Dress-ing the part.

I have another audition tonight. At 10:30. Which is kind of late. But since I don’t function well early in the day, maybe this will be a good thing. I figure it can’t possibly be worse…knock on wood.

This evening’s audition is for yet another Shakespeare play (sensing a theme?). One that I really want to be in some day. Hopefully, you know, now. That would be nice. But we’ll see how this audition goes. Monologue required, but I’m pretty comfortable with mine at this point. I actually even have fun doing it. And hopefully that translates…

But the reason I’m auditioning at 10:30 at night is because they apparently had way more people submit than they originally expected. Which means a lot of competition (although I hate thinking of it that way). Which means making use of every opportunity to distinguish myself and to really make them see me in the play (and hopefully in the part I want). This is something you should do at every audition, but it’s all the more important when you know you’re up against stiff competition. And the beauty of Shakespeare versus all others is that you can probably go in with some idea of what to expect. By which I mean, wear a dress. Or a skirt. Unless you’re a boy. In which case, wear pants. Although, Shakespeare did appreciate cross-dressing…but I digress.

It might sound silly, but if you think about it, most females in Shakespeare (or all of classical theatre, really) didn’t wear pants. Or, at least, they don’t start out wearing pants…I’ll concede that maybe you can get away with it if you’re trying to play Viola or Rosalind or any other heroine who dressed up as a boy. But even those heroines are dressed as women at some point in the play. It baffles me to see actresses at classical auditions wearing jeans. And I have seen it a lot. Yes, there are a lot of modern dress productions (and I love them…) but chances are Juliet, Ophelia, Miranda, Hero, Marina, Perdita, et al. probably still won’t be in pants. Let alone jeans.

It isn’t necessarily wrong and it’s such a small thing, but it just makes it that much easier to see you as an actress in a period play if you help them by wearing a dress. Even Michael Mayer, the director of Spring Awakening on Broadway, once told a class I was in that without fail the women who showed up to audition for him wearing dresses or skirts were always easier to envision within the world of the play. They had a much higher success rate than their pants-wearing counterparts. Ultimately, of course, casting for them was about talent (as it should be). So wearing pants didn’t keep anyone from being cast (because that would be absurd), but wearing a dress actually helped some actresses land the role.

So it’s a small thing and it’s kind of silly, but it’s also really easy. And if it might help to give you an edge (and it certainly won’t hurt you), why wouldn’t you do it? Also, most of Shakespeare’s fun romantic heroines are about 14. And most actresses who play them are not. The right dress or skirt can also help to age you down in a way that jeans never will. Another bonus.

Now the only hard part left, which dress should I wear?

Me in a dress. On set for Film Production Class. I think I’m PAing. Circa 2007.

Update: This was the most on time audition I've ever attended, so I didn't get to wait with/study the masses (Yay!) but I did get to see the girl before me and the one after. And they were both wearing pants. Just saying...