Picture this: You are casting the next production of The Little Mermaid, and Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift ALL walk into your casting room. They all want to play either Ariel or Ursula and they all want to be together in the same cast - how are you possibly going to assign their roles?

If you are a student in grades 9-12, you’ve probably been asked  “Where do you want to go after high school?” more than once since the start of the year. But whether or not you are 100% confident in picking your dream school; if you’re hoping to pursue the arts, you have to start preparing earlier than your peers.

For our last week of rehearsals, we wanted to provide you with some fun ideas to make the most of your final day before production! Keep reading to find out how you can make your last bit of time together as a cast super special!

Both performers and parents of performers know the stress of memorization! It can be so difficult to get even a few easy lines down, especially on a deadline. If you have an audition coming up or your off-book day is creeping up fast and you are struggling to memorize your part, here are five tips to help you lock-down your lines.

Innovative Arts’ casting process has been organized to ensure that students are supported through the audition process as they learn their material and perform it for our creative team. Our “callbacks” feature audition material that is not traditionally used to cast a production, however, allows us to hear what we need from our students without taking up too much time or overwhelming students with too much material. But besides mastering the material, we asked Innovative Arts Casting Directors what the other secrets are to conquering their casting, and here is what they said.

Joining the Innovative Arts cast is a big step, especially for students who have never done a musical before. We want to ensure all our young performers have an incredible first experience, so here are a few tips that will ensure your family is yelling “Encore!” about your Innovator’s inaugural season.

It can be so disappointing when you leave an audition feeling like you didn’t do your best because you are having issues with your voice or, even worse, losing your voice right before a show! As performers, we are usually social, loud, and unapologetically enthusiastic, especially when it comes to talking, telling stories, singing and screaming, so we often don’t think about protecting our voices until it is too late. Here are a few tips to help young artists (and their parents) plan for those big vocal moments without having to compromise being our boisterous selves at events, school, or when we decide to put on one-man productions of Hamilton in the car!

Auditioning can be intimidating, especially when you are doing it for a new company or group of people. Fortunately, Innovative Arts auditions are specially designed to give performers their best chance at success. It can still be nerve-wracking, though, so here are a few tips that will help quiet those nerves, and give you the confidence to shine at your first audition with us!