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View Full Version : Auditioning to be a face character... any personal stories or tips?



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AliceinWonderland84
04-04-2004, 03:34 PM
I've been acting since I was 7 years old (I will be 20 in a month) and have performed in over 20 plays and 1 movie. Everyone tells me I look like Alice in Wonderland (even last year when I went to Disneyland) some guy stopped me and was like "Hey! You look like Alice." Ha.

So I've decided this summer would be the best one to go down and be a face character...IF i get offered a role. I'm not expecting anything....I have been in the "business" for long enough to know that its full of disappointments and hard knocks. But the jarring thing was when I was reading people's personal stories and people were saying that the casting directors when turning people down for roles were outright saying they were too fat for the roles, too old, too ugly, etc. Not only is that rude, but that is extremely unprofessional. I am well aware that when auditioning for movies and plays, I'm sure talk like that goes on amoungst themselves, but I have never heard of anyone coming outright and saying such terrible things to an auditionee. I know a girl who said she knows a lot of disney casting directors and they would NEVER say anything like that and that these stories are most likely from bitter individuals who did not get the roles they were after. What have been your personal experiences?

Also, I was wondering if I should bring along my headshot, theatrical resume and work resume? It doesn't specifically say to for face character auditions, but it might look good.

Tambour
04-04-2004, 03:59 PM
Don't belive everything you read about the audition process.

They don't need you to bring your headshot & resume but it doesn't hurt. They will take a polaroid of you, and that it what will be stapled to the front of your audition card. If you take your headshot, it will be on the back and MAY get looked at.

Rember that when you audition you are being considered for a fully developed character. They aren't looking for your take on the character, they want you to be the same person that is in the movie. A lot of folks walk into an audition with the normal mentality of "I want them to remember me" so they go nuts all in the name of sticking in memory. While the idea is the same, you want them to remember you, you want them to know that you can pull off the character that is already developed.

With that in mind... it's only half the battle.

You are also being hired to fill out a certain shilouette. Everything has to be taken into account from your body type to the shape of your face.

I think you can rest assured that anyone on a face character audition panel would have more tact then to tell someone they are fat or ugly. They would however *if asked* tell you if you do not fall into the correct range on the body type, or something like that.

AVP
04-04-2004, 04:59 PM
Alice is an especially difficult character to cast, because she is supposed to be a 12-year old girl. I was just talking with someone who was rejected for this character, and she told me some of what they were looking for.

Alice is supposed to be a child, so she is fairly flat-chested. She also has thin legs. If you are normal-female curvy, you won't get the part. She is also a short character, which really stinks if you are the right height but otherwise not the right "type" for Alice, because it means you'll be too short to be one of the other princesses.

Good luck!
Adrienne

AliceinWonderland84
04-04-2004, 06:05 PM
i am actually going to wear two sports bras because I am a tad curvy. My friend suggested taping my chest, but I figured that that would be a bit much because if I got out of breathe for some reason, it would be very difficult to breathe. The two sports bras should flatten me out. If they don't I might opt for the ace bandages around the chest. ha. I've done it in shows before though, so I can do it again. The one draw back to that is if you get out of breath, it makes it very difficult to catch it as it doesn't allow much room for your ribcage to expand.

But if I get cut early...all the better. I get to spend a day in Disneyland! :)

ToursbabeC3po
04-04-2004, 06:39 PM
You have to be under 5 2 for alice that is a must!

SykoSoul
04-04-2004, 06:42 PM
good luck with the audition :)


and who says you have to be under 5'2" that is pretty short.. i.e. not many people that height that look like alice running around :p

ToursbabeC3po
04-04-2004, 07:08 PM
good luck with the audition :)


and who says you have to be under 5'2" that is pretty short.. i.e. not many people that height that look like alice running around :p
Ahhh Disney lol

AliceinWonderland84
04-04-2004, 07:49 PM
definately not worried about the height. I'm 5' tall. Last time I got my picture taken with Alice and I was wearing a good inch of shoe and she was still taller than me! lol

adriennek
04-04-2004, 07:58 PM
and who says you have to be under 5'2" that is pretty short..

Uhm, Disney?

They don't seem to have a problem finding people to fit the role. And 5'2" isn't all that short. That's why stores have Petite departments.

Adrienne, the tallest person in her immediate family: 5'3"

SykoSoul
04-04-2004, 09:49 PM
so they wouldn't go for anyone even close.. say they find the perfect person but she is 5'3" or 5'4" they going to reject her just for that fact?

Tambour
04-04-2004, 09:56 PM
I can't attest to the exact height.

But there is a height requirement that is withing about 3 inches. for example if the range is 5' to 5'3" and they find someone who does a perfect accent and character but she is 5'5" then she is gone. They have to maintain that shilouette or it's just not believeable. if you saw a really tall alice on the park you would understand that it just didn't look right.

SykoSoul
04-04-2004, 10:22 PM
I can understand that.. i'd be scared if alice was taller than me :p

cstephens
04-04-2004, 10:51 PM
At one point in our day on Sunday, we saw Wendy wandering around with Captain Hook. I don't think I've seen a walkaround Wendy before. They were a strange pair to see together.

AliceinWonderland84
04-04-2004, 11:48 PM
Yeah...Wendy's a face character now and I'm not too sure why or when. Someone told me they had a friend who doubled as Wendy and Alice....I never knew she was a character.

Jeremiah
04-05-2004, 09:52 PM
Alice I have been around 2 diffrent girls that have gone for face characters and get ready for a ride!!!! They pick apart everything about you...if you are not ready for them to look at your face and tell you everything that is wrong with it DONT GO!!! I have heard most of the girls that make it close to the call back leaving crying. I am in no way saying you are not right for it but it does get a bit dirty. If you want anymore info or advice feel free to give me a e-mail or an IM.

J

AliceinWonderland84
04-05-2004, 11:18 PM
i still don't believe that they are openly cruel to people like that. I'm sure other girls might say things like that, but the actual casting directors? I doubt it. They might say "Your nose is too big to play Alice" but they're not going to come out and say "Your nose is just too big." If they actually said stuff like that, there'd be a HUGE stink at disney.

Tambour
04-05-2004, 11:47 PM
I'm glad to hear you say that AliceinWonderland84. You are right. In fact, anyone who has really gone through the process will tell you that folks don't usually cry. It's an audition, and anyone who says it's anything but professional hasn't been there. I'm sure there are random people who have a bad experience but thats not the norm.

Most of the people who are auditioning know the process. You may not make it the first four auditions, but conditions are right on the 5th so you get it. You sound like you've been through auditions before, and this really won't be much different.

when you walk in the door you get a number, and during the course of the audition you are known by that number. The first round is usually a simple visual once over, and that is where the bulk of people will be asked to leave. Then you will move on with some movement evaluations. If all goes well on the first day you will be asked to come back for Call-backs on a second day. That is when you get into things like acting, accents, and other things. It's usually the second day that they ask to see your uncovered torso (they just have you lift up your shirt to the bottom of your bra so they can see your tummy and such) and really check the body type.

Anyway... what I want to stress is that you are right. It's a professional audition. If there is crying and name calling, it would only be from other girls in the hallway waiting.

cemeinke
04-06-2004, 06:40 AM
I have a wonderful mental image now of a hallway full of snarky Alice in Wonderlands.

AliceinWonderland84
04-06-2004, 09:42 AM
it seems that people who don't get it are the ones who are all snarky about the audition process and making things up. I can't say that I've never left an audition crying, but that was mainly because I didn't get a part I REALLY wanted, never because a casting director insulted me.

From what I've heard of people who've actually been and aren't bitter, the auditions are pretty professional although the other people can be somewhat snarky.

Pirate Girl
04-06-2004, 10:42 AM
Well good luck with your audition! Let us know if you get the part! Then we can all be on the lookout for the Mouse Pad Alice! ;)

Dr. G
04-06-2004, 11:16 AM
Yeah...Wendy's a face character now and I'm not too sure why or when. Someone told me they had a friend who doubled as Wendy and Alice....I never knew she was a character.

Not to derail this too much, but I know for a fact that Wendy and Alice have been played by the same individual, at least during one week in September 2000. We were at Disneyland for 5 days and one day we met Alice. A couple days later we saw her again and I told the kids there's Alice again. Except it wasn't Alice, it was Wendy. I was looking at the face, not the clothes. I had to tell the kids I must have made a mistake... We have pictures to prove it was the same individual. It was funny because that week we also saw the same lovely lady (but a different one than Alice/Wendy) play Snow White and Belle. But I'd learned my lesson with Alice/Wendy and didn't say anything. Again, we have pictures of Snow & Belle.

Back on topic, good luck with the auditions! Who knows, if "Alice" doesn't work out maybe "Wendy" might come your way!

Have a great day!

Tambour
04-06-2004, 11:23 AM
I'm gonna go with the de-rail.

You are right. When girls are hired, they are usually hired for a "track". That is they look right in multiple wigs, so they will be used for multiple parts. Since princess manerisms are basically alike, they just have minor personality changes, all the girls have to do is know the details of each story.

Is this considered a spoiler?!?

another thing to think about is Alice and Wedny are the same height as Mickey and Minnie... so they could help out there too. It's all about what they want to do, and how bad they want to be a CM.

AliceinWonderland84
04-06-2004, 01:26 PM
i know its all a long shot. :) But even if I don't get Alice or Wendy, I got a vacation to Disneyland and got to see a bunch of my friends who live in LA that I don't see very often!

someone mentioned that they want to see your torso. I have a belly button ring that i JUST got. I figured it wouldn't be a problem since I doubt I would be playing Ariel....but do you think they're going to ask me to take it out or anything? I mean if I'm Alice or Wendy, I'd be in a dress and there'd be no possible way anyone could see it while I was in costume.

Oh and I just heard about Wendy being a face character when someone mentioned that their friend doubled as Alice and Wendy at WDW. If you look at Alice and Wendy though, they look exactly alike (save the hair) and have similar mannerisms, so I'm not surprised.

Pirate Girl
04-06-2004, 01:32 PM
Someone mentioned that they want to see your torso. I have a belly button ring that I JUST got. I figured it wouldn't be a problem since I doubt I would be playing Ariel....but do you think they're going to ask me to take it out or anything? I mean if I'm Alice or Wendy, I'd be in a dress and there'd be no possible way anyone could see it while I was in costume.

When I applied for the Disney College Program we were told that if we had peircings other that ears (for girls) we had to take them out, even if they weren't visible. They said this was because they could catch on costumes ect. and cause problems. I don't know if this is different for characters or not.

Tambour
04-06-2004, 01:47 PM
You'll have to take out the peircing, at least for the audition.