KCACTF Region VIII

2012 Irene Ryan Scholarship Auditions

In the Preliminary Round, each nominee presents one scene/duet with a partner, no longer than three minutes. The Preliminary Round is held on Tuesday and Wednesday (your scheduled day/time will be posted at the festival check-in table - no special requests please). On the morning of your scheduled preliminary, there is an orientation session at 8:00 am at that we will explain to all nominees and partners who will present that day how things will work (timing, response sessions afterward, etc.). The rounds/responses start at 9am - one round each hour except for lunch hour (when we're "dark"). Coaches/friends may observe your round if they arrive early enough to secure seating (starting at approx. 10 minutes before each hour), but they must stay in the room for the entire round. A respondent will meet with you in the hour immediately following your round, to give you feedback and suggestions (in anticipation that you may be progressed on to the semifinal round).

On Wednesday evening, at all performance venues, the 48 semifinalists will be announced. This list will also be posted around the festival registration area.

In the Semifinal Round, each nominee will present their Preliminary Round scene/duet plus another scene/duet with the same partner, the total time (including transitions) not to exceed 5 minutes. There will be 48 semifinalists. The Semifinal Round will be held Friday. This will be presented in three acts with the response for each act following the corresponding act. If you are involved with an invited production that performs that day, you will be scheduled to to accomodate that the performance times of that production.

Friday, by 6pm, the 16 finalists will be announced and posted. Each is assigned a rehearsal time on Saturday in the theater (between 8am and 3pm). Finalists' coaches may attend this rehearsal, but friends/observers are not permitted. The rehearsals will be scheduled in order of appearance at finals, unless a nominee is involved with a Saturday production and must be accommodated.

In the Final Round, each nominee will present their Semifinal Round scenes (with the same partner) plus a monologue/solo song, the total time (including transitions) not to exceed 6 minutes. The Final Round will be held on Saturday evening, the culminating event of the festival - there is no other event scheduled opposite this.

The (up to) 16 finalists have an orientation at 6pm, and will perform beginning (approximately) 7pm, with an intermission half way through. Afterward, a response session will take place with our celebrity guests responding to the work.
The festival awards ceremony will occur immediately following the Ryan Final Round in the same theater (probably around 10:30). This is where all festival awards (national finalist) will be announced, including the two Ryan national finalists and the alternate (if for any reason a finalist can't make it to the national festival). If advanced to national festival, registration, transportation, lodging, and a per diem allowance are provided for each national festival participant and for each partner. At the national festival, a maximum of six minutes in the national Evening of Scenes will be permitted to present the same audition package that was presented at the regional festival.

At the regional festival, there is no set order in which nominees must perform their pieces. For example, if advanced to the semifinal round, the "new" scene/duet may be performed either before or after the "old" scene/duet; and likewise for the final round - the nominee decides the order of the material.

Musical Acting Audition: All musical accompaniments must be live. No recorded accompaniment will be allowed. If a scene in the audition incorporates singing, the scene must be in dialogue or duet with the partner. The accompanist will not count as the partner (unless the accompanist performs as a character in the audition).

Each of the rounds (preliminary, semi and final) is open to festival-registrants. I encourage you to observe as many rounds as possible (when not performing or getting your response) so that you can see what others are choosing as material (a great resource for list-makers), how they are approaching the material, what and who is being selected to continue on to subsequent levels, etc.

For additional information on the Irene Ryan Scholarship Audition contact:
Jodi Julian
KCACTF Irene Ryan Coordinator, Region VIII
jodi.julian@rcc.edu