Expressions of Interest are now open for General Auditions at Hayes Theatre Co for both actors and musicians.
General auditions are a process where we open the doors to any working actor or musician in our wider industry who is interested in performing in a musical, cabaret or music-based theatre piece. Over a few days, we aim to meet as many actors and musicians as possible, who haven’t yet been seen on the Hayes stage. You might be a new graduate, new to Sydney, an actor without an agent, an actor or musician who has worked in other areas of performance but not yet in music theatre, or you may have just not had the opportunity to audition for a Hayes show before.
You are not auditioning for a particular role or production, and we are not looking for you to fit into any particular cookie-cutter shape. Instead, General Auditions are an opportunity for actors and musicians to bring themselves into the room, and to connect with the Hayes artistic team based on their own talents, interests, and range. For the Hayes team, General Auditions help us broaden our awareness of talent for consideration across all our productions and activities. We will also invite a number of our independent producers and creatives to watch these auditions.
We’re looking for singer-actors and/or musicians who:
- are over 18 years of age;
- have at least three years of training or three years of professional experience outside of secondary school activities. This could be onstage in independent productions, festivals, music gigs, or other professional shows, or on screen;
- have not been employed as an actor / musician in a previous Hayes show; and
- can be based primarily in NSW and are able to make it to an in-person audition on the day specified
We encourage all performers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, mature age artists, d/Deaf or hard of hearing, Disabled, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, (LGBTQIA+, non-binary/gender non-conforming artists and Neurodiverse artists to apply.
How to apply for the Expressions of Interest
To express your interest in an audition slot, please check your availability for Tuesday 27th August & Wednesday 28th August, and complete the form below. You will be asked to attach a one-page performance CV, and a recent headshot. After the Expression of Interest stage, we will be in touch with an information sheet specifying the audition requirements in more detail.
General Auditions Expressions of Interest Form
Please note that given the high volume of applications and our time and resources, not all applicants will be guaranteed an audition slot, but we will let you know either way. If you have already performed in a Hayes show, or worked on a medium-sized to mainstage musical theatre production in Sydney, it is very likely we will have seen and heard your work – so do not be disheartened if we don’t call you in. Please do not submit if you were seen at our General Auditions in 2023, as we will not call the same performers in again.
Submissions close at 5pm on Tuesday 30th July. Applications received after this are unlikely to be accommodated, subject to availability.
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What will the audition involve?
Audition time slots for actors are 15-20 minutes, and will comprise a monologue and a song of your choice. Audition time slots for musicians are 10 minutes, and will comprise two contrasting musical pieces of your choice.
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What should I perform?
The best way to choose your audition material is to make sure you’re familiar with what Hayes does, and pick your scenes and songs accordingly. Productions at Hayes cover a wide range of genres, styles and creative approaches, but they are rarely straight-forward, traditional, music theatre performances. Try to let your audition material express your own interests and perspective on music theatre. For actors, your audition scene does not have to come from a musical. However, scenes that depict or discuss extreme violence, bigotry, misogyny, etc are ill-suited to an audition in front of panel members who are unaware of the material they will be watching. Please also be prepared to give context to your monologue, as well as any content warnings, before you perform it.
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How will I be accompanied?
We will provide a professional accompanist for all auditions, who can accompany your audition on piano. This is optional for musician auditionees, but required for actor-singer auditionees (please don’t prepare an a capella performance, or bring a recorded backing track). Please bring clearly marked sheet music for the accompanist. You can find guidance on marking up music for the accompanist here, and here.
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What if I am both an actor and a musician?
If you are auditioning as an actor, and you play a musical instrument to a similar level (three years of professional training or experience), please feel free to bring this along as well! In this case, please submit your form as an actor. There will be a piano or keyboard in the room that you can play, should you wish – or you can bring another instrument with you. You can sing and play separately – or, if you prepare a song where you accompany yourself, please also prepare something that you can sing while accompanied by our pianist, if the panel requests.