Hello! I built an online auditions + scheduling tool for theatre directors

[Daniel Fowler]

Hey all, I am a brand new member here on the forums and my welcome message said I should drop by and let you know what I'm working on, so here goes...

I am a web developer by trade but an actor/singer/dancer for many community theatres around my city over the past 10 years. A couple years ago one of my director friends approached me about building a website for directors to make rehearsal scheduling easier. She said there were no good products out there. I looked and couldn't find anything that automates those tedious tasks, so I built a product that does.

I would love to invite you all to try it out, then give me your feedback and suggestions after you take it for a test drive! My goal for this project is to make an online automation tool that's affordable for community theatres, schools, non-profits to use.

The website is called Cast98: Easy Cast Logistics For Theatre Directors (and stage managers, studio owners, etc. etc.). Ask me anything!

How It Works
One-Time Actions

1. Everybody creates a user profile. (profiles include cast bio, experience, contact info, conflict calendar, etc.)
2. A theatre owner/director can create a studio page and invite other users to be admins. Studios can then post shows.

Iterate Each Show

1. When a show's director turns on auditions, performers can sign up online. The digital audition form includes a snapshot of their profile, conflicts, and show questionnaire (what roles, etc.).
2. Directors can use the auditionee dashboard during auditions to jot down notes about each performer, then build the cast list.
3. When a cast member is added to the cast list, the conflicts from their audition form automatically syncs with the schedule builder.
4. The schedule builder lets directors select rehearsal attendees and see their conflicts side-by-side, then select a date, enter the details, and save. Repeat a hundred times and voila! The entire rehearsal schedule is finished just a few hours after the cast list is finished instead of taking two weeks.

The whole process is online, so printers can finally be thrown away! Whoever manages the show(s) never has to manually input information except for show details, the cast & crew list, and scheduled rehearsals. Because performers manage their own profiles and that info syncs throughout the app, tasks that did require hours have been completely eliminated from the process.

I would love to listen to real community feedback after you try it out - I want to make this the go-to product for community theatres, school drama programs, and other non-profit performance groups.

Paid Features
Everything for auditions-thru-casting is free to use. The following features are available on a pay-per-show basis, or a studio can subscribe annually and get unrestricted access for unlimited shows:

• Schedule Builder
• Preformatted cast bios
• Cast & Crew contact sheet
• Auditions scorecards (grade performers in various performance areas)
• More to come!

FAQs

1. Have you tested it?
   Oh yes, the inaugural show to use it boasted 102 cast members. The performers loved it, and the directors really liked the concept. Since then I've made tons of improvements and am awaiting another brave studio to come along and give the newest version a spin so I can get more feedback and continue making improvements.
2. What about late conflicts?
   Directors can choose whether or not to accept late conflicts. If a performer edits their conflict calendar after they've submitted their audition form, the director can go to the auditionee dashboard and use the Save & Sync function for that performer to sync any new conflicts with the schedule builder.

 

[Stephen Eldredge]

Hey all, I am a brand new member here on the forums and my welcome message said I should drop by and let you know what I'm working on, so here goes...

I am a web developer by trade but an actor/singer/dancer for many community theatres around my city over the past 10 years. A couple years ago one of my director friends approached me about building a website for directors to make rehearsal scheduling easier. She said there were no good products out there. I looked and couldn't find anything that automates those tedious tasks, so I built a product that does.

I would love to invite you all to try it out, then give me your feedback and suggestions after you take it for a test drive! My goal for this project is to make an online automation tool that's affordable for community theatres, schools, non-profits to use.

The website is called Cast98: Easy Cast Logistics For Theatre Directors (and stage managers, studio owners, etc. etc.). Ask me anything!

How It Works
One-Time Actions

1. Everybody creates a user profile. (profiles include cast bio, experience, contact info, conflict calendar, etc.)
2. A theatre owner/director can create a studio page and invite other users to be admins. Studios can then post shows.

Iterate Each Show

1. When a show's director turns on auditions, performers can sign up online. The digital audition form includes a snapshot of their profile, conflicts, and show questionnaire (what roles, etc.).
2. Directors can use the auditionee dashboard during auditions to jot down notes about each performer, then build the cast list.
3. When a cast member is added to the cast list, the conflicts from their audition form automatically syncs with the schedule builder.
4. The schedule builder lets directors select rehearsal attendees and see their conflicts side-by-side, then select a date, enter the details, and save. Repeat a hundred times and voila! The entire rehearsal schedule is finished just a few hours after the cast list is finished instead of taking two weeks.

The whole process is online, so printers can finally be thrown away! Whoever manages the show(s) never has to manually input information except for show details, the cast & crew list, and scheduled rehearsals. Because performers manage their own profiles and that info syncs throughout the app, tasks that did require hours have been completely eliminated from the process.

I would love to listen to real community feedback after you try it out - I want to make this the go-to product for community theatres, school drama programs, and other non-profit performance groups.

Paid Features
Everything for auditions-thru-casting is free to use. The following features are available on a pay-per-show basis, or a studio can subscribe annually and get unrestricted access for unlimited shows:

• Schedule Builder
• Preformatted cast bios
• Cast & Crew contact sheet
• Auditions scorecards (grade performers in various performance areas)
• More to come!

FAQs

1. Have you tested it?
   Oh yes, the inaugural show to use it boasted 102 cast members. The performers loved it, and the directors really liked the concept. Since then I've made tons of improvements and am awaiting another brave studio to come along and give the newest version a spin so I can get more feedback and continue making improvements.
2. What about late conflicts?
   Directors can choose whether or not to accept late conflicts. If a performer edits their conflict calendar after they've submitted their audition form, the director can go to the auditionee dashboard and use the Save & Sync function for that performer to sync any new conflicts with the schedule builder.

It looks like the calendar only handles daily conflicts, not hourly. As a high school theater director, I have to juggle students who can't make parts of rehearsals, as opposed to full rehearsals. Can Cast 98 filter down to hour/half hour increments?

 

[macsound]

Also haven't tested it yet, but what's the time and place where the actor is required to make an account. If you're someone who doesn't use a computer very much or have a small roll in a production, it might be great to get the calendar emails and other communication, but you'd never actually login or need to login and upload any info.