Audition Process

Once we were told that we would be doing a pantomime we were both given information as well as guided to research more about them. As my first pantomime, all aspects of it were uncharted territory as I also had never watched one live nor online. Completing my research the websites I gained some of the information from was http://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/features/pantomime/ and http://www.its-behind-you.com/ .

The Italian art form reached British theatre’s and greatly influenced theatre in the 18th century. London being the focal point of most theatre if not all theatre, this is where it sourced, however, by mid-century there were many more built in other places. As productions put on in this time were naturally ‘British plays’ the introduction of pantomime was rather risqué; John Rich, an artist in his own right, was a key individual to opening the idea of commedia to the public at the theatre at Lincoln’s Inn Fields. His interpretation incorporated the introduction of animal roles, such like men dressing up as women; it was not only fun to watch but also showed how the art form was not gender specific. “Rich’s pantomimes cleverly fused commedia, spectacle, music, ballet and myth” his productions caused great controversy however, were mainly adored by spectators.

The production we were going put on was Jack & the Beanstalk, we then completed a read through as a class. It gave each of us the opportunity to try different roles as well as getting a sense of the characters. Our level of sight-reading was tested alongside intonation and ability to follow script directions e.g. If a line had to be whispered. It also presented if some people summating lines instead of reading them properly.

We were informed on the audition process after reading and began thinking of which roles we were interested in.

Having solely read through the script twice through, I was certain that I wanted to audition for the role of the fairy.

Prior to any work on my audition, which we all had roughly 10 days to prepare for, I watched the ITV version of the same pantomime. It gave me an insight to the level at which characters are played as well as the amount of energy and exaggeration I would need to perfect it.
I then began by choosing a section of the play I would use; the passage in scene 2 incorporated Rancid (the evil character) and the fairy which was a brilliant opportunity to show juxtaposition between the two.
Working with Saskia who was auditioning for Rancid was a good decision as the more I rehearsed with her, the greater characterisation I developed. Refraining from doing any in depth research into the characters I took liking to, I managed to develop my own interpretation of the characters.

Playing the 'good' in the play I wanted to add a twist to the role and give her a more comedic presence; I decided to try a Jamaican accent which I was able to really play with her attitude and general 'no nonsense' persona. It also changed the age I played her at, before I was more so a relatively young fairy however, once I added more characterisation she became more of a middle aged, wisdom filled lady. I incorporated a waddle when walking, making sure to plant my feet as she always moved with purpose, as well as constantly placing hands on my hips if I was not gesturing towards Rancid.
My characterisation for Rancid was completely different; I incorporated a hunched stance when walking to emphasise the trickster stereotype, as well as a faster pace both physically and vocally. Rancid was incredibly spatially aware and was certain to invade other characters use of space to create an air of dominance.
Learning the Fairy's lines were a bit more challenging than Rancid's as they were written in rhyming couplets and were riddled. I found an instrumental and created a song using dialogue from the script which I was able to memorise easier. Rancid's lines were just the counterpart to the Fairy and were more so manageable.

The audition itself, which took place on the 24th September, was incredibly nerve-wracking as we were told prior what the director was looking for and expecting, however, we were also given free reign. Knowing this I completed my fairy audition first as I was incredibly nervous about my accent.

The audition panel reacted well to the added twist (alongside Saskia's gangster villain) upon the fairy to the extent that we were both asked to create a improvised scene with the characterisation we'd created. This proved challenging as I was not as firmed with my accent as i would've liked to be as well as creating material relatable to panto as my prior knowledge had only ever been minimal. Nevertheless, both Saskia and I managed to come up with a two minute scene involving a discussion on money and jewels.

The second part of the audition incorporated the group as a collective to learn a song and dance and perform them in select groups within 3/4 hours. Choreography was the first step which I enjoyed and found manageable; 'Reach for the Stars' by S Club 7 was the song we were required to learn. The demand of singing and dancing at the same proved to be quite difficult, I took time to practice with each break we encountered to ensure that I had done the most to succeed in my audition and show the panel what I was capable of.