Tom Hiddleston’s priceless reaction to his Thor audition is a solid reason why we need auditions.  Auditions help you judge artist performances without bias. So many legendary artists have flunked auditions and judging their present performance, one would have thought they never did but they do. Auditions help casting directors pick the best fit for the role and help artists themselves improve their talent and get recognition for it.

An audition form template helps you keep your audition process smooth and easy by collecting artists’ details. Let’s explore how to create audition form templates and why you need them.

Definition of Audition Form Template

An audition form template is a consistent format for collecting information from artists auditioning for a role or part in theater, music, dance, or film. It’s a standardized form that asks all applicants the same questions to make the audition process smooth and without bias.

Also, having a standard template makes you look more professional and helps you filter down on talents that will be invited for the audition. Instead of having everyone come for the audition, you can screen through the form responses and select only qualified candidates to come for the audition.

Components of an Audition Form Template

The primary goal of having an audition form template is to make the audition process more organized and give artists a fair chance to showcase their talent. So, let’s look at the important components your audition form template must have to achieve this goal:

1. Personal Information: This field collects artists’ names, contact details, and in some cases, their ages.
2. Experience and Training: this section helps artists put their best foot forward by highlighting their past performances and relevant training. For example, their past performance credit or features, acting schools/workshops attended, acting style, and talent specialization. 
3. Availability: This helps you ensure your auditions around artists’ available time. You can either add a calendar to help them select their available dates or simply ask them to write when they would be available. Using a calendar makes your audition scheduling more organized and reduces the chances of conflicting schedules because of oversight.
4. Special Skills: One thing about creatives is that you can’t put them in a box, they are almost always multipods with so many talents. This section allows them to showcase any additional skills relevant to the production like singing or musical abilities, proficiency in specific languages or accents, experience living in a specific location and cultural contexts, stunt and physical skills (e.g., martial arts, gymnastics), etc.
5. Headshot and Resume Attachment: This is especially important for acting roles, it helps ensure artists look the part they are auditioning for and helps you filter down applications. You can specify how you want the headshot to be (e.g. black and white, in nature, etc).
6. Consent and Agreement: This helps you protect yourself and the artists’ hard work by collecting their permission to use the photos or videos taken during the audition.

Why Use an Audition Form Template?

Here are some reasons why you shouldn’t skip having an audition form template and jumping right into auditions:

1. Efficiency: It saves you the hassle of dealing with all interested artists.  You only have to deal with qualified artists in auditions because you’ve had time to review their applications and select suitable talents for the role or part. It also saves artists the heartache of spending resources to audition for a role they would have never gotten.
2. Fairness: Using a standard template ensures all applicants submit the same information. This enables you to compare and evaluate candidates fit for the role or part with the same criteria.
3. Organization: Using a template means you have a clear-cut process for collecting and managing audition information. It ensures you collect all needed information from artists and translates to a more organized process.
4. Professionalism: Having a template conveys a sense of professionalism to applicants. It shows you a clear vision for the audition process and motivates them to take the audition seriously and bring their A-game to it. For example, for top and growing artists’, their managers have to pitch the role or part to them, having a well-designed template could be what would qualify you to be pitched to them.

How to Create an Effective Audition Form Template

Let’s look at some best practices to ensure you get the best results from your audition form template:

• Customization: Add production details specifying the type of production with a brief description of the roles artists are auditioning for. Also, include the audition details like locations, monologues, accents required, date and time of auditions, etc.
• Clarity:  Ensure your form fields are straightforward and add help text for uploads or specific information requests like a one-minute monologue. For example, instead of something vague like “Surprise us with your special skills” use simple and clear words like “Are there any other special talents you have relevant to this role”
• Accessibility: ensure your form is inclusive and encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply by making it multilingual and ensuring it’s compatible with screen readers and other assistive technologies for individuals with disabilities.
• Review and Feedback: regularly review your form fields to ensure they follow current trends and artists find them relatable and easy to fill. You can also add an optional feedback section for applicants to share their experience with the form.

Examples of Audition Form Templates

Depending on your production type, there are various formats for audition form templates. The following are the most common examples:

Theatre Auditions

People auditioning for theatre productions need to deeply understand the character and the play itself to submit relevant information. Your audition template should include actor role preferences to indicate their interest in specific roles within the production. It should also collect their experience, vocal range (if it’s a musical), monologue, or scene excerpts. Also, collect fitness reports and movement skills if the role requires physicality or fight choreography.

Film and TV Auditions

Your film and TV audition form should collect professional headshots and an updated resume. You also need to know each actor’s availability, for potential filming dates and if there’s any conflict of interest. Ask applicants about any other skills they have that might be relevant to the role like specific accents, prop handling, stunt experience, camera work, directing, voice-acting for animation, or production skills.

Dance Auditions

A dance audition form will be different from film or theatre, the goal is to capture the dancer’s skills and style. So their audition form should collect information about their dance styles e.g. ballet, jazz, hip-hop, lambada, salsa, etc. 

America’s Got Talent auditions are filled with auditions that will leave you in shock about how people can say they are very talented at something they clearly aren’t. So, ask applicants to upload a video showcasing their dance skills. Also ask them to list their past dance experience, including studios, companies, and performances. Finally, depending on the kind of performance you need dancers for, you can request their height, weight, and other physical attributes.

Music Auditions

After collecting the musician’s personal details like name and contact information, ask about their musical abilities and skills such as instrument played, music theory knowledge, and a live recording showcasing their musical abilities. 

You can also collect their musical repertoire that highlights their pieces relevant to the audition style. Most musical artists are multi-talented include an open-ended section in your audition form that asks for their special skills e.g. music production.

Conclusion

Your audition form makes your audition process more structured, efficient, and fair. It also helps artists understand exactly what you need from them and make a good first impression. 

There’s also no universal format for your audition form template, it all depends on your production type. However, the more customized your audition form is, the more likely you are to receive thoughtful applications.  We hope this guide helps you manage your audition process better and here’s a template to get you started.