Auditions

There is little information in the files that indicates the procedures the Theatre used for auditioning actors or employing technical staff.  There are vague references in the early days of actors coming from established theatres in DC.  There is mention of the Artistic Director and staff holding auditions in New York, along with audition notices being published in Back Stage and other theatre-oriented journals.  There are references that mention that professional actors would be employed along with notices indicating there were opportunities for local talent to audition for roles.  If children were required, there were notices in the local papers announcing when these auditions would be held.  

A 1998 press release gives a bit more a bit more information for this process.  In an ad for regional auditions, the Theatre announced that it would hold local and regional (Washington/Baltimore area) auditions for the 1998 Summer/Fall season on March 6 and 7 at the theatre in Middletown.  The New York auditions were to be held February 23 – 27, 1998. In addition to the dates, the titles of the five shows scheduled for the season were given, along with a brief comment as to what role the Theatre would be casting.

This information includes what the Artistic Director would like to see.  For singers, it would be to sing 16 to 32 bars of a ballad and a one to two-minute contemporary monolog.  Singers were requested to bring their own taped accompaniment.  For Actors who do not choose to sing, they were asked to prepare two one-minute contemporary monologues.  For this season, no children were being seen.

The following paragraph gave additional information about the theatre:
Wayside Theatre will be casting Equity and EMC company members on a show-
by-show basis and an Intern Company of six on a seasonal basis.  The Intern
Company is designed for current or recently graduated college theatre majors
who will have one mainstage role, understudy the Equity company, receive
Membership Candidate Credit (one point for each week of their contract towards
the 50 weeks needed for union membership), have classwork from the Artistic
Director and crew assignments on all productions of the season.  Free housing
and stipend of $100 per week is offered to Intern Company members.  Please
indicate when making an audition appointment that you are interested in the
Intern Company.

The announcement concluded stating that Wayside Theatre offers an Equity SPT (Level 6) contract and hires both regionally and out of New York City.  

Wayside made a practice of using regional and New York based actors from the time of its origin through 1998.  At some point during the Crocker years, there was a stronger use of regional and local talent who were Equity as well as non-Equity.  It was also the practice to audition talent at the SETC (Southeastern Theater Conference) that is held at various locations each year and at the UPTA (Unified Professional Theatre Audition) held each spring in Memphis, At both locations, recent theater graduates as well as AEA members present themselves for consideration.