I'm a Director and I Don't Cast Understudies. Here's Why.

I recently made a video sharing my audition paperwork (Link Here: • AUDITION PAPERWORK TEM... ) and in that video I mentioned that I do not cast understudies, which led to some questions in the comments and a really great discussion regarding that choice. I decided to expand upon that conversation in this week's video. Thanks for watching!
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[@thepageandstage]

I agree so much - I tried understudies once and no matter what I did with building culture, giving that understudy one performance was always seen/gossiped about as “taking something away” from the other actor. So sad!

[@cayleejo]

It is such a tough situation! You’re so right about culture building, it is a balancing act trying to serve/honor everyone.

[@goldgrasshoppernein9451]

I was the understudy for a lead in a community theatre musical, i was in classes with the director before and he promised me a night before the auditions started. I went to the auditions on the second day and discovered that the absolute best singer of my school was there and auditioned for my role( she is the nicest person alive though you cant be mad at her) so i ended up getting cast as the understudy. I was told if we got a 4th night the understudy cast would perform but we didnt get the night so i didnt have a chance to perform at a role i had been working towards for years (the auditions got pushed back alot) and it was really hard ,especially because the lead was often away during the rehearsals so i at least got a lot of rehearsal time

[@cayleejo]

I love your positive attitude about the situation - I’m sure your director and those around you see and appreciates that, but that is so disappointing to have not gotten the show you were promised 💔.

[@arrow_of_ravenclaw5155]

I understand your standpoint. When we had understudies, they were usually actors with roles that were minor so if the understudy needed to go on, we could work something out with their role

[@cayleejo]

I think that is probably the best possible approach to understudies if an production absolutely needs them. At least then they're guaranteed to be onstage in some capacity. Thanks for sharing!

[@kayleejnae]

seeing your videos make my day! miss you so much and i’m very proud of you 🫶🏼

[@6thgradenews4u]

When she said, “power goes out” I got major ptsd when I was micheal in mary poppins, and we were doing let’s go fly and the kite were supposed to make use “fly away” and the power went out and the pulley stop working. We had to stop the show crew had to get us down. It was super scary because I was so afraid of heights snd i was only nine

[@beltingtokra]

I have 2 experiences to talk about.... at university i auditioned for Little Women and was essentially 2nd choice for Jo, but i didnt get cast so i did a different show the fri-sun, but a month before i got a phonecall from the MD asking if i could play Beth for the Thursday night. Obviously i said yes, and it was one of the biggest challenges ive ever had, but not being a true part of the cast was still gutting, the show was excellent but jo is still a dream role, rapidly aging out of it though 😢 My 2nd time was in 2020, i was directing a community theatre play with a small cast, 10 days before the play i had one of my leads drop out and i had to step in, i learned it in 4 days. Fortunately it was cancelled so no one had to watch me butcher the role, and when we did it with a largely new cast in 2022, literally the same character had a corona scare 2 weeks before and i was having flashbacks and wished i had the pool to find an understudy. Luckily, she was clear, so we had a full and healthy cast and the show was brilliant. I was very relieved it was done though 😂 Ftr, i think putting someone onstage with a script in an educational setting is 100% the way forward if you cant double cast

[@beetlejuiceisthebest3]

i was an "understudy" in my chorus classs (idk if that counts) and it was super disappointing she had me audition around 5 times, told me how good i was blah blah and i didnt get to ever did it plus when it was the concert she kinda sucked

[@daniellem_24]

both my high school and middle school have never done understudies and honestly, we’ve found that we’re fine without them. We have however started to double cast certain roles. For example, in my school’s production of Music Man, we had two people perform as Charlie Cowell. The “main” guy was on the Thursday/Saturday show and the other guy did the Friday show bc the “main” guy had to miss the Friday show for religious reasons

[@cayleejo]

That makes perfect sense! Thank you sharing.

[@milkmilk8721]

Alright, so I did Annie this past fall at my school. Got Mr Bundles / Mansion Staff. Not big but fun. They gave understudy emails only 3 weeks before the show. I got the understudy of Mr. Warbucks. Meant I had to learn his lines, songs, and his stage movement in 3 weeks. I declined.

[@cayleejo]

I don’t blame you! You have to protect your own peace and 3 weeks to learn all of that, without having a guaranteed performance, is a big ask!

[@lucytoomey2859]

Hi Caylee Jo. I just wanted to let you know that I was in beauty and the beast twice in my life. I got to be a napkin when I was in prep. Then I got to be in the ensemble and be the understudy for Belle for beauty and the beast musical.

[@cayleejo]

I love B&B! I have been in that show several times - as the enchantress, a villager, a plate, and a feather duster! It is a BIG show from a costuming perspective, but so beautiful when it’s all put together!

[@MirandaJacobs1912]

I am an understudy. And I will not be performing and are constantly being pushed in the corner and I have to rely on script notes. I am off book and nobody else is again IM AN UNDERSTUDY.

[@camerondolphin9554]

Hello I love you content and I am an actor myself. I think that since you are working with younger actors maybe give Descendants the musical a try! It’s Disney and your kids might already know the characters ☺️ I was Jay myself lol

[@cayleejo]

Descendants has been on my radar! It looks like a fun show.

[@TheGrahamHam]

I disagree heavily! But that's okay! In my experience I know that my high school used to have understudies do a final dress if the show was far enough along, and i think that was awesome! I personally love being an understudy! But i understand kinda why you wouldn't cast them. Those contingency plans are awesome though, i hope that my director has those since she only does understudies SOMETIMES lol.