The Kiddies

We saw three kids yesterday and I learned enough to be adequately prepared for the three auditions we have on Wednesday. I've directed a play with/for children before, but never hired a child to be in an adult production. The first thing I needed to make clear to the mothers (and they were all mothers - assuming that all father's disapprove of their young boys being actors) was that the theme of the play could be offensive or inflammatory to certain (Catholic) individuals. Funny enough, that was explicitly why one mother responded. She thought it was hilarious. Go figure.

We organized auditions as follows. We set up 15 minute appointments and emailed sides. We first talked with the mother and son about the play and his experience and activities. We also asked what his favorite cookie was because the character gobbles down about a dozen during the show. I'm guessing whoever we cast will be ten pound heavier at the end. We then asked the mothers to wait in the hall, so we could see the kid alone (and believe me, each boy acted totally different when mom was away). We had an actress come in to read Sister Mary, and surprisingly, each kid went over and sat on her lap when she told them to. And when we asked each one of them to memorize a line on the spot, they all nailed it. Seven year olds are amazing.

The only bit of advice I'd give to the mothers is to let their child speak for himself. This was also the biggest lesson for us. As much as we need to cast the child, we also need to cast the mother. The kids were fine; it was the moms who needed to be put in check. One of them kept interrupting her son and telling him to be quiet so she could talk. Sounds like someone isn't getting enough attention at home from her hubby.

There was one kid who stood out from all the rest. He was incredibly adorable and had the exact balance of intelligence and innocence that we were looking for. Plus I don't think his lesbian moms were too offended by the subject matter. Unless Webster or the 'I see dead people' kid show up on Wednesday, I think we're gonna go with him.