Black Swan Theatre Company presents
Be Active BSX Theatre’s

The HotBed

AUDITIONS

After the success of the 2006 HotBed Program (Falling Petals and Woyzeck),
Black Swan Theatre Company are now looking for a new cohort of
performers and theatre-makers to work alongside the company throughout
2007.

The HotBed is an 8 month program, where a selection of emerging
performers and theatre-makers are involved in an extensive professional
mentoring initiative. The program involves two productions (which will
consist of The Laramie Project and a workshop production of a new
devised show) as well as the opportunity to be involved in professional
play readings, secondments to Black Swan Theatre Company main house
productions and exclusive master classes with international artists.

We are searching for a diverse group of theatre-makers including performers, directors, set and costume designers, sound artists, composers and lighting designers.

All directors and designers who would like to be considered for an
Interview please forward your expression of interest along with your
C.V. to keryn@bstc.com.au by the 9th of October. Interviews will be held on the 18th and 19th of October.

All performers who would like to be considered for auditions please
forward your expression of interest along with your head shot and C.V.
to keryn@bstc.com.au by the 20th of October. Auditions will be held Monday and Tuesday the 30th and 31st of October. You will be required to attend one
of the four group auditions which will be between 2PM – 3.30 and/or 6PM
– 7.30 on both days. Please let us know your first and second preferred
audition time. Call backs for performers will be held during the day on
Friday the 3rd of November.

A page of “Frequently Asked Questions” regarding the program
and audition/interview process follows to help answer any of your
queries.

The Be Active BSX-Theatre HotBed
Frequently Asked Questions

What time commitment is required from the program?

The HotBed program is designed so that members can still be
full-time students, work part-time, or work on other productions
throughout the year. It runs from January to August. The program will
require a minimum level of participation from all involved in the
program, however, the schedule can accommodate members’ other
commitments within reason. There will be an evening meeting every three
weeks that members should make a priority. Overall the answer is: the
more time you have available, the more events you can be involved in.

The productions in the program will be rehearsed for 6 weeks prior
to production week for approximately 15 - 25 hours per week. Rehearsals
will be held both during evenings and days. Performers will need to be
able to commit to these rehearsal times fully to be involved in the
program.
Typically the productions rehearse on two nights of the week, a week
day (usually a Friday) and Sundays, though this will depend on the
commitments of the HotBed members.

Are you doing any other productions next year apart from those in The HotBed program?

No. The HotBed is the performance arm of Be Active BSX-Theatre and only members of The HotBed are involved in productions.

If I am selected to be in the program, does that guarantee I will get employed as a professional (paid employment)?

No. There are certain professional opportunities being offered by
Black Swan Theatre Company exclusively for HotBed members, but members
will have to audition and be selected for these opportunities. The two
HotBed productions are not paid employment. Nor do the productions
operate as a profit share.

How are you running auditions and what should I prepare?

All performers, designers and directors, prior to auditions, need to
write a half page response to the question “why do you want to be in
The HotBed program and work with a cohort of local emerging
theatre-makers?”. These responses should be sent to Black Swan before
auditions/interviews.

Designers/directors will be seen in individual interviews and should
bring along examples of their work (video/DVD/CD player will be
available) and be prepared to speak about their reasons for wanting to
be part of The HotBed.

The performers’ auditions will be run in a two stage process. People
that respond to the callout will be considered for a first round
audition. The audition will be a 1½ hour group workshop involving
improvisation, sight reading and games. A small group of performers
will then be invited back for a second round of auditions. These will
be one-on-one auditions, and performers will need to prepare individual
monologues. Black Swan will then announce the 2007 HotBed team in
November 2006, beginning the program in January.

Am I eligible to apply?

We are interested in supporting artists who are at least 18 years of
age, and are in their first five years of professional practice. All
graduates of Drama schools and other tertiary trained artists are
encouraged to apply, or other individuals who may have suitable
experience.

Is the Hotbed program only for young people under 26?

No. Although the company has a particular interest in young people,
the program is not restricted to people under the age of 26. Black Swan
Theatre Company is keen to support emerging artists at any age.

What happens if I don’t get into the program?

Outside of The HotBed program Be Active BSX-Theatre will be running
an annual program of acting classes called Thrills and Skills. Divided
into 4 terms, each course will last 10 weeks, and will focus on a
different methodology or approach to performance. Each course will be
run by a different professional tutor, and the course requires a
participation fee (but no audition is required)

Is this a one off initiative?

No. The HotBed will re-audition at the end of each year - so if you
don’t get accept this time please re-audition. You are only allowed to
be involved in the HotBed program once! So we recommend people to
re-auditioning.

Please direct all interest to keryn@bstc.com.au 

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