Portland Audition Events

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For Auditors

PATA's organizational-level memberships (for theatre companies, dance companies, agencies, and independent theatre entities) include auditing of PATA's Unified Shakespeare Auditions and PATA's Citywide General Auditions. Individuals who do not have an organizational-level membership but who are actively casting may pay a guest auditor fee to observe auditions.

During the official registration period for auditors, there will be an AUDITORS ONLY link available in the Events section of that PATA homepage. The official registration period will end when the Office Manager's distribution of the event's document and video links are due. 

Please, email the PATA Office Manager (info@portlandtheatre.com) if you would like more information about auditing PATA's auditions.

For Actors: Info Sessions Preparing for PATA Auditions

Before registering for a PATA  auditions event, we urge you to either attend an online info session or carefully peruse the latest edition of the info packet. Ask the Office Manager if you have any questions.

Despite efforts to be comprehensive, updates to the info packet occasionally occur in response to feedback and inquiries. After Citywide General Auditions registration opens, the Office Manager will send the last version for the season to all registrants.

Although info session attendance is not required for 2022 Citywide General Auditions, PATA provides info sessions to help candidates have a smoother audition process. We strongly recommend attending at least one info session if any of the following apply:

Info sessions for the 2022 auditions season are at the following times. 

• Info Session 1: 7 PM to 9 PM PST on Thursday, December 16, 2021. 
• Info Session 2: 10 AM to 12 PM PST on Saturday, January 15, 2022.
• Info Session 3: 7 PM to 9 PM PST on Monday, February 7, 2022.
• Info Session 4: 10 AM to 12 PM PST on Saturday, February 12, 2022.
• Info Session 5: 7 PM to 9 PM PST on Tuesday, February 15, 2022.
• LAST INFO SESSION FOR 2022: 10 AM to 12 PM PST on March 5, 2022.

PATA's Unified Shakespeare Auditions - ONLINE FOR 2022

Timeline:

Saturday, December 11, 2021: Actor registration to open at 10 AM PST.

Sunday, December 12, 2021: Auditor registration to open at 10 AM PST.

Thursday, January 20, 2022: Actor registration closes. All materials due by 11:59 PM PST.

Thursday, January 31, 2022: Distribution of auditions spreadsheet to auditors. Auditor registration closes at 11:59 PM PST.

Eligibility Requirements: 

Individual-level membership (individual performer, student performer, theatre technician) in good standing with either PATA or Theatre Puget Sound at time of registration and on the original actors’ audition due date (January 20, 2022.) 

Unified Shakespeare Auditions are only open to candidates age 18 or older.

Audition Format:

Overall, your video must be <3 minutes total.

Do not bring props, costumes, or instruments. Consider your audition a job interview, so dress accordingly.

Registration & Video Submittal: 

Online registration will open at 10 AM PST on Saturday, December 11, 2021. Actors have until 11:59 PM PST on January 20, 2022, to submit a link to their audition video.

You may use the platform of your choice for posting your video, and the option to submit passwords for password-protected videos is available. However, most auditors find YouTube videos set to Unlisted easiest to use. An Unlisted privacy setting means that anybody who has the video link can watch the video without submitting a password, but YouTube will not go out of their way to show the video to the general public.

Do not change your audition video link and password between January 21, 2022, and January 31, 2022, while the Office Manager is preparing the spreadsheet for distribution to auditors. Afterwards, we recommend you keep your video posted at its original location and keep the password the same for at least one year, so that video links in the spreadsheet will continue to function until next year's Unified Shakespeare Auditions.

On or before January 31, 2022, the PATA Office Manager will send registered auditors a spreadsheet of actor stats, profile links, video links, and supplemental attachments.

Due to Unified Shakespeare Auditions having fewer participants, and to keep this event free of charge for actors, this event will not have an auditions binder.

Need to Cancel?

Your audition is an appointment even if it is online, and communicating when you cannot fulfill a commitment is part of professional courtesy. If you need to cancel, please contact the PATA Office Manager by email (info@portlandtheatre.com) as soon as possible.

List of Auditors for 2022

As auditors register to receive their spreadsheet of actor profiles and video links, we will provide information about them here. After the spreadsheet goes out to the auditors, our Office Manager will email participating actors a list of participating auditors. Last update: 10:27 PM PST on December 27, 2021.

• Bag&Baggage Productions
• Original Practice Shakespeare Festival
  
• Penguin Productions
• Theatre Diaspora

PATA's Citywide General Auditions - ONLINE FOR 2022

Timeline:

Saturday, February 19, 2022: Actor registration to open at 10 AM PST.

Sunday, February 20, 2022: Auditor registration to open at 10 AM PST.

Friday, April 1, 2022: Actor registration closes. All materials due by 11:59 PM PDT.

Saturday, May 6, 2022: Distribution of digital binder to auditors. Auditor registration closes at 11:59 PM PDT.

2022 Citywide General Auditions will be a digital talent binder and spreadsheet distributed to auditors. Auditors will be able to flip through the talent profiles binder, or scroll down the spreadsheet, and watch linked audition videos as they read. Auditors have expressed to PATA that they like having a “book” to page through, and several have expressed interest in considering each individual candidate’s audition. 

Eligibility Requirements: 

Individual-level membership (individual performer, student performer, theatre technician) in good standing with either PATA or Theatre Puget Sound at time of registration and on the actors’ audition due date (April 1, 2022). 

Payment of the $15 binder assembly fee.

Registration

Online actor registration will open at 10 AM PST on Saturday, February 19, 2022. Actors have until 11:59 PM PDT on April 1, 2022, to submit their audition video link, PATA profile updates, .jpg headshot >1 MB, and one-page .pdf resume .

Binder Materials & Info

This year’s registration form will offer PATA members the option to upload your headshot and resume for the Citywide General Auditions binder when you register. You will also have the option to enter information about your repertoire.

If you do not have materials and repertoire information ready when you register, or if you are a TPS member, you may email your binder materials and repertoire information to the Office Manager by 11:59 PM PDT on April 1, 2022, using the subject line Binder Materials & Info.

Specifications for headshots:

Specifications for resumes:

• One-page
• .pdf format.
• <20 MB
• Excludes your home address.
• The file name format should be “Lastname_Firstname.pdf” and match how that information is entered in your PATA profile. Example: Little_Stuart.pdf

Repertoire Info: For each piece you are presenting, please let us know the character name, the song or scene title if applicable, the show title, and the author(s).

Video Submissions

Submit your audition video before 11:59 PM PDT on April 1, 2022:

Video Formatting Requirements

List of Auditors for 2022

For Actors: Video Tips for PATA Auditions

Video Formatting Recommendations

To make the process as stress-free as possible, and to enable actors to market themselves in the video format as they see fit, other formatting requirements will generally be kept open-ended. For anyone seeking guidance, you can watch the video and/or read the recommendations listed below.

Here is a video by former PATA Education Committee Chair Erik Montague with video audition advice from 2020.

Video Quality

Minimum video quality: 1920 pixels x 1080 pixels.

Make sure to have adequate lighting, so that you are clearly visible.

Record in a quiet place to avoid distracting background noise.

Background

Emphasis should be on you rather than your environment. We recommend a default background of a blank wall or backdrop. However a blank background is not required.

Framing

Landscape orientation is preferred, but portrait orientation is acceptable.

You may frame yourself as best fits the piece being presented.

• An intimate or quieter piece with little physical movement, or a piece geared toward filmmakers, can be framed to show only your head and shoulders.
• If you are presenting very physical work or seeking to work with outdoor or large venues, full body or 3/4 framing from above the knees and up is recommended.
• If you are undecided, we recommend 3/4 framing as a default.

Editing and Cuts

Trimming the start and end of your video to keep the emphasis on your audition is encouraged.

Editing and cutting your video to showcase your best take of each portion (slate, piece 1, piece 2) is acceptable but not required. If you opt to edit/cut your video, we discourage edits during a song or monologue. The emphasis should be on your performance skills (instead of your editing skills).

If you film your slate and/or performances separately, edit them together to create one seamless video to make viewing easier for the auditors. While our database and the binder can accommodate having multiple links in one blank, it turns out the Excel spreadsheet that some auditors like to use cannot.

Video Distribution Platform

You may use the video distribution platform of your choice. Although the option is offered to have a password for password protected videos, we strongly recommend that you adjust the settings of your video to enable anyone with the link to view it. Entering a password would be an additional step for our auditors.

Some platforms (such as YouTube) offer the option to set a video to “unlisted,” which means the platform does not suggest publicly to viewers that they watch the video. However, recipients of the video’s URL can view it.

Note that some platforms (such as YouTube) do not allow viewers to download videos. Other platforms (such as Vimeo) allow viewers to download videos if the person who posted the video has an account upgrade enabling them to make videos downloadable. Making your video downloadable is not required, but enables auditors to save and re-watch your video, even if you have deleted it.

Music

We recognize that due to social distancing measures, access to an in-person in-the-moment accompanist will be difficult if not impossible for many candidates. Therefore, the requirement to work with an accompanist in-person in-the-moment will be waived for 2022 Citywide General Auditions.

Instead, we very strongly recommend that singers sing with a pre-recorded instrumental accompaniment such as a karaoke track.

Accompanying yourself or singing a capella, while allowed, are not recommended. Auditor consensus has been that these methods do not provide the information they need to determine whether to cast you for a musical. If you wish to play your own accompaniment, record the accompaniment separately, and then sing along with the recording.

When recording your audition, place your music player and yourself at distances from your recording device such that neither drowns out the other.

Wardrobe & Appearance

• The Citywide General Auditions are like a job interview, so your attire should reflect your professionalism.

•  Avoid distracting clothes: jewelry, uncomfortable or noisy shoes, loud patterns, torn jeans, T-shirts, etc.

• Avoid wearing solid black, solid white, and small patterns. 

• Style your hair in a way that keeps it out of your eyes.