The recent theater auditions went perfectly for Cathleen Beachboard and the theater department.
“Auditions went great, we picked directors for both shows,” Beachboard commented. This is the second year Beachboard has utilized student directors though they’re more involved this year. She went from one student director last year, to now having three. Every current project is being overseen by at least one student director. Beachboard noted, “By taking leadership and seeing what directing is, it made them better actors…I decided to take that and make student directors for everything in the fall.” Reinforcing her decision to have student directors has benefitted both the directors and actors, creating a more student-centric environment that’s more comfortable for the cast.
This year Beachboard held auditions for two plays: “Instructions for Hugs,” and “Once Upon a Crime: The Trial of Goldilocks.”
“Instructions for Hugs” is being directed by Annie Gentry, and will be performed as their Virginia High School League (VHSL) one-act show in a competition. The other play, “Once Upon a Crime: The Trial of Goldilocks” is the show they’ll be performing for the local elementary schools, and it’s being directed by two students, Theodore Pidge Church and Nicole Squitieri. The hope for this play is that it will inspire the children watching to love theater, and one day partake in it themselves.
Casting is different than it has been in the past, as Beachboard decided to let her new student directors take the lead. “They cast both shows and they’ve got some amazing talent coming in,” she says. The way the directors do auditions is pivotal to how they’re able to enhance the talent of their actors. The theater department did tag-in cold readings during the auditions this year. Tag-in cold readings are when actors can ask for a role, but based on their performance, the directors can pick a role better suited for them. Beachboard hopes that it can “[show] people how diversified they can be,” and open them up to act in roles they may have not previously considered. The directors choose roles that better amplify the actors’ talents through this method and help the actors reach their full potential.
While the fall auditions are over, later this year the theater department will be doing “SpongeBob: the Musical.” Beachboard stated that she felt “really excited about [SpongeBob: the Musical],” and that there are lots of opportunities in Fauquier to “see theater [and] get involved in theater.”
