Is it just me, or is there something slightly dispiriting about auditioning for a part in a show when the director makes it clear almost from the outset that he knows who he's going to cast? My school always gives the same people the leads in the musicals-- she'll make a freshman the understudy for the current lead when the current lead is a junior, then the same freshman's the understudy as a sophomore when the current lead is a senior, and then after the current lead graduates, the now-junior is the new lead. And the same goes for the male lead and the supporting roles and stuff. So we already know who's going to play every part, especially since our theatre department casts shows based on the leads she has in mind.
Luckily, it's different when it comes to straight plays-- I always get a good part in those-- and community theatre. But I HAVE to do the musicals at my school, because they're so much fun and I love the people in them, even though I know I'm always an ensemble member with two or three lines. (Yeah, I'm "Woman Number Three," "Woman Number Six," you name it!)
In my pants, she has burst like the music of angels, the light of the sun! --Marius Pantsmercy