time commitment carefully and to inform us of any conflicts.  We expect our actors and crews to participate in all performances.  We can accommodate some rehearsal conflicts, but too many can affect casting.

MUSICAL AUDITIONS:  Auditionees are asked to sing a prepared (i.e. memorized) song.  A show tune is preferable to a pop tune but you do not have to sing a song from the show for which you are trying out.  Bring sheet music in the correct key. Keep it short. 16 to 32 bars is sufficient. We will need to hear you sing with the piano; we provide the accompanist. Following your song,  you will be given material from the play(s) to read.  There is also a dance audition for which no preparation is needed.  Our choreographer will teach you a dance or dances which you will then be asked to perform in a group setting. Please wear comfortable clothing and safe footwear.

Even if you are interested in “Chorus Only” or  “Sing Only” or “Dance Only”, we ask everyone to complete all parts of the audition.

AUDITIONS FOR NON-MUSICALS: If you are trying out for a non-musical, you will be asked to read a scene or scenes from the play.  The scenes are assigned after you turn in your audition form and the directors have had a chance to see you and match you up with scene partners.

WE USUALLY AUDITION TWO SHOWS AT A TIME; YOU ARE WELCOME TO TRY OUT FOR BOTH OF THE SHOWS OR JUST ONE.

CALLBACKS: Callbacks are usually held the Monday and Tuesday night following the Saturday audition.  You will be told if you are needed at Callbacks before you leave the theater on Saturday.  Callbacks may consist of further reading, singing, or dancing.  If you cannot attend the Saturday audition, you must make an appointment to be seen at Callbacks prior to the Saturday audition.  Only a limited number of people will be seen in this manner, and the director has the right to decide against seeing any new people at Callbacks once the Saturday audition is over.  While every attempt is made to cast from the original audition pool, directors may feel they need further options.  Additional performers may be asked to come in to Callbacks for this purpose.

CASTING NOTIFICATION:  After both Callbacks, you will be called if cast, sent a letter if you are not.  The cast list is posted at the Business Office after all calls are made.

GOOD COMPANY PLAYERS CASTING POLICIES

UNDERSTUDIES, AND DOUBLE CASTING: UNDERSTUDIES may be in-cast or out-of-cast.  They are expected to be totally prepared to cover a role or roles as needed.   “Out of cast” understudies work out a rehearsal schedule with the director and stage manager; they are expected to be fully prepared to perform if needed and to see the show enough times after it opens to note changes.  If all goes well, understudies never perform.   DOUBLE-CASTING: In some rare instances, the audition pool allows a director to double cast certain roles.  This is most often done with young people’s roles, or with a particularly demanding adult role, or to give more performance opportunities to two equally talented performers.  Variations of double-casting might include doubling a role (two performers alternate as assigned before the run begins), or a split role (one performer takes part of a run and another plays the rest of the run, again, as arranged in advance with the director).

If  you have specific conflicts, we urge you to audition but let us know up front and ask about casting options.  This would also be a possibility for those of you interested in crew work.  We would like to be able to involve people who may stay away because of the challenges of a long run or concerns about specific coverage needs.

PRE-CASTING:  In general, Good Company Players avoids pre-casting. We have made some rare exceptions to this rule, however. Some reasons for pre-casting include reviving a recent show or the opportunity to work with a special guest artist.

WE WANT YOU TO SUCCEED:  There is simply not usually room for everyone who auditions and no two directors will cast the same show the same way. We strongly urge you to try again if you aren’t cast the first time you audition.

SPECIFIC ROLE ONLY AUDITIONERS: We know you may come into the audition with preferences for particular roles.  If you are only interested in one part, please let us know at the time of the audition.

IF YOU HAVE INTEREST IN WORKING WITH GCP AS A STAGE MANAGER,

OR ON THE CREW ON ANY OF OUR SHOWS,

PLEASE CONTACT OUR BUSINESS OFFICE.

1105 N. WISHON, TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, 10:00am – 5:30pm.  TELEPHONE: 559-266-0211.