The decisions to make before you post anything.

Start with the role, not the audition.

It sounds simple, but many audition processes become complicated because the hiring need is not clear enough before the call is published. You may know you need “new artists,” but that can mean many different things.

Are you hiring one full-time company member? Several freelancers for a project? A cover? A replacement? An apprentice? A pool of artists for future productions? A specific skill profile for one creation? A broader group of performers who might fit different works across the season?

Each answer leads to a different audition process.

A single full-time position may need a smaller, more focused invited round. A project-based company may need a wider pool, especially when several productions are in development. An interdisciplinary work may require a process that gives space to different kinds of skills, from movement to text, voice, music, improvisation, or devising.

This is where many audition decisions begin.

Before you decide how many people to invite, what materials to ask for, or how the day should run, define what is actually available.

Be specific about:

• how many artists you are looking for
• the type of contract or engagement
• the expected dates or season period
• whether the role is confirmed, conditional, or future-facing
• the artistic demands of the work
• the practical demands of the role
• the level of experience needed
• whether you are looking for a specific profile or staying creatively open

If the offer is still partly unknown, name that honestly. Artists can work with uncertainty when it is communicated clearly. What creates frustration is not always the uncertainty itself, but the feeling that important information is missing.

A clear hiring need also protects your team. It helps the panel align, keeps the application process focused, and makes the final decision easier to explain internally.

The more precise you are at the start, the less pressure you create later.

The format of an audition is never neutral.

It decides who can attend, how much artists need to spend, how much your team can actually observe, and what kind of performer is most likely to stand out.

A large open call with quick cuts creates one type of room. A digital first round followed by a more intentional in-person audition creates another.

Historically, many auditions have relied on large in-person first rounds, sometimes with hundreds of artists moving through the room and quick eliminations after very little time. These formats may feel efficient on paper, but they often make it harder to see artists properly. They also ask a lot from people before you know whether they are a serious match for the work.

A digital first round allows you to review artists with more focus before anyone travels. It gives your team time to look at materials with care, compare applicants more calmly, and invite people into the studio with clearer intention. The in-person audition can then become what it should be: a deeper artistic encounter with artists you genuinely want to see in the room.

This does not mean replacing the live audition. It means protecting it.

When the first filter happens digitally, the studio day can be smaller, more focused, and more useful for everyone involved.

There is no single perfect format. The right format depends on what you are trying to understand.

If the work is ensemble-based, group formats may help you see how artists listen, respond, share space, and pick up material together. If the work is solo or highly specific, individual slots may give a better view. If the role requires singing, playing, acting, text, or prepared material, the process may need dedicated one-to-one time. Many auditions benefit from a blend: a digital first round, a focused in-person group session, and a smaller callback where individual qualities can come forward.

The question is not only: how many people can we see?

The better question is: what kind of format will help us make the strongest decision with the most respect for everyone involved?

That means looking at the full shape of the process:

• open call, invite-only, or a combination
• digital first round or direct in-person audition
• group sessions, individual slots, or both
• number of rounds
• number of callbacks
• timing between rounds
• expected preparation from artists
• size of each group
• how cuts will be made and communicated
• whether the process can happen in one trip

This is also where access begins. If artists need to travel internationally for a first round, the cost of being considered becomes high. If the day includes several unclear cuts, artists carry uncertainty for hours. If the group is too large, your team may not be able to see enough, and artists may not be able to show enough.

A thoughtful format is not only kinder. It is more useful.

It gives your team better information, gives artists a fairer chance to be seen, and reduces the amount of energy lost to confusion, waiting, and unnecessary pressure.

Once the hiring need and format are clear, define what you are actually looking for.

This does not mean reducing artistic choice to a checklist. Auditions need space for instinct, surprise, chemistry, and the person who brings something you did not know you were looking for.

Still, your team needs a shared language before the first application is reviewed.

If one panel member is watching for technique, another for presence, another for musicality, and another for personality, the conversation can become difficult unless those priorities have been named. The goal is not to make everyone see the same thing. The goal is to understand what matters most for this work, this team, and this moment.

Think about the criteria in layers.

There may be technical skills: floorwork, pointe work, partnering, sight-reading, improvisation, vocal range, text work, instrument skills, acrobatics, camera experience, or the ability to pick up complex material quickly.

There may be artistic qualities: presence, musicality, imagination, emotional range, physical intelligence, clarity, generosity, precision, vulnerability, playfulness, or the ability to transform.

There may be practical needs: availability, touring experience, language, location, visa status, rehearsal stamina, or experience working in a certain production environment.

There may also be human and collaborative qualities: curiosity, openness, focus, resilience, listening, confidence, warmth, or the ability to contribute to a room.

Not every quality needs to be visible in the listing. Some things are internal criteria for the panel. But the main priorities should be clear enough to shape the audition call, the application questions, the materials you request, and the way you assess artists on the day.

This is especially important when the role is specific. If you need a strong improviser, say so. If the production requires singing and movement, say so. If the work asks for comfort with physical contact, intimate themes, heavy touring, classical text, partnering, or devised material, say so.

Artists should not have to guess whether they are a good match.

Clarity helps them self-select, and it helps you receive applications from people who understand what they are stepping into.

Access is shaped by the structure of the audition long before anyone enters the room.

It is shaped by what you ask for, how early you communicate, where the audition takes place, how much travel is involved, how many rounds artists need to attend, whether salary is visible, whether the space is physically accessible, whether artists understand what is expected, and whether adjustments can be requested without fear of being judged.

Some barriers are visible. Others are easy to miss.

An audition can unintentionally become a filter for who has money, time, confidence, flexibility, language access, proximity to major cities, or the ability to take time off paid work. When artists are already investing in travel, preparation, accommodation, and lost income, every unclear or unnecessary step adds weight.

Access is also shaped by how you present the opportunity.

The images you use, the language in your call, the way you describe the work, and the people already visible around your company all influence who feels invited to apply. Artists are reading more than the requirements. They are reading the signals around the opportunity.

If your work is open to artists from different backgrounds, identities, bodies, disciplines, or lived experiences, make that visible in a thoughtful way. This does not mean adding broad statements that feel disconnected from the actual process. It means being intentional about how you describe the room you are building, who you hope to connect with, and what kind of artistic voices may feel at home in the work.

For LGBTQIA+ artists, BIPOC artists, disabled artists, neurodivergent artists, international artists, parents, older artists, or artists whose path into the field has not been traditional, the details matter. A sentence, an image, a casting note, or the absence of certain signals can affect whether someone feels the opportunity is really meant for them.

This asks for clarity from your side. Who do you want to reach? Which communities or backgrounds are already connected to the work? Which ones do you want to build a more genuine relationship with? What can you honestly offer in the room, in the rehearsal process, and in the wider culture around the project?

Representation in an audition call should never be used as decoration. It should be connected to a real intention, a real process, and a real willingness to hold the room with care.

This does not mean every company can solve every access issue. Budgets are real. Time is real. Studio space is real. Small teams are often doing their best with limited resources.

But access does not only live in big gestures. It also lives in the smaller decisions.

It lives in publishing salary information. Giving enough notice. Offering a digital first round. Keeping the process to one trip where possible. Being clear about the schedule. Naming what artists need to prepare. Providing warm-up space. Making it easy to ask questions. Thinking carefully before requesting extensive unpaid material. Communicating rejections with care.

These decisions change who feels able to apply, who can afford to show up, and who can do their best work once they arrive.

That is not only an artist problem. It is a field problem. When cost becomes a barrier, companies may never see some of the artists who could have been right for the work.

A more accessible audition does not mean lowering the artistic standard. It means creating a process where more people have a fair chance to meet it.