Do You Know What Theatrical Acting Auditions Are?

Theatrical Acting Auditions (Film/TV)

When you hear the term theatrical auditions, what kind of acting auditions do you think that means?

You probably think of theatrical as defined by Mirriam-Webster – “of or relating to the theater or the presentation of plays.” So theatrical acting auditions should be auditions for theatre or for a play. Right?

I know when I first came to L.A., that is what I thought when I heard of theatrical acting auditions.

But in Los Angeles, when you hear the term theatrical audition, it is typically not referring to an audition for theatre.

So, what is a theatrical audition in Los Angeles?

In Los Angeles, a theatrical audition refers to any audition for a television show or film.  This includes acting auditions for tv shows, pilots for tv shows, videos, movies, short films, student films, low-budget films, educational films, and industrial films.

And a theatrical agent in L.A. is a talent agent who represents clients for theatrical auditions and jobs, meaning film and tv auditions and jobs.

In L.A., the term theatrical audition is not used to refer to theatre auditions at all. Theatre auditions are called “legitimate” auditions, or maybe theatre, stage, or equity auditions.

There is not a lot of professional theatre here in L.A., so there are not many legitimate (professional theatre) auditions. If you are really interested in working professionally in theatre, New York is a much better location for you.

And you won’t find any agents that just represent people for theatre (legitimate) here in L.A. There just would not be enough work for them to survive.  Many agents represent clients across a number of different categories, and legitimate is often one of those categories.

Other acting auditions that are not included in the category theatrical in L.A. are commercial auditions, voice-over auditions, modeling auditions, print auditions, and variety (personal appearances, music, comedy,  improv, etc.) auditions.

When preparing for theatrical acting auditions, typically there are sides (lines) from one or more scenes that you must obtain and rehearse before your auditions. Some theatrical auditions include improvisation, meaning that you must make it up yourself as you go.

For additional information about what happens at theatrical auditions, refer to “What Happens at Movie Auditions for Kids?”

For more information on this and many other topics related to acting in L.A., subscribe to Your Young Actor’s Newsletter. You’ll also get a free mini-course on getting started in show business.
To your success,

Debbie Sikkema