Made in Dagenham - The Audition
I was extremely excited to audition for Made in Dagenham, throughout my training I have become accustomed to the audition process (of course never in a professional setting) and enjoy the process of learning new material. I was also looking forward to having the opportunity to audition for our director Alistair David again, who has amazing professional credits both as a performer and choreographer and is currently choreographer of Sister Act at the Dominion Theatre. I had previously auditioned for him the year before while in the final year of my BA degree and was eager to show the work I had put in to improve myself throughout the year.
In order to feel prepared for the audition, I elected to learn all the material provided for the character I was auditioning for (Barbara Castle), and all of the material for the character we were all invited to audition for (Harold Wilson); this comprised of two scenes and a song for Barbara and two scenes for Harold. Learning the material allowed me to feel confident and comfortable in the room as I felt secure in my work. I also used Uta Hagen’s nine questions for acting technique for Barbara, along with conducting research about her life and achievements.
Another challenge we were given as an extra to learning the sides and songs was to bring a song we felt was appropriate for the character we were auditioning for. I chose ‘Shine’ from Billy Elliot which is sang by Mrs Wilkinson, Billy’s ballet teacher. This song was a smart choice for a number of reasons: I knew it well and was comfortable with it thus meaning I could perform it to a high level under pressure, the character of Mrs Wilkinson is very similar to Barbara in many ways including age, accent and personality, and finally, ‘Shine’ is a character song and Barbara Castle is undoubtedly a character.
Seedtime 2024’s Headshot wall: this was pinned up for show auditions and agent week.
After performing the material I had prepared, I was recalled by the creative team to audition for the role of Connie. This entailed reading scenes I was somewhat familiar with (I read all of the scenes we were sent in case I was asked to read for another character in the room) and singing a section of Connie’s song, which I had listened to but did not know. I learned the song with the MD in the room and performed it to the best of my ability. I was pleased to report that I was given extremely encouraging feedback off Alistair, who had not seen me perform for a year, and noted my improvement and increased confidence.
A week after the audition we were sent the cast list and it was confirmed that I would be playing Barbara Castle.
Here are some links to resources I used to improve my audition technique:
Line learning: https://dramaresource.com/12-tips-for-learning-lines/
Good Audition Etiquette: https://www.theactorspulse.com.au/acting-auditions/the-dos-and-donts-of-audition-etiquette/
Dealing with Audition Nerves: https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/how-to-get-rid-of-audition-nerves-13429/#:~:text=Hold%20your%20head%20high%2C%20make,feel%20more%20comfortable%20as%20well.
A sample of script we were asked to learn for the audition.
Team Photo!
A sample of the sheet music from the song Shine.
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