Black Box Theatre Company

View our frequently asked questions and feel free to contact us if you don’t see your question listed.
GENERAL

We do not want to risk the safety of our Black Box families or faculty. We follow the lead of the local school district when deciding whether or not to cancel classes due to bad weather. If the inclement weather occurs after school hours, our Artistic Director and Executive Director will decide if classes are canceled. We will always try to reschedule any canceled class.

We will never turn a student away due to cost! We offer several resources to assist with finances, including payment plans and scholarships.
Check back here at our website, and be sure to follow us on Facebook!

Black Box would not be able to survive without our generous and loving community. We strive to show our appreciation by volunteering our time and resources to events in the local area. We also sponsor local sporting teams. Keep an eye out for Black Box spreading joy at a location near you!

PROGRAMMING
Not at all! We have classes for all levels and ages.

Black Box offers so many different classes at different skill levels — it can be overwhelming! If you are unsure of what opportunity will best suit your child, please contact admin@blackboxtheatreco.com. A little discussion about your child and their interests should help pave the way for us to get them into an appropriate class!

The Conservatory at Black Box is a program geared towards high school students who are looking for a more professional experience and have a desire to take their skills to the next level. The Conservatory program provides a unique experience for any student who wishes to continue performing into their adult life or pursue the performing arts professionally.

Conservatory classes will move at a faster pace, and it will be expected for students to have a certain base knowledge prior to enrollment. The Conservatory program typically does two shows a year. Unlike some of our smaller productions, many of our Conservatory shows will make cuts after auditions.

AUDITIONS

For most of our auditions at Black Box, we ask that students prepare 16-32 bars (approximately 30-60 seconds) of a song and a 30-60 second monologue. They will also be asked to read certain roles from the script. Some of our auditions will also contain a dance call or a movement audition, where students will be asked to learn and perform a short routine and show certain techniques.

Many of our auditions are open to all students, including our Spring Musical. It is the perfect opportunity for students looking for a chance to try the stage! Further, cuts are not made after auditions for our Spring Musical, so everyone who auditions will have a part in the production.

We do occasionally have productions with tighter guidelines, such as requiring students to take a class of a certain level or be involved with a Black Box program within a certain time frame. If this is the case, it will be clearly stated when auditions are announced.

One of the keys to picking good audition material is to make sure your student is comfortable with it. It should be something they enjoy and know very, very well. This will help with confidence and nerves!

For a vocal selection, it is important to consider the style of the show your student is auditioning for. If the show is something classic like Mary Poppins, a vocal selection from a hip-hop musical like Hamilton or a contemporary pop song wouldn’t be the best fit. Consider something released around the same time period, such as Cinderella, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, or The Sound of Music.

For a monologue, we are looking for expression and bold choices. Consider something that is age-appropriate and relates to a character from the show you are auditioning for. For example, if you are auditioning for a bratty character like Veruca from Willy Wonka, you want to select a monologue that shows some attitude!

Tell them the audition room is a safe space, and the panel consists of their BIGGEST fans! We will support them no matter what, and we are so excited and grateful for the opportunity to see them shine and do their best.
They should dress nicely but comfortably. Sweatpants, hoodies, flip-flops, crop-tops, etc. are not appropriate for auditions. Dresses, skirts, shorts, and all clothing should be of appropriate length and allow the child to move freely. We would hate for their clothing to limit their ability to show what they can do!
THEATRE JARGON
Unfortunately, we occasionally have more students audition for a production than we have available roles to cast them in. In this case, it is up to the discretion of the audition panel to create the strongest possible cast for the show. This calls for “cuts” to be made to those who auditioned but did not receive a part.
The audition panel consists of a diverse and unbiased group of professionals with experience in the performing arts. The members of the audition panel will vary from show to show.
A dance call is another name for a dance audition. For a dance call, actors will generally be asked to learn a routine (or routines) in a short amount of time, then perform them to the best of their ability. Some dance calls will also consist of demonstrating certain techniques relevant to the show.
“Bars” are measures of music. When looking at sheet music, your audition cut should be between 16-32 measures of the piece. This comes out to be approximately 30-60 seconds of a song, or about one verse and one chorus.
A monologue is a speech made by a single actor. It is not a collection of random lines or a scene between two characters. It is a cohesive dialogue made by one character.
If the theatre is “dark,” that means there are no rehearsals or performances.
A call time is the time when an actor is expected to be at rehearsal or getting ready for a performance. For performances, the call time will be several hours before the show to allow the actor time to get into costume and warm-up.
A fight call is a designated time to run through any fight choreography in a production. This is done to ensure proper technique and the safety of all involved actors. Only actors involved in fight scenes and the Fight Captain are required to attend fight calls.