What happens at a West End audition?

[SE13Mummy]

As per the title really... DD1 (just 7) has been invited to audition for a West End musical but it's not something DH or I really know anything about. I'd like to be able to give her an idea of the possible set-up but haven't been able to come up with much more than, "there will be probably be lots of girls there and you might all be taught how to sing a song from the show and the theatre people might walk up and down to hear whose got the right sound voice, who is following the instructions and that sort of thing".

I imagine she stands very little chance of getting anywhere with it, not least because she doesn't do dance/drama (the casting director will have known this prior to inviting her) but she's keen to go along and so we are going. She knows that the audition is an amazing opportunity and understands it's unlikely to go any further but I'd like to be able to give her a bit of an idea as to what to expect.

...and what she should wear - would a practical tunic-style dress with leggings/tights be suitable do you think?

It depends what it is for.

Dd went on an audition workshop with Jo Haws a leading children's casting director. She handles Matilda amongst other shows.

For Matilda they are looking for very strong dancers and they also have to sing.

For Young Fiona in Shrek I think they have to sing one of the songs to start with.

Not quite sure what happens in Wizard of Oz, think they have to sing and dance.

There are parents on www.notapushymum.com whose children have auditioned for all these shows plus Billy Elliot, I assume it is not Billy though as they have to be a certain level in ballet and tap for that one I think.

Dd did an audition workshop with Jo Hawes who handles a lot of children's casting. She liked them to stand well and be confident, they are very experienced and often it comes to down to height and stuff. Most children do seem to enjoy the experience.

Thank you :) it's good to hear that most children seem to enjoy the experience. DD can stand well and be confident for unknown adults (and ones she does know!).

It's for Young Fiona etc. in Shrek... given that they have to sing (it said this in the invitation to audition), from your experience is it likely that they'll be seen/heard in a group situation?

Also, what sort of clothes are appropriate? Comfy, presentable and age-appropriate?

I think its in a group but possibly solo lines. There is a mum on notapushymum whose dd is a Young Fiona at the moment, I'll have a search to see if there is any audition info on there.

I have sent dd to dance auditions in leggings, -t-shirt and jazz shoes. For singing auditions what you describe sounds fine. Definately age appropriate, they cast children to look like children if you know what I mean. I have known parents of older children to try and disguise their dd's "speed bumps" (blossoming busoms) in the past.

Thank you for the reassurance... I'd been looking on NAPM but hadn't registered so couldn't access the forum that talks about musical theatre. I've registered now so can read all about it :)

In the past they sang the song from the show that Young fiona sings and a little bit of ogre acting

A brief update: DD went along and was seen in a group of 9. They were warmed up by singing scales and la-ing to a couple of other things before singing part of the song that Young Fiona sings in the show. This was followed by what sounded like a round robin of solo lines-the same 8 or so bars sung by each child. DD and 6 others were out in about 20 minutes, the remaining two were given callback letters.
It was a good and fun experience...until the penny dropped that she wasn't being called back!

How come she got invited in the first place - does she go to drama school?

Hi everyone: I'm sorry that this is too late for DD's audition - good for her for giving it a go and great that she had a generally positive experience - but I hope this might be useful to you...

I work for The Stage, which has recently launched The Stage Events. We're running a session on Monday 27 February with children's casting director Jo Hawes ( as mentioned above) called 'How to give your child a head start' and the Dominion Theatre, London. You can find out more here: www.thestage.co.uk/events/. Hope that's handy.