Back Stage 411 - Casting FAQ

Search Tips: Find, Sort, and Attend Auditions

Every year Back Stage publishes over 10,000 casting and job notices, with new notices being published on BackStage.com five days a week and old notices being removed from BackStage.com seven days a week -- making Back Stage an always up-to-date resource.

In addition to searching through Back Stage's online casting & jobs database for notices that fit your interests, another great way to find out about new opportunities is to read Back Stage's  "Auditions Highlights," "Casting News," "Espresso," and "Seeking Submissions" posts on Blog Stage, as well as Back Stage's weekly Production Listings.

The "Audition Highlights" posts on Blog Stage include the popular weekly "Auditions at a Glance" calendars  from the New York, California, and National/Regional sections of the national Back Stage newspaper and digital magazine. The casting notices highlighted in these weekly calendars are conveniently organized by the date and day-of-the-week the auditions are taking place, to help you schedule your audition plans.

When looking for new notices, try some of the following Audition Search Tips:

Finding Open-Mike Nights -- Calls for Comedians, Singers, Musicians, Dancers, and Variety Performers

Back Stage lists a variety of Open Mike (aka, Open Mic) opportunities every week in the casting/jobs section of BackStage.com and the Back Stage print editions.

These opportunities are listed in various categories, depending on the type of talent being called for. And the opportunities being listed may vary from day to day and week to week, depending on what information Back Stage has available.

However, the two Back Stage categories where Open Mike Night and Club Talent opportunities are most commonly found are:

• Comedy & Improv -- this category includes calls for stand-up comedians, improv comics, and comedy duos, groups, and acts.

• Cabaret & Variety -- this category includes calls for singers, dancers, some comics, new cabaret acts, club talent, and variety performers

The following Back Stage categories are also  worth checking out for Open Mike, Club Talent, Variety Show, Burlesque, Cabaret, and Talent Showcase  opportunities, competitions, gigs, and jobs: