r/Theatre

I'm doing a presentation on ways to get young folks to come to the theatre more and wanted to ask why they don't. Every time I go to see a play, it's usually just older people in the crowd. Why? If you're 18-24 years old, what's missing that would otherwise convince you to go to a play?

TL;DR: I often face overlapping rehearsal schedules and want to determine when significant conflicts—such as missing three of ten weeks—would automatically disqualify me before I invest time in an audition. Can directors and casting teams identify deal-breaking conflicts in advance, or must that decision wait until after auditions?

I’ve been involved in a few dozen community theatre productions, and as a result, I occasionally find myself dealing with overlapping rehearsal schedules. I’d certainly prefer to avoid this, but sometimes it’s unavoidable, particularly when a show I’d really like to do isn’t announced until I’m already committed to another production.

Some directors are more accommodating of conflicts than others, and I certainly don’t begrudge them wanting as much availability from their cast as possible. In fact, I’ve been involved in a production where one of the leads had conflicts throughout most of the first two-thirds of the rehearsal period. Seeing that accommodated was what first made me realize that even substantial conflicts might sometimes be workable. And I’ve successfully managed an overlap where there were only a couple weeks between the closing of one show and the opening of the next.

However, I’ve found it difficult to determine how much my own conflicts might affect my chances of being cast before going through the audition process.
For example, I’m currently considering auditioning for a production with a ten-week rehearsal period, during which I’d miss approximately three weeks’ worth of rehearsals in the first month due to an existing commitment (then no conflicts afterwards). I recognize that’s substantial, particularly for a leading role, but given what I’ve seen accommodated in the past, I’m reluctant to rule myself out without asking.

Auditioning takes a fair amount of preparation, and it can be rather discouraging to put in that effort only to discover that scheduling conflicts may have effectively ruled me out from the beginning.
I’ve occasionally tried to get clarification in advance, particularly when I know people involved in the casting process. However, the responses tend to be noncommittal, generally encouraging me to audition regardless.

I understand that directors want to keep their options open and may not know exactly how much flexibility they’ll have until they’ve seen the audition pool. I’m certainly not asking for a guarantee of being cast, or even an estimate of my chances based on my audition.

I’d simply like to know whether my conflicts are substantial enough that I wouldn’t realistically be considered for the role.

For those involved in directing or casting, is there a better way to approach this question? Is it reasonable to expect a director to be able to identify potentially disqualifying conflicts in advance, or is that something that genuinely can’t be determined until after auditions?

Hi all! This comes up often at rehearsals.

What methods do you use to cover your actor’s / your own tattoos? I am looking for any kind of cover up or makeup suggestions - preferably by brand name if you know it!

My boyfriend and I (F) (both 30) got invited to a Halloween party that's theme theatre. Now the host is a big theatre buff but we are not lol we're not too sure what to wear and want to go as basic as possible but still on theme! Not too sure where to even start such as what kind of theatre genre we would do? Could use some ideas please! :)

Hello! Im teaching a group of around 20 teens theatre games and ive been getting suggestions like Freeze and other games that are really just majority of people watching a group play the game. i want to teach a game where everyone is up and doing something. any ideas are greatly appreciated!

Hi, I’m currently in a play where some of the actors must sit completely still for an entire act on stage. We don’t have backrests so it puts so much pressure on our backs and necks and it really hurts! Is there any way to alleviate the pain? I know it’s unlikely there’s a good answer, but I’m hoping there’s Something we can do.

Edit: For context because of some of the responses, I actually had to replace the original actor for this scene because it was too painful for their back and neck to continue doing it. I can handle it, it would just be nice alleviate it at least somewhat!

I’m curious if anyone on this sub has seen every iteration, or almost every iteration of Paranormal Activity Live, and if there were major differences between the productions (ignoring casting differences) Is there was a version you preferred or have they mostly been the same across the board? I just saw it on Broadway two nights ago and I can’t stop thinking about it, in the best way, so I’d love to hear other opinions!

Spoilers are welcome, but please use the invisible ink spoiler tag thing in your comments if you do want to chat about them! If you haven’t seen the show, this is NOT A SPOILER FREE THREAD, you’ve been warned…

The play centers on a young woman confronting her recently deceased father's former political rival - maybe a former colleague/friend - in his office and accusing him of outing her father as gay (which lead to him dropping out the race). Modern setting, though I think the scandal happened sometime in the 80s or 90s.

That's all I have unfortunately. I found this play years back on a free archive site but didn't think to keep track of the title, as I thought there would be a saved history page to look back at.

I auditioned for a small but professional theatre company in boston. I got a callback, it went well for the most part. I got callback for 2 roles and sung 3 songs and then they had me sing 2 of the songs one more time as well as a few more people. The callback was on Sunday. Its now friday and rehearsals start 10/11. I know my availability is blocked off for that day, but 80% of me figures I got a rejection. But the other 20% is holding on to hope because I thought it went well. So my question is, should I politely email the director, or should I take a lost since I haven't heard back?

Would anyone recommend watching a (YouTube, perhaps) production of the play over and over again?

This is my first time ever in a play, let alone an important role, and i got the lead role. I already have a good portion memorized of my script, but i want to know if there is a better way to go about learning my script, since i was just saying a line over and over until i couldn't forget it

what does the theatre scene look like around the world? is it possible to move internationally to work in theatre?

hey! does anybody have any great contemporary plays that feature one male and one female in love/in a romantic scene? we need something romantic with conflict. so far, we're just looking at stupid fucking bird. thank you! ☺️

ngl I didn't know what subreddit to put this in so yeah. I didn't realize that my glasses had left really and tan lines until recently. This is an issue because I won't be wearing my glasses on stage in two weeks. The tan lines are like from the glasses arems what ever they are called like from my eyes to my ears i guess. they are faint but noticable and I am afraid they will be more noticable once I have stage lights on me. How do I fix this? Is there a way to do it with stage makeup?! PLEASE HELP!!!!

My name is Allie and I am currently conducting research for my MFA Thesis at Yale University on ‘How to Create Safer Immersive Environments’

I am looking into venue and building safety and standards as well as audience, performer, and crew safety.

If you or someone you know would be interested in discussing your work with me, please feel free to leave a comment or message me with your contact information so I can reach out and set up a time to chat!

I am very passionate about this work and I am sure many of you are too! I look forward to connecting with you if you are interested.