Regardless of where you go to pursue theatre, you naturally adopt the phraseology over time. It becomes second-nature -- callbacks, side reading, upstage versus downstage, blocking, table read, sitzprobe, cue-to-cue, strike -- even when to people outside of the industry, our daily verbiage may be nonsensical. I thought I knew everything there was to know! Until I moved to NJ and started auditioning in the big city, that is. Once again, we've learned that you never know it all: there's always more to learn. So, here's a short list of some of the new terms I've learned so far (so you'll be more prepared than I was -- you're welcome)!
HOLDING ROOM
We've talked about this one a little bit, but just to lay it out plainly, when you arrive at an audition, you will have a holding room and an audition room. The audition room is where you perform your monologue / sing your song / read your sides for the creative team, and the holding room is where you hang out while you wait to be seen. In a non-equity audition, it may simply be the lobby of the theatre or the hallway outside the audition room. In an equity audition, they are two physical rooms separated by sometimes the entire length of a floor (or in the equity building's case, actual floors between them). Regardless, they are always two separate spaces to ensure auditioners can be seen individually and privately.
EQUITY
Also something we've touched on, an equity actor is someone that belongs to one of the unions, most frequently seen around here being AEA, the Actor's Equity Association. Belonging to an actor's union entitles you to higher pay, health and 401k benefits, perks such as discounted studio space or access to the equity member's portal (where you can schedule audition appointments), and guarantees you'll be seen at every equity audition; however, it prevents you from being seen for anything non-equity (where there is arguably more opportunity), plus you must pay an initial fee to join the union as well as annual fees to keep your equity status.
NON-EQUITY
You can undoubtedly guess from the definition above, but a non-equity actor is someone that does not belong to any of the actor's unions. As a free agent, it means you can attend any audition -- whether it be equity or non-equity -- but it is never guaranteed you'll be seen at any equity audition. At those auditions, you are seen last, meaning you could be waiting around all day, sometimes for nothing, or you might even be sent away first thing in the morning. But you have access to auditions that equity members don't, so that's a big plus!
EMC
Short for Equity Membership Candidate, these actors have gained credits toward becoming equity by working in certain equity theatres across the country. Once you've worked in those equity theatres that offer "equity points" for a total of 25 weeks (non-consecutive), you are eligible to join AEA. In auditions, you are seen after equity members but before non-equity
-- though depending on the audition, sometimes EMC is lumped together with non-equity and is put on the same list. That said, **it's important to note that the EMC program is "unofficially-officially" being discontinued due to Open Access continuing indefinitely. Open Access allows any actor or stage manager that has worked professionally (i.e. been paid in the theatre) to join equity, meaning the candidacy program is slowly disappearing.**
ALTERNATE LIST / SUPPLEMENTAL LIST
In all honesty, the difference between these two is sooooooo minute yet wildly confusing -- and I swear the answer changes based on who you ask -- so for our purposes today, we're putting them together as they're basically interchangeable! At an equity audition, the alternate / supplemental list(s) is made up of walk-in equity actors. In general, AEA members get to sign up for a time slot at their auditions, meaning you don't have to wait around all day to be seen -- you just get to show up shortly before your appointment to sign in and get seen. If you miss your appointment time (or didn't check in when your name was called) or you did not make an appointment ahead of time but want to be seen, you will be added to the alternate / supplemental list. You can choose a future time if there are open slots, or you will be added into immediate groups if there are no-shows.
EPA
This stands for Equity Principal Audition. If you thrive in the speaking roles or pride yourself on your ability to take on characters but can't kick your face, this will be the type of audition you frequent. At these auditions, you'll usually be asked to sing / read a little longer than you would at an ECC (i.e. 32 bars or 2 minute monologue).
ECC
This stands for Equity Chorus Call. If you live for the ensemble and like to be a part of the show's backbone but wouldn't consider yourself a soloist, this is the type of audition for you. You have less time in the room than an EPA (i.e. closer to 16 bars or 1 minute monologue), but you are more likely to be asked into a dance call following an ECC.
MONITOR
Whether it be equity or non-eq, the monitor is the person in charge of keeping the line moving, putting new people on line, and generally managing every aspect of the behind-the-scenes -- that way, the creative team can focus on the actual auditions. They will be your go-to for all questions you have, and they will be who you sign up with when you arrive or who you report to when your name is called.
ON LINE
For some reason, being on line means being put in line to go into the audition room. It's very silly and grammatically incorrect, but sure.
16-BAR VS. 32-BAR
Since all music is different and the length of a bar can can be vastly different depending on the type of song or composer, this determines how much time you have to sing. If they're asking for 16-bars, they want about 30 seconds of singing. 32-bars means about 1 minute. If they ask for 8-bars? Prepare to barely get out a phrase. If the notice doesn't specify and instead uses words like "brief" or "short", it's a gamble but take the chance: give them a minute and a half.
DROP-OFFS
This is not a standard, only a once-in-a-while, but when it happens, it's better than leaving empty-handed! If an equity audition decides they will not see non-equity or EMC but will accept drop-offs, it means that they are taking headshots and resumes for consideration of those that did not get into the room.
TYPING
Also not a standard practice, but it will come up. If a creative team is typing, that means that they will consider a group of auditioners by their headshot and resume alone and, based on that, decide who they want to see sing / read / in the room. The idea of typing is very divisive; on the one hand, at least you can walk away knowing you didn't waste a day waiting when they knew they wouldn't seriously consider you, but on the other hand, it has been known to be a slippery slope in terms of bias.
SLATE
Put plainly, a slate is a creative team's introduction to you as a person before you get in-character. What you say in your slate varies from person to person, but it always includes your name and what you're performing. And when it comes to self-taping, you should also include your height since they aren't seeing you in person!
SELF-TAPE
A self-tape is when you record your audition and submit it online in place of a live audition. A self-tape can be requested in place of an initial audition, as a supplement to a live audition, or in place of callbacks, meaning you never know what you may have to work with (i.e. you might be recording your 16/32-bars of your music, you might be given sides from the script to read, you might be provided music to sing, or you might be asked to show something very specific like an example of an accent or skill listed on your resume).
Do you feel ten times smarter? You should! With all this big brain energy, you'll be able to make the right, more informed decisions for you when you're ready to jump into the NYC audition scene. Are there other terms I've mentioned in previous posts I missed? Anything still need explanation? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading, #DreamTeamHLJ, and keep learning.
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