I'm Always in the Ensemble. Am I That Bad?

Hi guys! Okay, so I have been asked to make this post because it is something that I know a lot of people go through.

Ever since I've been doing shows, I've only been cast in the ensemble besides about 3 shows (I've been Jack's Mother in Into the Woods Jr, Sugar Plum Fairy in Shrek, and Roxanne Minors in an original production of Sweet and Innocent with school). When I originally started out theatre, I never really planned on being a lead role because I never had the confidence for it. As time progressed and I had completed my third or fourth show, began private voice lessons, joined choir, and the school drama club, I felt I had everything it needed to carry a whole show, but something was missing. I was continuously being cast in the ensemble.

As you could guess, this began to take a toll on my confidence and my wanting to do shows. It sounds silly, but everytime I was cast in the ensemble, I felt knocked down and defeated. I had confided in friends about how I was feeling, but I would always get the same response: Just wait for that one show. It took me a while to understand what they meant, but I put two and two together and realized that they were saying that I needed to audition for that one show that the casting panel would see me as the lead, cast me, and I would be cast as leads for every show after that.

This never really settled with me. I always thought I was auditioning for the show that I thought I would be perfect for, the shows everyone telling me I would be perfect for, but never the show the director saw me as perfect for. After the tenth time of auditioning and being cast as the ensemble, I had to sit myself down and think about what I was doing wrong. I had always thought it was because I did or said something wrong in auditions, wore the wrong dress, or something that I could've changed. That was never the problem. The problem wasn't the casting panel, directors, my lack of experience, or anything like that. The reasons I wasn't getting cast were out of my control.

A main reason for casting someone is the way they look. It's not like "We only cast people with blonde hair, green eyes, under 120 lbs, and who have studied dance since they were a fetus," no. I once auditioned for a show, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and auditioned for Esmeralda. For those who don't know, Esmeralda is not a 5'10, red hair, blue eyed girl with freckles. I couldn't comprehend that, so when the cast list came out, you could imagine I was pretty devastated. But why was I? I obviously didn't look like a gypsy from the late 1400's. I was upset for no reason since I was cast in the show anyways and it was nominated for five or six ariZoni Awards.

Another main reason for casting is the way you sound. Let's say, if you're auditioning for Ursula in The Little Mermaid and your vocal range is a C3-C5 and your voice sounds like Snow White. You can probably figure out why you weren't cast. Having a vocally accurate cast is very important. You don't want a cast that has the sound all wrong. What would it feel like if you saw a show, let's say Jersey Boys, and Frankie Valli was played by Avi Kaplan of the Pentatonix? The whole show would be wrong.

Then there are smaller reasons for casting like age, theatre seniority, school seniority, conflicts, precasting, promised parts, and favoritism, but that's a post for another day.

I've also heard the phrase, "The ensemble is the most important part." I, personally, don't think this is true. Not in every show, does the story rely on the ensemble. I've been in a few shows where if the ensemble wasn't there, the story would still go on with out a hassle. Now, I'm not saying that the ensemble is irrelevant. What I have always believed is the best place to grow is the ensemble. I would not be able to tell you where I would be without my many shows in the ensemble. Each show I have done, has always taught me something different, new, and unique. I will forever appreciate what my time in the ensemble has taught me. Now, I may perpetually be in the ensemble, and I would be 100% okay with that. I would be okay with that because being in the ensemble provides me with the chance to perform and performing is what I love to do.

With all of this in mind, you can grow as a person and performer. I still have to remind myself of these factors when I go into auditions. The only thing you can do when you go into an audition is be positive, do the best you can, and leave with a smile on your face knowing that you took a risk and you exposed yourself to being the most vulnerable you can be. So take each audition and ensemble role with stride, and never stop trying.

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