‘Woyzeck’ play auditions underway for performance

The spring theatre production, "Woyzeck" by Georg Buchner, will run March 3, 4, 5 at 7:30pm in the Larry D. Peters Auditorium. Woyzeck is German play from the 1830's.

The audience only sees the perfected result of weeks and weeks of practice, but there is more that goes on behind the scenes.

There are certain requirements students have to meet if they want to try out for the school play. Students must be enrolled in at least six credit hours and maintain adequate grades to have the opportunity to accept a role.

OU Theater Director Julie Noonan said the show will have a series of 24 short scenes. She will be determining casting depending on some of the audition results. Some of the actors may be playing more than one role in different scenes.

"The auditioners will each do a monologue or cold reading. We will also have a short improvisatory demonstration of some "special characters" for the play," Noonan said. "There is also some German folk singing so each person will need to sing part of a folk song."

Sophomore Kaitlyn Johnson auditioned for "Woyzeck" and relates auditions to teamwork.

"Auditions are an opportunity for us as actors to grow and better our craft. They are lots of fun and allow us to work on teamwork, trusting others, and to be creative," Johnson said.

She said her favorite part of auditioning for the play is that she gets to be creative with the characters she is auditioning for.

Johnson said the hardest part of auditioning is the wait to see if she has made the cut.

"The hardest part about auditioning is not knowing what the outcome will be. We have to wait to see if we got a role or not and most of the time, that's the most difficult part of the process," Johnson said.

She is excited about the concept her director has chosen. They plan to incorporate masks and other props.

Senior Muncel Jones is no stranger to theatre auditions. He's been in several plays and his favorite part about them, by far, is singing. He said he sees auditioning as a learning experience.

"To me auditioning is pretty fun. It's something you can do to show directors the talent that you have before you show the audience the talent you have," Jones said. "I feel if you can audition in front of them you can do it in front of an audience"

Even though he has been through several auditions, Jones said there are still things that are hard..

"The hardest part about auditioning is the focusing part. Because when your auditioning you want to make sure you got the right character down that you're auditioning for. Also competing for a part could be the hardest as well, because you got so many people with so many great talents," he said. "It's like you're scared you won't get the part, but believing in yourself is the most important thing. Basically auditions are for fun and for you to have fun."

Noonan said the play will give the students a challenge and enhancing opportunities that will advance them in the future.

"Working on this play will offer the students a challenge to convey character actions in very short scenes. They will also be grappling with translating the 1830s world into a 2011 production that is relevant to the audience," she said. "This process will be challenging from many different perspectives and offer our students acting, design and construction opportunities to enhance their repertoire."