Casting - the difficult choice

-


This weekend has been all about casting…I had our Summer play for Nostell Priory “The Party at the End of the World,” to cast this morning.  Then tomorrow myself, Sarah and Victoria will be casting for the West Yorkshire Theatre Dance Centre’s production of, “The Nutcracker” and my YTYT companies are starting to think about casting for our Christmas plays, “A Christmas Carol,” “Rumplestiltskin,” and “The Elves and the Shoemaker.”  It’s all go!  But then when is it not.

Casting is a strange business.  It’s always surrounded by excitement – new projects inspire a new set of dreams and ambitions in actors and to be honest in directors too.  The idea of embarking on a new set of characters, a new story, new challenges sparks energy, hope and aspirations.  It’s great to be around.  I enjoy the process of visualizing (and whatever the hearing version of that is) my scripts being brought to life by the actors of the company.  I equally enjoy the buzz from the actors.

However, and it’s a big however, casting is also a mixed experience as in amongst the excitement there’s the knowledge that there is a pretty good chance someone – often more than one person - is going to be disappointed.  The saddest thing about this is it is unavoidable.  As soon as more than one actor wants to play a part someone is going to feel sad.  This responsibility is something I struggle with.  I’m a pleaser, I like people to be happy.  Ultimately I have to make the executive decision and do whatever is best for the company and best for the play…I then have to trust that people will understand, that they will accept that my decision is not one I have taken lightly and that I have done the best I can.  The lovely thing is that once that process has happened we can get on with the joyful business of making the work!

As a final thought it’s worth considering the cliché that was once a very accurate comment by Stanislavski, that, “There are no small parts just small actors,” isn’t even the half of it.  Every element of a play is vital – the story can’t be told without all of the storytellers so never feel like you aren’t exceptionally important to a play.  A performer’s worth isn’t measured by the amount of lines you have or the minutes of stage time, it is measured by the success of the production as a whole, and that’s not a cliché that’s the truth.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Celebrating the past in the present...

-
  Next year Yew Tree Youth Theatre will be 30 years old.   We haven’t quite decided how we will celebrate - any suggestions would be gratefully received. No doubt there will be some nostalgic perambulating down memory lane and some haphazard but joyous celebrating of three decades of creativity we have shared.   Some variation of those two themes would feel fitting. This blog however is something different. This blog is a celebration of the present of those who attended YTYT in the past. Alumni, graduates, previous members – I can never seem to find the right term – but whatever word is chosen I know for sure they are part of the fabric of the youth theatre and I’m grateful to have known all of them, mainly because I have learnt so much from them.   I also can’t put a number on how many people have spent significant time with YTYT over the last 29 years.   I know we started with a group of 8 and now have about 80 members, I know at our peak just before COVID w...
Read more

Yew Tree Youth Theatre. 2024 - Fred

-
What a year (That's a good thing, by the way). My favourite shows, my favourite rehearsals, my favourite year; so you can hopefully gather that I've enjoyed it all.  But in all reality, my blog should start in 2023, as National Theatre Connections began then.  I had been cast, along with Izzy, in the role of Noush, which quickly I became attached to. As the rehearsal process continued into the year of 2024, I only grew to like the role even more. Kiss/Marry/PushOffCliff - as the play was called - soon shaped up to be a fantastic show. The year before (I know, this is meant to be 2024, but everything, after all, is interconnected) I'd shown interest in NT Connections but had shied away, thinking I was not capable enough for such a task. This time, however, I was prepared - or brave, or optimistic, or however you could describe it - and chose to take part. It was indeed the right decision. Never before from a show had I received such enjoyment, even from rehearsals. Every tim...
Read more

Robin's Connections Blog

-
 Kiss / Marry / Push off a cliff was my second connections play that I have done with YTYT. As soon as I read it, I fell in love with the script. Although it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, it drew me in with its pure weirdness and mystery. I was so intrigued as to how we would tackle many of the problems that were initially presented to us. After all, showing someone getting pushed off a cliff while inside of a sleeping bag in a youth theatre production isn’t a simple task. However, with the combined effort of an equally talented crew and cast, I believe we were able to do a pretty good job. I could ramble all day about how much I love characters as a whole. In truth, they are what drew me to connections in the first place. I love being able to delve into their motivations and fears in detail and develop a whole other being rather than myself. I remember there was one character that stood out to me in my first reading. I knew from the start that Marco would be a tricky character. B...
Read more