How to Audition for a Pantomime
Auditions are one of those things that make everyone a little nervous, and that includes the person running them. If you're preparing to audition for a panto, you want to know what to expect and how to give yourself the best chance. If you're directing and casting your show, you want an audition process that's fair, efficient, and actually tells you something useful.
This post covers both sides of the table. Not everything here will apply to your situation, so take what's relevant and leave the rest.
If You're Auditioning
What to prepare
Most amateur pantomime auditions will ask for one or two of the following: a short prepared piece, a song, some movement, or simply a reading from the script. Find out in advance what's expected. If the society hasn't specified, contact them and ask. Turning up unprepared when information was available isn't a confidence issue, it's a logistics one.
If you're asked to sing, choose something that sits comfortably in your voice rather than something that shows off a register you can barely reach. Panicked high notes are memorable for the wrong reasons.
If you're asked to prepare a speech or monologue, a comic piece will almost always serve you better in a pantomime context than a dramatic one. Directors want to see whether you can play to the audience, time a gag, and recover when something goes slightly wrong. A speech that lets you show those things is worth more than a technically polished tragic soliloquy.
Pinocchio, Aberdyfi Players
On the day
Arrive early. Not as early as to be in the way, but early enough to settle, read any notice the director has put out, and not sprint through the door carrying your coat and apologising.
Pantomime is an ensemble form. Even in audition, how you behave around other people matters. Directors notice who listens, who watches, who makes others feel comfortable, and who fills all the air in the room. The audition starts the moment you walk in.
If you're asked to read from the script in the room, don't try to act every word. Read clearly, take your time, find the rhythm of the lines, and show that you understand who the character is. That's enough.
If you don't get the part you wanted
This is worth saying plainly: pantomime casts are built as ensembles, not as a collection of individual stars. A director who offers you a smaller role than you expected isn't necessarily undervaluing you. They may be seeing something in you that's right for a different part, or balancing a cast dynamic you can't see from where you're sitting.
If you're offered something, consider it properly before deciding. A well-written smaller role in a good production is worth a lot more than a lead in a badly assembled one.
If You're Running Auditions
Plan the session before you advertise it
The audition format should follow from what you need to find out, not the other way around. Before you write the audition notice, think about what you're actually trying to assess. For a pantomime, that usually means comic timing, projection, willingness to commit, and how people work with each other. Cold readings can reveal all of these. An elaborate audition process that tests things you won't need is a waste of everyone's time. If you haven't directed a pantomime before, you might find it useful to read my post on directing your first pantomime, which covers the early planning decisions in more detail.
Be clear in your audition notice
Tell people what you're asking them to prepare, how long the audition will take, what roles are available, and whether you welcome members who would prefer backstage roles. An audition notice that answers these questions attracts more people and reduces the number of emails you'll need to answer in the week before the session. If you're working from one of my scripts, you'll have a clear sense of the cast structure in advance, which makes writing that notice considerably easier. Perusal Scripts are available free of charge, so you can read the script in full before auditions and know exactly what you're casting.
Structure the session
An audition that runs to time respects the people who turned up for it. Block out your schedule before the day: how long each slot is, when you'll take a break, and when you'll run group activities versus individual readings. If you're seeing a lot of people, have a helper to manage the waiting area so you can focus on what's happening in the room. Group activities can tell you things that individual readings cannot. A paired improvisation, a brief ensemble warm-up, or a group cold reading of a scene will show you how people respond to each other, how they listen, and who has the generosity that ensemble work requires.
Cinderella, Tintinhull Drama Group
What to write down
Keep notes during the session, not afterwards. Memory is unreliable and impressions blur quickly when you've seen 20 people in an afternoon. Note specific things: the moment a timing clicked, the line reading that surprised you, the way two people sparked off each other. Vague notes like "good energy" are almost impossible to work with when you're back at the table trying to build a cast list. If you're directing with a musical director or a choreographer, have them in the room and contributing to the notes from their own perspective. Casting decisions made by one person without input from the rest of the creative team sometimes unravel in rehearsal.
Casting the Ensemble
Pantomime is built on contrast and complement. A Dame and a Principal Boy need to have a chemistry that works comedically and emotionally. Villains need to land with the right kind of weight so the hero's eventual triumph actually means something. The Chorus needs enough personality distributed through it that it reads as a living world rather than scenery. Look at the cast as a whole, not as a set of individual appointments. The best auditionee on paper doesn't always produce the best ensemble on stage. Cast for the show, not for the audition.
Letting people know the outcome
Tell people the outcome promptly, and tell everyone, not just the people you're offering roles to. A message that thanks people for attending and lets them know the cast has been decided is a small thing to send and a significant thing to receive. Societies that treat their members well at audition stage build the kind of loyalty that keeps people coming back, which matters a great deal when you're planning your next production.
A Note on Scripts and Audition Materials
If you're still in the process of choosing a pantomime script, the cast structure you're looking for will shape that decision as much as any other factor. Some scripts suit smaller, tightly balanced companies. Others are written with a larger ensemble in mind.
You can browse all available scripts or request a Perusal Script free of charge. Reading the script in full before you finalise your audition process is the most straightforward way to run a session that actually finds the cast your show needs.
Nick Lawrence writes fully original pantomime scripts for amateur and community theatre groups. Find out more and request a Perusal Script here.