Tomorrow night is the first night of auditions for the play I'm directing, Ten Little Indians. I'm very excited and a little nervous. Directing takes a huge amount of time and effort. However, no matter what anyone else might say, the most difficult part of directing and one of the most important parts is casting. Once you've cast your show, you've done about 60% of your job. If you cast the right people, nothing else will matter because with the right cast they will work together as a cohesive unit and be able to deliver a fine production no matter what the circumstances. It would be great if everyone likes each other and gets along, but I've been involved in shows where the leads hated each other in real life, but on stage they were magnificent together. However, if you cast the wrong people, you've got tons of problems you never expected. A person who just isn't right in a role is something that even a person who has never seen a play before can recognize. Then again the best actors can fit in almost any role no matter how large or small. Casting is huge.
Two years ago when I first directed I was worried that not enough people would even show up to auditions to be able to cast the show. For that show, 12 Angry Men, there were almost triple the number of people I needed who showed up. I'm not quite as concerned this time around because I think the people will come. Yet, there's still this little doubt I have that maybe there won't be enough people. You just can't be too sure. Here's hoping plenty of auditionees show up.
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