Casting Policies

Play On! Studios is committed to a casting process where every child is given a part where they will have a chance to shine onstage. We try to keep our casts a manageable size so that there aren’t 40 kids onstage with no lines or solos. That being said, not every kid is going to end up with their dream part in every show. No matter what part your child gets, they’re getting an opportunity to learn, grow as a person and a performer, and have fun.

CASTING FOR MUSICAL THEATER CLASSES AND CAMPS

We want to draw back the curtain on our casting process in case you have questions about how we pick parts for each child. Please know that we put a lot of thought into our casting - it takes us literally hours of meetings and multiple spreadsheets. We care very much about all the children. Our number one goal is that they all have a good experience here at Play On! Studios.

Letters

One of the factors in casting is certainly the parts that the kids request. We have all the kids write us letters detailing 4-5 parts they're interested in, as well as other factors that could impact casting - what gender they'd like to play, if there are specific songs they're really attached to, if they want to dance more, sing more, be funny, dramatic, etc. We try to match as many kids to parts on their list as possible, but obviously, it's not possible to give everyone their number one choice, or even something on their list at all. We sometimes want to challenge the kids in ways that they haven't thought of yet - to stretch outside their comfort zone and try new things, or things they hadn't considered yet. We also don’t want your child to get typecast in the same kind of role every time - there’s plenty of time for that later in their lives! If they’ve just played a villain, it’s time to be an ingenue. If they were just the comic relief, it’s time for a dramatic part, and so on.

Availability

If we know that kids are missing a lot of rehearsals (including partial days), it's harder to cast them in roles that are in lots of scenes since we don't have a lot of time to go back and redo things that kids have missed. Sometimes kids end up missing classes at the last minute, which is very hard for the whole group. If it’s an illness, that happens and we try to work around it. If it’s a birthday party and we don’t find out until 15 minutes before class time, we can’t accommodate that in the same way - that’s not unavoidable, that’s a choice that they made. It’s not fair to the other students who show up each week, especially if it happens over and over again. We need to be able to trust that the kids will show up to rehearsal. If we’re worried about your child’s attendance each week, it’s going to be hard to cast them in a role with a lot of material to learn.

Attitude

Attitude also plays a part in casting. If a child shows up ready to participate, is excited about the process and has a positive attitude towards the other students, we’re so much more likely to encourage that behavior. If a child is consistently not following directions, or being unkind to the other students in the class, that will also affect their casting.

Variety

It’s also important to us that one child doesn’t get the lead every time. It’s just as important to learn how to be part of the ensemble as it is to be the main part. Having a “big part” doesn’t necessarily teach your child more than being a part of the ensemble - the skills are different and it’s really valuable to work on both. We’ve seen children grow more in smaller roles sometimes than in larger ones. Whatever the size of the part is, the more shows you do, the better you will be. Period.

Age

This is an educational program and we try to make sure that the kids who are older get a chance to experience having a larger role before they age out. Kids who are older have fewer chances to get larger roles before they graduate into high school, or sometimes have played smaller roles a number of times and are ready for a bigger challenge.

Not everyone will get the part they want every time - that’s just a part of theater (and life). There are 19 other children in the play and we are trying to find the best fit for everyone within the context of the group. We have no doubt that every child could play every part in the play. It’s about finding the right part for each child in this particular set of children - it’s quite the puzzle! If your child comes back to class with a good attitude and works hard, they’re going to get more and more parts that they want in the future and they’re going to have a better experience, not just in our class, but in their future endeavors as well. As the show progresses, your child is going to make friends, put on a play and have fun. They’re going to get something great out of this experience and feel the rush of working hard and then performing live in front of an audience. We love having your child at Play On! Studios and we will try our hardest to make sure that every child has the best experience possible, no matter what their part is.