FAQ

Prior to auditioning for any production, we ask parents to create an Acting Studio Productions account on our registration system. This is separate from the account that you have to register for technique classes. After you have created an ASP account, then you register for the production (the same way you’d register for a class) and complete registration by paying the $125 non-refundable audition fee. That fee is applied toward production tuition if your child is cast in the show. The remaining balance of the tuition then is charged to your ASP account according to the schedule outlined in the audition packet. There’s no need to pay by check or do any checkout procedure here online.

One of the requirements for participating in our productions is the sale of one 1/2-page program ad (a $75 value). You can choose to sell this ad to a business (maybe even your own business), or you can simply purchase it yourself to send well-wishes to your favorite cast member(s).

Anyone who is ready to purchase an ad can do so on the productions form page for the show. Simply check whether you’d like your ASP account to be charged for the amount, or you’d like to pay by credit card here on this site (a useful option if you’re selling directly to a business and you’d like them to pay). You can also upload your completed ad on the Ads page. There is information provided on the form about what type of file and what size of ad we will need.

Please note that your ASP account will be charged $75 by the date outlined in the audition packet if we don’t receive prior alternative payment attributed to your child, and even if we don’t receive any completed ad for your child. (When we don’t receive anything, we will create a standard well-wish ad on your child’s behalf.)

We appreciate you asking that question. We know there are a lot of local theatre groups, and you need to know what sets us apart. Here are just a few of the reasons we’re different:

• We don’t just hire staff; we hire working professionals. Our owners, instructors and directors all work professionally in the theatre community, either in DFW or beyond.
• We put our productions on in a real working theatre. We’re proud to produce shows in a theatre that provides students with an experience that’s authentic. This isn’t a cafeteria stage, a black box, or a school auditorium. This is a full-fledged theatre that seats hundreds of people, with advanced equipment, lighting, and sound. We have a real set. We have a paid production staff. And we teach students how to navigate this world professionally.
• We hold our students to high standards. Our students are our family, so we ALWAYS practice kindness first. At the same time, we have high expectations, and we don’t believe in letting you ignore your potential. If you make a commitment, we hold you to it. If we see potential in you, we help you develop it. If you participate in a show, we treat you like a working member of our community.
• Just ask our students and their parents. We are humbled to hear them describe their experiences. We believe theatre should feel like home and should be a safe place, a place where you feel you belong—whatever your age, your talent, your role. We hear time and again that students in Acting Studio Productions have built lasting friendships. It’s not uncommon to walk into the Studio and have ten people shout hello to you before rehearsal. Students greet other parents with polite smiles and warm welcomes. We don’t do cliques, and we absolutely don’t do ego. As we say every day, we’re teaching life skills through stage skills. Our students don’t just learn acting, singing, and dancing; they learn to be compassionate, hard-working, determined, and confident.

We have a few basic requirements, namely that they be at least 6 years old (sometimes we increase that age to 8, depending on the show), that they can read or take direction well, and that they are enrolled in at least one technique class at the Studio. When you put all these things together, you have a child who is old enough to handle the long hours of rehearsals, capable of understanding the lines/blocking/choreography that we provide, and invested enough in musical theatre to care about performing well.

If you’re unsure whether your child will be able to manage the time requirements, we encourage you to discuss the commitment together. A student must be willing and prepared to commit to a show and all that it entails. You cannot miss rehearsal simply because you “don’t feel like it” or you’re “tired.”

If you’re concerned about your child’s confidence level, we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what seemingly introverted or shy kids can do when they’re on stage. Many naturally quiet children enjoy being involved in a production because they can transform into other people, people who are boisterous or silly or villainous, and that is a lot of fun! Theatre is a fantastic way of building confidence and self-esteem. We do our best to coax out your child’s full potential!

First of all, don’t be nervous. An audition is your time to shine!

Auditions generally last about 5 minutes. You’ll wait outside the Studio until you’re called in to begin. The show directors and choreographer will be there to greet you, as well as our pianist. You’ll provide your headshot and/or resume to the directors, and then give your sheet music for your first song to the pianist, along with any special instructions about tempo or tone. The directors will let you know when to start. They may or may not request that you sing your second prepared cut.

If you have any schedule conflicts to discuss, the directors might ask you about those to clarify when you won’t be available for rehearsals. When the directors have all the info they need, they’ll excuse you. If they’d like to see you at callbacks, they’ll hand you a slip of paper with specific requests about when to arrive and what they’d like to see you do (vocal, reading, dancing, etc.). Should they want you to read or sing, you’ll likely be given some music or a side from a script to prepare before you return.

That’s it! When you leave, the next student will be brought in.

For video auditions, we ask students to show your best 16-32 bar cut of both an uptempo and a ballad.

Please make sure we can hear you over your accompaniment!

For your protection and privacy, we prefer that you upload your audition video to either YouTube or Vimeo and set to “unlisted” status. This ensures your video will not be included in any search results, and only those with the link can access your video.

You can then provide us with the direct link to your video for review using the audition submission form for the show.

You will need to log in to either YouTube (using a Google account) or Vimeo to upload your video. Both platforms are free to use.

We ask you to prepare two contrasting 16-32 bar cuts for your audition. Try to select songs that highlight your vocal range and that are appropriate for your age and the role(s) in which you’re interested. For example, if we’re producing Aladdin, and you’re interested in playing the Genie, you probably don’t want to sing a ballad for us. You’ll want to show us how you can play a brash and humorous character.

If you’re working with a vocal instructor at the Studio, s/he should be able to provide some insight and help you build a solid audition repertoire over time.

There are a number of good sites online where you can download sheet music, such as MusicNotes. You can also find a variety of piano-only accompaniments with which to practice your songs on sites like YouTube or PianoTrax.

For auditions, most students dress to impress. Girls typically wear dresses, skirts, or nice slacks; boys generally wear slacks and appropriate shirts.

For callbacks, you might be asked to dance or learn certain blocking or movements. Most students dress in dance-appropriate attire and bring their jazz, tap, ballet, and/or character shoes along as well.

We know everyone is anxious to see the cast list, but we have to ensure that everyone has had an opportunity to audition. Also, we don’t like to rush into any decisions, and assigning roles can be tricky when a show calls for very specific vocal ranges or dancing abilities. In general, you’ll see a cast list posted here online within 1-2 weeks of auditions—and definitely before the first rehearsal! Thanks for being patient!

At times, for certain specific and challenging roles, we ask a “guest” actor within the DFW community to join our production. This is simply to ensure that our shows maintain the highest quality, and that all the students who have auditioned can be cast in the roles for which they are best suited.

We often double (or even triple) cast featured roles when we have a number of students participating in a production. We want to showcase your talent and give numerous kids the opportunity to shine. Each cast will have specific but equal performance times; for example, we usually give all casts an evening performance as well as a matinee. If a role is not listed with a double, that person will be in every performance.

Tech week is when we rehearse the show in the theatre, with the full set, lighting, props, and other technical aspects of the show that haven’t been available during our earlier rehearsals. Tech week is extremely important, for quality as well as safety, and all tech week rehearsals are mandatory.

We usually begin tech week with a “cue-to-cue” rehearsal. This is our first opportunity to run the show’s technical components from one cue (lighting, set change, etc) to the next. It is vital that students listen and follow directions during this rehearsal, for the safety of everyone on the stage. We’ll be bringing in battens or moving heavy set pieces, and you don’t want to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.

We then start moving into dress rehearsals for each cast. Don’t be alarmed if you don’t get all the way through your dress rehearsal. Tech week is usually chaotic, but it always turns out in a wonderful show. We just ask that our students remain professional, respectful, and patient. You will learn a LOT about the process of putting on a production during tech week.

We understand that five hours a day is tricky, and getting there in traffic can take a while. We know you have homework, and some of you often have to leave school early just to make your call time. But we have a lot to do once we move into the theatre. We need the entire cast paying attention, even when you’re not on stage or your cast isn’t running the show. We have a lot of ground to cover, and those five hours will go very quickly. You’re going to be tired. But it’s our job to make sure you’re also well prepared.

Many of the parents with kids in our productions have learned some tricks to manage tech week successfully. Some choose to set up carpools to help with the driving. Some pick their kids up from school early to give them time to get into costume. Most will feed their kids dinner in the car on the way to the theatre. Some (and we’re not encouraging this, but it’s been known to happen!) let their kids stay home from school to rest up before a performance.

We treat these kids like young professionals. This is hard work. We are continually amazed at the level of excellence and commitment they have. So while we know that tech week is a grind, it’s also exciting and exhilarating. Everything we’ve been working toward for months is about to come to fruition. Try to put the inconveniences aside and focus on the reward at the end of the long week: an amazing production, and some incredibly talented kids who grow to think of each other like family.

We’ll send an email and update the calendar with which cast (for example, Red Cast and Blue Cast) will be performing at which times. We will keep it as fair and equal as possible.

As of 2022, most performances for all studios are held at the Addison Theatre Centre, home of WaterTower Theatre. The address and a map of the theatre are available on our Contact page.

Costumes are often a mix of elements. We have many pieces in storage that we can use for a variety of shows and characters. Sometimes we rent pieces from Rose Costumes. And sometimes we ask students to provide certain outfits or pieces from home (tights, socks, shoes, a certain color shirt or pants, etc.). We don’t expect parents to sew or purchase elaborate costumes.

Students usually bring some kind of “kit” to keep backstage during dress rehearsals and performances. The “kit” can be anything ranging from a laundry basket to a makeup caboodle—whatever works for you, really. Here are a few staples to have on hand:

• Hair spray
• Bobby pins
• Brush/comb
• Wig caps
• Makeup (including mascara & lipstick)
• Deodorant
• Cotton balls or Q-Tips
• Makeup wipes
• Antibacterial gel
• Extra tights or socks
• Safety pins
• Erasers

When students are in a double/triple cast production, they are usually asked to work tech on the shows in which they don’t perform on stage. This means they will have specific assigned jobs that are extremely important to the success of the show, so don’t take tech work lightly! They will be responsible for moving set pieces quickly during scene changes, assisting with props, helping with costumes or mic changes, or any number of other jobs backstage.

Trust us—tech assignments help our students understand the diversity of theatre work. What happens on stage is only a small portion of the production!

That depends. First of all, we take safety very seriously. If a student is under the age of 12 (and sometimes even if they aren’t), we ask a responsible adult to sign that student out. Your director will generally communicate the sign-out procedure again before a show run so that everyone is clear on the process.

That being said, we have a few post-show requests sometimes. The students will be told whether they can greet guests in the lobby in costume, or whether they must change first. Whichever option it is, students must clean up their dressing rooms, hang up their costumes, and return all props to the prop table before they can leave.

At least one show during a run, we have our photographer take cast photos. When that happens, students will be held after a performance before they come to the lobby, usually for about 10 minutes.

That’s up to each parent. We have some parents who attend every performance no matter what role their child has. Other parents only attend one. There is no right or wrong way to see a show, and we know you are busy, too! We will say, however, that many parents do enjoy seeing multiple performances. If there are double casts, you can get an idea of what each cast is like. And you’ll have the opportunity to see how well the students manage consistency or improve during the run.

Strike is when we break down the entire set and everything we have brought into the theatre for the show, and we move it ALL out. Everything. As you can imagine, it’s a bit of a task—but we have to do it, and we have to do it RIGHT after the final performance. Yes, even if that performance ends at 10 p.m. on a Sunday night.

The more people we have on hand to help, the faster it goes. We have detailed backstage instruction lists to guide the students with what is expected of them: returning costumes to the rack properly, erasing their script notes and turning scripts in, thoroughly cleaning their dressing rooms, gathering props, etc. We have parents bring drills to help dismantle the set, and we often ask parents with larger cars or trucks to help take things back to the Studio in the morning, or take laundry home to wash.

It sounds like a lot, but you’d be surprised how quickly we can manage it when everyone works together. In general, plan to remain at the theatre at least two hours after the final show ends. When we have many hands to help, it can go faster.

If you have a conflict during strike and it was noted on your audition form, you may be exempt—but make sure you have cleared that with the directors. We don’t dismiss ANY student after strike until we take a roll call, and no student may receive his/her show shirt until his/her script has been returned without any written notes in it. All students must be turned over to an adult before they are allowed to leave (with the exception of those who drive themselves).

Acting Studio Productions does not host cast parties. We do, however, provide an opportunity for parents to volunteer to coordinate a cast party on our volunteer sign-up sheet.

We don’t always have parties, though. After a lengthy show run, or a late-night strike, everyone is pretty darn tired. And with complex schedules, it’s not always easy to find a date or location that works for the entire cast, particularly when a show combines studios from different cities.

That being said, we would love you to volunteer! We have had cast parties at parks, homes, restaurants, you name it! The kids love getting together to celebrate their accomplishments, and parents love that final sigh of relief!

None of our productions would be possible without the help of our parent volunteers, and we enthusiastically encourage any new parent to jump in and get involved! We’ve listed many of the important positions available on our Volunteer page. With just a few exceptions, no job requires special skills or experience. Just a good attitude!

We understand. Parents are busy. Some of our volunteer jobs can be done at home on your own time, of course, in case that helps. We do encourage parents to get involved, though. We always need help, even if it’s just monitoring kids at lunchtime during rehearsals. Volunteering is a great way to learn how it all works and meet some very awesome, fun people.

We will open up an online sign-up sheet when a performance date nears, and you’ll be able to find a link on this site.