Feature: LOCAL AUDITION at Shadowbox Live!

It’s been over 30 years since the Shadowbox Live! theatre has had a hometown audition for its theatrical troupe in Columbus. Stacie Boord, the Chief Executive Officer for the nation’s largest residence theatre ensemble, and the theatre group will be looking for actors, singers, and dancers to augment its roster of metaperformers at an open audition 12 p.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 8 at the group’s theatre (503 S Front St. Ste 260 in downtown Columbus).

“I always joke this was all part of our master plan,” said Boord, whose admission sounds  a little more sinister considering she is still wearing her costume from its homegrown production, SLEEPY HOLLOW: AN AMERICAN GHOST STORY. “We’ve been open to the journey and I think the time is right for us.

 “We’ve always accepted talent from the area and had people audition from Columbus but we just hadn’t done an open cattle call here since the 1990s. There’s so much talent within Columbus and we thought, ‘Well why aren’t we doing that?’ I’m anxious to see what kind of response we get.”

Close to a fifth of the 50-person cast, according to producing director/chief marketing officer Julie Klein, have relocated from out of state to be a part of Shadowbox Live!. Klein said the group is looking to fill open spots in the ensemble as the cast often runs two shows at the same time for a month at a time.

For example, the group will perform HOLIDAY HOOPLA, an irreverent look at the winter holidays with a touch of rock classics thrown in, Nov. 20-Dec.27, and A NOT SO SILENT NIGHT, a musical in which off kilter callers besiege D.J. Joe Crow with song requests for the various holiday celebrations, Nov. 30-Dec. 28. The two shows will share the same stage with HOOPLA often performing shows Tuesday through Saturday evenings while SILENT NIGHT often has a matinee show on Saturdays and a 2 p.m. matinee and a 7 p.m. show on Sundays.

“Because we have so many big cast shows per year that include vocals, acting and dance, it provides numerous opportunities for our metas at any level to get on stage quickly,” said Klein, who left a paralegal job to join Shadowbox Live! in 1992 and became the group’s producing director in 2017. “We are just looking to fill open spots in the ensemble. We encourage people who simply have a strong desire to have a career in the arts to try out and go for it. Don’t let lack of experience or training stop you. 

“For even those at a basic level, there are smaller roles in our sketch comedy shows. If they aren’t quite ready to be the lead singer on a song, there are ample backup singer opportunities. If they aren’t quite ready to be a lead dancer, there are choral dance or production numbers in which they could get cast. Then sometimes, we have others come in at a higher level and get cast in lead opportunities right away. Everyone will always be working on something or many somethings and you are surrounded by performers who have been working on stage at Shadowbox from less than one year on up to 30-plus years.”

The landscape of Columbus has vastly changed since the last time Shadowbox Live! hosted a mass audition. In 1990, Columbus had a population of over 636,000 people; this year, the city is projected to have over 906,000 residents in the city alone. Add in the suburbs and the population grows to over 1.7 million.

Boord said the city’s reputation as a theatrical hub has grown as well.

“It’s pretty amazing,” she said. “I was just at a national conference and … I introduced myself in a collaborative meeting. This guy from Maine sitting next to me goes, ‘By the way, I lived in the Short North area for six years and I love your guys’ work.’

“ (The level of talent) has grown with the city. (The local theatrical training programs) are strong and we have amazing university programs here. It's a big goal of the state right now to keep our talent here. Obviously if (going to Broadway) is where your heart is, you need to go there, but you can be a professional artist here in Columbus and have a much better quality of life.”

In the past, Shadowbox has benefited from being a part of nationwide “cattle call” auditions where prospective actors try out for a group of directors from different theatres. Then theatres can call back the ones they want to see again for a more intensive audition.

“It’s like that scene from A CHORUS LINE,” Boord said. “People come in with numbers on their chest, get up, and do their audition, and if you’re interested in them, you ask them back for a dance callback and interviews.

“Oftentimes the interview will make or break the audition. We’re a very collaborative group and we need somebody that’s going to fit within the fabric of the organization.

“Many of us are excelling in artistic disciplines that we’ve had no training in. You can come in with immense training and be a good fit or you can come in with no training and have the right attitude and natural talent. However, you can be incredibly talented, but if you aren’t a good cultural fit for us, it’s not going to work.”

Those auditioning for a part of the troupe are asked to perform a comedic monologue as well as sing a minute of a rock song. Boord encourages candidates to leave THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA or WICKED sheet music at home. “We don’t want people to sing a musical theater song,” she said. “It has to be a contemporary rock song.”

Ash Davis, a metaperformer who co-wrote Shadowbox Live’s hit production MILLINEUM with her fiancée Zach Tarantelli, found that out the hard way when she first tried out for the theatre group at the SouthEastern Theatre Conference.

“I was woefully unprepared the first year because at the time I only had theatre songs prepared,” she said. “The following year I followed SBX’s work and I made sure I had a rock song prepared because I knew they would ask for it.”

Davis described mass auditions, in general, as being “definitely a bit intimidating” but Shadowbox Live’s made her think on her feet.

“Normally you have 60-90 seconds to convince someone to hire you,” Davis said. “You have to be sure to pick your strongest material.
“Shadowbox called me back and they asked me things like ‘do your monologue but can we see you do it as a southern preacher?’ Then I would do so and then they’d ask for me to do it again but as a used car salesman. It was a really fun way to play with the material I had prepared.”

Boord said she has seen a fair share of washouts during the audition process, including a performer who just mimed scenarios out during his tryout.

“We've had lots of crazy auditions from the choices of material that people selected that were just odd and some really bad interviews where we would look at each other and think, ‘why would you answer it that way?’ “ Boord said. “I's just a part of the process. Auditions are space for performers to grow and for us to learn what we're looking for  … and what we're not.”

Photo credit: Tommy Feisel.

If you are interested in auditioning, here’s a link to a Shadowbox Live! form.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdR1YCwBVKDg7cVAWAkTsJiNNOT2LFSN-qjuS4X6vyTj8TwPQ/viewform

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