Crafting the Casts at the Utah Shakespeare Festival 

By Liz Armstrong, guest writer 

Casting is a crucial and complicated step in the world of repertory theatre, and it quite literally sets the stage for the season. The process involves collaboration between actors, directors, and Artistic Director John DiAntonio and Artistic Associate Tanya J. Searle. We’re letting you in on the behind-the-scenes, step-by-step, starting at the beginning of auditions and concluding with the actors walking onstage for performances throughout the season. 

The Crucial First Step

The process for a season starts about eighteen months out. That’s right, the “seasonal” Utah Shakespeare Festival works tirelessly year-round, with at least two seasons in the works at any given time.

“Once the shows are selected for the next season, and directors have been hired, the artistic team will study the plays and determine how many roles need to be cast,” DiAntonio explained. 

From there, DiAntonio and Searle create a detailed casting breakdown of all the season’s characters, and then estimate how many actors will be needed to fill all those roles. Sometimes multiple roles within a show can be performed by a single actor, reducing the number of actors needed to cast all the characters. With some Shakespeare plays having such large casts, there can be over a hundred characters in a season. 

“We post the ‘Casting Call’ on our website, the Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) website, and other platforms,” DiAntonio said. A casting call includes information for the actors on which roles are open to audition for, what is required from the actor, and how to audition. “From there, we start receiving auditions.”

Auditioning: An Audacious Art-Form 

The Festival holds auditions in a variety of formats. There are in-person auditions required by the AEA union for equity actors that are held in both Los Angeles and Cedar City, which also includes in-person auditions for Southern Utah University students. Actors can also audition virtually from across the county by submitting self-tapes. If a show requires children, in-person auditions may also be held for those roles in Cedar City.

“We have five acting fellows every year, which is a part of our ongoing partnership with SUU,” DiAntonio said. “These undergraduate actors bring an invigorating energy to the professional company each season.”

This year, DiAntonio even went to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival last fall to hold auditions for interested actors there.

“The use of video auditions has definitely increased since the pandemic,” Searle said. “There are some challenges for actors with video submissions, but it does open up access to folks who may not have been able to be seen in a more traditional, pre-pandemic, in-person format."

Due to this, there is no shortage of these video auditions. 

“This year we received 1,200 video auditions and 300 in-person auditions. We rely heavily on video because we are in a remote area,” DiAntonio said. “Some theatres fly to New York and use a casting director and in-person callback auditions with their finalists. It would be lovely to do that, but our talented company comes from all over the country, so using video is extremely useful.” 

The directors play a large role in the audition and casting process.

“We get recommendations from the play directors about what they are looking for in a particular role. We ask questions like: ‘For each role, what special quality do you hope the actor will bring?’ ”

In addition to asking the directors what type of actor they’re looking for, they can also provide the Festival with a list of actors from their network or from the Festival’s former company.

“We will take that list, and if they’re new to us, we’ll encourage them to submit a general audition,” DiAntonio said. 

The Festival also reaches out to the last few years of Festival alumni to let them know auditions are coming up and encourage them to submit an audition.

This is how the Festival gathers the primary group of candidates. From there, DiAntonio and Searle start going through audition submissions to create a pool of finalists, searching for people that may be a good fit for a particular role or series of roles. Since this is a repertory company, nearly every actor in the company will be in two to three shows and many will have at least one understudy assignment too.

DiAntonio noted that auditioning is an art form in itself. 

“Auditioning is a special skill set and can be very intimidating and stressful for actors. I try to make it an enjoyable process for everyone. Actors have to deal with so much rejection,” DiAntonio said. “We’re casting 40 people out of 1,500 auditions, so the odds are stacked against you. But people are still putting themselves out there: their talent, their time, their effort, and their heart. It’s vulnerable and nerve-wracking, and I understand that from my own experience as an actor.” 

Those few minutes of auditioning are vital, not only to landing a role, but as a form of artistic expression.

“It’s important to me that in those few minutes of an audition, that the actor can feel proud of what they did and say, ‘You know, I got to do a little bit of this art that I love today.’ So no matter the outcome, they feel proud of their work and they get a taste of the collaborative atmosphere that is synonymous with the Festival,” DiAntonio expressed.

The Challenges of Casting for Rep

Casting for repertory theatre is extremely nuanced and difficult. 

“It’s incredibly complicated,” DiAntonio explained. “In the 2025 rep matrix, every show conflicts with one other show because of the performance schedule. So an actor cast in Show A couldn’t be in Show B, for example, but they could be in the four other shows in the season.” 

Every role has to be covered by the understudy system as well. 

“We usually have five to seven external understudies, who are folks that are coming to the Festival [to exclusively] understudy multiple roles across different shows,” DiAntonio said. “However, the majority of roles are covered from within the production, so someone in a supporting role can cover a lead role, for example.” But there’s always a trickle-down effect when an understudy goes on, so external understudies are critical.  

Actors also have a limited number of performances they can do in a week, which is another important guide for Searle and DiAntonio.

“Every actor has a track, so they may be in two or three shows and they may have understudy assignments,” Searle said. “We try to make sure that everyone in the acting company has a balance of tracks and a reasonable number of shows per week.”

 Casting for rep also includes a great amount of compromise. 

“It’s about finding the best combination of people. It’s a collaboration, like everything we do, so there’s a lot of back and forth with the show directors and actors,” DiAntonio said. 

If an actor isn’t cast, it isn’t because they aren’t talented. 

“We see a tremendous number of really talented people that we end up not being able to hire. It’s very nuanced,” DiAntonio stressed. “The needs of a show can really fluctuate, so if we’re doing a musical, we may need actors who can sing certain parts or play instruments. Or, a play may require certain stage combat skills, or dance, or verse skills.”

Ultimately, it’s about finding the best combination of company members for the specific season.

“You want artists that will grow together and support each other, and that’s really in the fabric [of the Festival] that’s been cultivated over the years,” DiAntonio said. 

The Rewards of Casting for Rep

As each track is established, the difficult matrix of casting starts sliding into place. 

“It’s daunting at first, but it’s a good feeling when everything starts to come together in a beautiful way [like a puzzle],” DiAntonio said.

One of the most rewarding parts for the casting team is getting to experience the talent the actors share.

“It can be tedious at times reviewing so many audition videos. But it’s thrilling to discover new exciting talent who are passionate about the work we are doing and want to be a part of the Festival,” DiAntonio said.  

Repertory theatre can be rewarding for the actors, too. 

“I’ve heard many actors say that it is fun to get to play a dark drama one night and sometimes in another afternoon, you’re doing a musical or a comedy,” Searle explained. “So it’s fun to not have to do the same thing every single performance and to be able to work all of those muscles across the season. And it’s great for our audience to see those actors in [very different roles].”

Casting for repertory theatre is not easy, as it is both an art and a science. Creating a cohesive and collaborative ensemble is vital to the success of the season. 

Curious who was cast for our 2025 season? Stay tuned for our cast announcements coming soon!