An exercise in theatrical basics

Penobscot Company hosts workshop for aspiring actors

By Jackie Farwell

Posted on April 18, 2002, at 12:00 a.m.

You’ve got 90 seconds to prove yourself – and your next meal depends on it.

This scenario faces many actors today, and is just one among many that were discussed in the Penobscot Theatre Company’s second installment of Theatre 101 on Saturday, April 13.

Collene Frashure, casting director for Penobscot Theatre Company, led the discussion with personal experiences and advice about casting and auditioning, which she describes as “truly an ongoing process.”

More than 50 people gathered to participate in the interactive workshop that allowed season ticket holders and the general public a chance to view the inner workings of a professional theatre company.

“The workshops are aimed at people who want to see behind the scenes, and most people do,” said Kyle De Vaul, director of marketing for the theatre.

Frashure provided answers to questions about the theatre’s recruitment both locally and in larger cities such as Boston, New York and Memphis.

“We look locally, we have an abundant number of talented actors in the Bangor and surrounding area,” Frashure said.

The theatre holds an open call twice a year to invite new local talent. They also attend common auditions, a process involving as many as 600 actors competing in a three-day period, each with 90-second time slots. According to Frashure, this allows casting directors to see how the actor can present themselves with a limited amount of time.

“You really get to the gut of the piece fast,” Frashure said.

The use of talent agents is a benefit the theatre enjoys when holding auditions in cities like New York and Boston. Casting directors send character descriptions for their upcoming productions to Breakdown Services, an agency that makes the information available to agents who subscribe to the service. The agents then pull headshots and resum�s for actors that fit the descriptions, saving the theatre an immense amount of time in their search.

Callbacks are the next step in the process, which generally last 10 minutes each. According to the theatre, pairing actors is crucial in this part of the audition.

“[We have to] see how well they play with others,” Frashure said.

Due to limited budgets, the Penobscot Theatre Company also inquires about additional talents the actors may have, such as experience with lighting or set construction.

“What can they do besides act?” Frashure said. “How can they support the company in some other way?”

Three New York-based actors from the theatre’s current production of “Betrayal” Patrick Dizney, Rita Rehn and David Sitler performed the audition pieces that won them their leading roles. They explained why they chose such pieces, offered advice on the auditioning process and described their real-life experiences with finding work as full-time actors.

“A large part of the job of an actor is to know what’s going on,” said Dizney, who performed his audition piece with a British accent because of its relevance to the play.

According to Sitler, adjusting to each audition individually plays an importance in itself, such as when he had to learn to project his voice in an audition held in a small hotel room.

Rehn and Dizney both hold temporary employment while looking for their next acting jobs – even attending auditions on lunch breaks. According to Rehn, she attends four or five auditions a month in order to stay competitive.

“Auditions almost become like a pill,” Sitler said. “You try to take at least one every day.”

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