Casting Dancers

Casting Dancers

Important Protocols and Guides

My Producer has successfully managed to bring in dancers for the audition, as a director it is my responsibility to take care of them during their performance, it is also very important how I treat them, so, I took the liberty in researching and recollecting tips and facts that will run things smoothly and professionally. I have made sure that since everyone in the group stick to his or her position and jobs; I also made sure that the producer book out the room and equipment in the right time while handling the financial section. I made sure that the cinematographer also be there to run the camera and to record footage for review later on. I asked the editor to come in and make sure he can handle the files of the camera and take some sample footage to prepare him for the post-production process.

Etiquette

When it comes to a professional environment, every element matters. Moreover, as the job of the director is giving people the respect he/she should deserve for their roles if not more. Last thing to do, as one of the people who make the most important decisions on set is to embarrass anyone or leave them unsatisfied with the working with your team. It is essential you can have a system that everyone can appreciate what everyone is doing.

It is equally as important to get the most out of the performances as possible, to achieve the maximum potential for performances I have come to the conclusion of the following list, the below are my personal techniques as well as tips and guides from other writers cited below.

Rules:

·         Stick to schedule

·         Be 100% prepared for the space of casting

·         Make sure the environment is dancer friendly (soft floor, room temperature etc.)

·         Have water on set

·         Enough time for warm up.

Guides

·         Always give a warm reception

·         Make sure that the performer is confident.

·         Acknowledge previous work

·         Never show any signs of disappointments while the performer is dancing

·         Never Lie

·         Make them feel satisfied with the work they have performed (when declining an act, give advice on how they can improve)

·         Try not to be vague.

To look for in a performance

Set Tasks

·         How well can the dancer follow set rules?

·         Observe how the space of the room is utilized

·         How over under/over exaggerated is the performance.

·         Can the dancer add more to the performance?

Improvisation

·         Can the performer be able to produce great improvised routines

·         Can they think fast on the spot?

·         Is the improvisation obvious?

From “Directing – Film Techniques and Aesthetics 4^th ED.”

Michael Rabiger, Elsevier, 2008.

Stanislavsky is a Russian actor who developed the modern explanation of acting from interviewing the best actors of his time (1963-1939). He narrows down his research by finding the psychological linkages and extracting common denominators.

Justification: each element of the script has be justified; the thought process has to match the body language.

**Give the performer a life and a history to fall back on even if it’s not scripted, this is one of the simplest ways of getting the actor or dancer to imagine being that person they are portraying.

Improvisation: It is essential for the director to understand how actors function with improvisation by doing it him/herself. Some Notable film directors who work with improvisation: “Ingmar Bergman” “John Cassavetes” “Ken Loach” “Mike Leigh”

Give Performers a Set of rules and boundaries to tie/ground the piece together.

Key People and references to see:

Stanislavsky

John Hodgson and Earnest Richard’s Improvisation (Grove Press, 1974)

Viola Spolin’s Improvisation for theatre: a Handbook for Teaching and Directing Techniques, 3^rd ED. (Northwestern University Press, 1999)

Day of audition (26/02/2014)

Instructions.

·         Perform stomp like movement (while in still position and a second time while travelling)

·         Improvise with invisible sand particles, (imagine as if there’s an earthly element to work with)

·         Transition smoothly from a rough walk across the room to a more fluid walk.

·         Fluid dance improv (water like)

·         Be harsh with water, by running then stopping suddenly)

·         Interact with the water element, by throwing water across the room “flinging”

·         Air like dancing smoothly “floating”

·         Rough wind, like someone is pushing you form the elbows

·         Try to defy the sense of gravity

·         Imitate fire (Rough Extreme movement, Sudden yet smooth movements)