Tell Me a Story
As I mentioned in my last blog, over the coming weeks I'm going to be be sharing some of the things I look for when building a company and casting a production.
And if I had to start with just one thing, it would be this:
Tell me a story.
When somebody walks into an audition room, whether they're singing, acting, performing a monologue or reading from a script, the first thing I'm looking for isn't the biggest voice. It isn't the highest note, it isn't the strongest belt. It's the story. Because ultimately, that's what we're here to do- tell stories. I often hear people describe themselves as singers, actors, dancers or performers. For me, all of those things are tools- the end goal is storytelling.
When somebody starts singing, I immediately start asking questions.
Who are they talking to?
What do they want?
Where have they just come from?
Where are they going next?
What's happening in this exact moment?
Why does this matter to them?
I want to understand the journey, I want to believe what they're saying. Most importantly, I want to forget I'm sitting in an audition room. The performances that stay with me are the ones that feel truthful, the ones where I stop analysing technique and start following the story. Of course, technical ability matters. We need performers who can sing the music, learn choreography and handle the demands of a production. But if I had to choose between an incredible voice with limited storytelling and a good voice with exceptional storytelling, I would choose the storyteller every single time.
Because audiences fall in love with stories, they fall in love with characters, they fall in love with moments. The audience should never feel like they're watching somebody perform a song. They should feel like they're experiencing a moment in somebody's life. One thing that can quickly lose my attention is when all of the focus is on the vocal rather than the character. A song can be technically impressive and still tell me very little. I sometimes watch auditions and find myself wondering whether the performer understands the lyrics they're singing, whether they know what happened to the character before the song started, whether they know what happens afterwards, whether they understand why the character is singing at all, because a song doesn't exist in isolation. It's always part of a larger story. The strongest performers understand that: they know that every lyric means something, every thought leads to the next, every choice has a purpose.
As a director, I care deeply about audience journey. I want audiences to be fully immersed in a production, to feel part of the world we're creating, to connect with the characters and care about what happens to them. That only happens when performers commit to telling the story & not just the story of the show, the story of their character: their fears, their hopes, their relationships, their journey. Because every character has a story worth telling, and every audience member deserves the chance to connect with it.
So if you're wondering what catches my attention in an audition room, the answer is actually quite simple.
Tell me a story.
Make me believe it.
And I'll remember you long after the final note has finished.
