Seminole High School’s Theatre Company’s fall and spring productions are always looking for new talent to contribute to the performances. Each show involves a specific casting process for both acting and technical roles. The Theatre Company has just recently finished the casting for their fall show, The Crucible.

With an acting role, students perform on stage, and their responsibilities include: showing up to rehearsal, memorizing lines, working on characterization, and movement. In a technical position, there are several branches, each in charge of setting up a certain aspect of the play: house, hair, makeup, lighting, sound, stage management, set construction, props, art, and costuming.

Some students have the desire to become involved in a production but not know much about the casting process and how to get involved.

Freshman Alonso Suarez says, “I don’t know much about the Theatre Company, but I did tech crew for two years in middle school, so I would be interested in a technical position.”

Every production involves a significant amount of work and dedication, whether it be a technical or acting position. Therefore, castings must be held far in advance. Casting for the fall show usually occurs in the first few weeks of school, while casting for spring show takes place right before winter break.

Junior Rachel Perez describes her first audition for an acting role.

“I waited nervously for an hour in the hallway to perform my monologue. Once it was over it wasn’t as scary as I thought,” says Perez. 

To be eligible for a role in a show, applicants must currently be enrolled in one of Mrs. Ortiz’s acting classes or enroll into one. This rule was put into effect in SHS’s Theatre Company this year, however it may be adjusted for the larger spring musical production of Cinderella.

To apply for an acting position, students must first fill out a paper application. These can be found in Mrs. Ortiz’s room, which is located in KWC. Then a time must be scheduled to perform a one-minute monologue in front of Mrs. Ortiz and sometimes the show’s student director. After performing the monologue, the directors will call students back inside to do a cold read from the show’s script, after which the directors will review the auditions.

Sophomore Lauren Parquette talks about her experience with auditioning.

“I knew [Rebel Without A Cause] was dramatic, so I picked a monologue that was dramatic,” says Parquette, advising those auditioning to pick a monologue that relates to the play.

In order to apply for a technical role, students can pick up a paper application from Mrs. Ortiz and have it filled out before the deadline. Students are able to apply for more than one technical department if they wish to.

Seminole begins its 2015-2016 season with their production of The Crucible, opening October 9, 2015. To get involved in the spring musical show, Cinderella, contact Mrs. Ortiz for more information and for applications.