From auditions, employment and volunteerism, here are ways you can join TLT in acting

The Tacoma Little Theatre is encouraging students and the public to try acting through volunteer work, employment or auditions.

Have you ever wanted to try acting but were too scared? Now might be the right time. The Tacoma Little Theatre (TLT) encourages students and locals to try acting even if they don’t have any experience or were never interested before. TLT thinks people might be overlooking an important outlet that could benefit them.  

Whether or not you have experience acting doesn’t impact your ability to grow and learn as a performer. Many of the skills you learn from acting can be transferred to other parts of your life, such as giving a presentation, communicating with others and group work. At the theatre, people can expect to work with a diverse group of people of all backgrounds and ages. When working on a play or musical, everyone has an important role to play.  

Depending on your role, you are expected to read scripts, memorize lines, understand set design and improvise. Theatre includes a wide range of roles including actors, directors, vocalists, dancers, set designer, costume designer and more. Each person must work with the group as a whole and learn what each person needs.  

The Tacoma Little Theatre has several options for people to choose from.  

Chris Serface has been the managing director at TLT for over 10 years.  

He oversees all the performances put on by TLT and is the main representative.  

“Theatre has been a part of me since I was a young student in the community,” said Serface. “It’s amazing to be a part of an organization that is more than 105 years old. We don’t have many theatres in our country that are that old.” 

Serface works with everyone at the theatre including volunteers, employees and students of TLT’s workshops and acting classes.   

“We teach an improv acting class as well as an audition technique class,” said Serface. “These can be very helpful for newcomers or people who are trying to improve on their improv skills. We have frequent auditions which are open to students and the entire public. I always encourage everyone who has any interest to try it out at least once. You might be surprised at what you find. We have amazing volunteers who help run the theatre such as working concession stands, making the set design or behind the scenes work. They are crucial to running a successful theater.” 

People who suffer from stage freight might be concerned that they don’t have the skills or confidence to perform in front of others. However, Serface thinks that people can warm up to the idea by just being in the same vicinity as people acting.  

“Watching other people act can motivate you to try it yourself,” said Serface. “You might think, well if they can do it surely, I can as well. There are several people I know who start out in one position and work their way up as they gain more confidence and experience. People who are new to acting or too scared should consider this.” 

The theatre also offers internships for students who might be majoring in film or theatre as class credits. Previously the theatre had students from UWT, PLU and even high school come to intern for a set number of weeks. They learn about how theatres run and what entails putting on a show, such as set design, hair and makeup, lighting and memorizing scripts.

TLT already works with many students through its partnership with UWT. They have put on several shows before with the UWT theatre department. They are currently working together on the musical “RENT,” which will run next year March 8-31 at TLT. Anyone is allowed to audition, and UWT students will have a chance to interact with performers of different ages and backgrounds. Auditions for this musical will be held December 6-11 at UWT. For more info you can contact UWT theatre director Maria-Tania Bandes B. Weingarden. 

Those who are interested can find out more about auditions for UWT or TLT through the theatre’s website and UWT theatre Facebook:  

https://www.tacomalittletheatre.com/auditions and https://www.facebook.com/people/UWT-Theatre/

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