Braden Abraham was recently announced as the acting artistic director at Seattle Repertory Theatre, the largest nonprofit resident theater in the Pacific Northwest. A member of the company’s staff since 2003, he started as an intern and is now organizing and casting the upcoming season. Among the 2015–16 productions Abraham will direct are Arthur Miller’s “A View From the Bridge,” Nick Payne’s “Constellations,” and Rebecca Gilman’s “Luna Gale.”
How did you get your start at Seattle Rep?
When I started I wanted to know how theater worked and what all that entails.... The internship was in the artistic department, so I got to assistant direct and work in the casting office. The great thing about assistant directing is you get to be in the room—it’s great training [to become] a director. I pursued the opportunity for that and expected to be here nine months. Now it’s been 12 years!
How do you cast your shows?
On average we cast about 60, 80 percent out of Seattle. We encourage [local artists] to contact us and let us know what they’re up to. We try to have personal relationships with as many actors as we can. Seattle’s great for that because you can do a small show at a small theater here, or work at [a big company like] 5th Avenue Theatre. There are also a lot of opportunities for people to produce their own work, plenty of venues for that.
What’s the first step a newcomer to Seattle should take?
I would say go around to all the theaters and see the work, see what people are doing. Call the theaters and find out how you can get seen. It’s really about seeing the work, getting the lay of the land, seeing who’s doing what, then calling individual companies.
What are your top pieces of audition advice?
Be prepared. And take your time in the audition. I’m much more interested in you taking your time and making strong choices than something that feels very polished, or coming in where all the choices have been made. I want to see process in the room. Your process, how you make a choice, how you think it through. I want to see that you understand a play from the inside. In an audition that’s very difficult to do, so I want to see you working that out. I want to see you responding to what you’re getting.
Do you give actors direction in the audition room?
I do give adjustments in an audition. I’m trying to get to know you as a person.... I want to know how you approach the play, a little about who you are, how you work. I try to create a room where we can figure that out.
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