Casting Off Down the River
Posted by Edward Sobel on 10/02/2006We’ve been conducting auditions this week for Huck Finn, the show I’ll be directing for our Steppenwolf for Young Adults program this winter.
It is a challenging process. First, the audition mechanism itself is inherently fraudulent. The idea that one person should judge another’s abilities by a few minutes of exposure under supremely artificial circumstances rings ridiculous. And yet all theaters do it, for reasons of economy, convenience, adherence to democratic/meritocratic ideals etc. Have we simply found no better way?
Second, the onslaught of visible talent is at once inspiring and disheartening. All these skilled people want to do this crazy thing called acting in a play, and yet it is not possible to employ them all. For Huck Finn, we asked actors, in addition to preparing the “sides” from the play, to sing 16 measures of a folk song, a cappella. The number of actors who offered the disclaimer “I don’t really sing,” and then proceeded to offer heartfelt and perfectly-pitched renditions of “Amazing Grace” was staggering. (more…)