The Parades and Shows.

[ashliejere]

I looked for a question like this..and didn't see anything, so I apologize if this has been asked before.
When you audition for entertainment, do you have to audition for a main role? I've been doing school plays since I was five and I have done both main roles and ensemble roles and I enjoy ensemble more than main roles. I would love to dance/entertain as part of an ensemble. Can I audition for that? Or are people cast as "main roles" and then used as part of the ensemble for parades and shows?

 

[sandybobandy]

You might be thinking of Equity performers which do the shows like Cinderellabration. That's a separate audition from those that do the fur characters and parades. As far as I understand, for the CP, you can attend an audition and if passed be in entertainment which you would then be friends with a character and if your color code (dance & animation skills) are high enough, you could do parades.

Hope that helps-I'm sure someone else can answer your questions further if this doesn't!

 

[ashliejere]

You might be thinking of Equity performers which do the shows like Cinderellabration. That's a separate audition from those that do the fur characters and parades. As far as I understand, for the CP, you can attend an audition and if passed be in entertainment which you would then be friends with a character and if your color code (dance & animation skills) are high enough, you could do parades.

Thanks for the reply! I don't care if its "Cinderellabration" or anything like that. I just mean the extras that are in shows and parades. Like, in the shows/parades there are a lot of people involved...there are the main people and then people who just are in the background..dancers and such. I'm talking about those roles. Is that equity performers? Sorry..I just wasn't sure if we were on the same page after you said "those who do fur characters and parades". Is equity performs part of the CP or are those actual jobs? (I know equity performers are actual jobs..but I mean can I do that within the college program?)

 

[DisneyJersey]

Thanks for the reply! I don't care if its "Cinderellabration" or anything like that. I just mean the extras that are in shows and parades. Like, in the shows/parades there are a lot of people involved...there are the main people and then people who just are in the background..dancers and such. I'm talking about those roles. Is that equity performers? Sorry..I just wasn't sure if we were on the same page after you said "those who do fur characters and parades". Is equity performs part of the CP or are those actual jobs? (I know equity performers are actual jobs..but I mean can I do that within the college program?)

equity performers are members of a union... cp's can't be equity... most likely u'll do fur, and maybe parades, if u get coded high on ur audition

 

[Ellagirl]

If you get into the entertainment department then you do have a chance to be part of a parade but you have to go through special training and not all CPs or people in entertainment get to do parades. Im in entertainment and i was never trained for a parade or show. Cps are also trained for fantasmic sometimes as well, it just depends on what they need and your skill level. Let me know if you have any other questions because i remember i had a ton of questions about entertainment when before i did my cp. Hope this helps!

 

[ashliejere]

Thanks!
Ellagirl... are the only things you can audition for fur characters, basically? What do you do within the entertainment department? What's a regular day like? How'd you audition? Where did you audition?
I haven't looked into entertainment at all...bc I didnt want to do the fur thing. Then I saw a website (by disney) about auditiong for dancing/parades/characters/etc. So, it got me curious if Cp's could audition for those as well. I will probably have more questions the more I look into it, so thanks in advance!

 

[Ellagirl]

Thanks!
Ellagirl... are the only things you can audition for fur characters, basically? What do you do within the entertainment department? What's a regular day like? How'd you audition? Where did you audition?
I haven't looked into entertainment at all...bc I didnt want to do the fur thing. Then I saw a website (by disney) about auditiong for dancing/parades/characters/etc. So, it got me curious if Cp's could audition for those as well. I will probably have more questions the more I look into it, so thanks in advance!

Everyone, except some equity performers, has to do fur training. I didnt want to do it but it really is not that bad. I am a character performer and i auditioned in the north east but they have auditions all over the United States. You just go to disneyauditions.com i think or if not they have them posted on the website where they post jobs. If you have a high enough skill level then you will do both characters and parade and show. Cp's can audition before they go down or while they are down there but normally can only audition down there if they are planning on extending their program.
It is hard to say what a regular day is because it varies everyday. One day i will be doing breakfast/ lunch rotation at a restaurant which is an 8 hour shift or i will be doing breakfast in to sets which is a 12 hour day and then sometimes you have 17 or 18 hour days because there is a party at night time. It just depends on what you do and where they need you
Hope this helps!

 

[Joanna71985]

I looked for a question like this..and didn't see anything, so I apologize if this has been asked before.
When you audition for entertainment, do you have to audition for a main role? I've been doing school plays since I was five and I have done both main roles and ensemble roles and I enjoy ensemble more than main roles. I would love to dance/entertain as part of an ensemble. Can I audition for that? Or are people cast as "main roles" and then used as part of the ensemble for parades and shows?

When you audition, you are auditioning to be a meet-and-greet character. That is where you start out. You have the chance to audition for shows/parades (CPs, it is most likely parades), but you have to have a certain color code to be considered.

Thanks!
Ellagirl... are the only things you can audition for fur characters, basically? What do you do within the entertainment department? What's a regular day like? How'd you audition? Where did you audition?
I haven't looked into entertainment at all...bc I didnt want to do the fur thing. Then I saw a website (by disney) about auditiong for dancing/parades/characters/etc. So, it got me curious if Cp's could audition for those as well. I will probably have more questions the more I look into it, so thanks in advance!

CPs can be in parades. But you have to be picked for that. You start out doing meet-and-greets.

 

[impsythealmighty]

Thanks!
Ellagirl... are the only things you can audition for fur characters, basically? What do you do within the entertainment department? What's a regular day like? How'd you audition? Where did you audition?
I haven't looked into entertainment at all...bc I didnt want to do the fur thing. Then I saw a website (by disney) about auditiong for dancing/parades/characters/etc. So, it got me curious if Cp's could audition for those as well. I will probably have more questions the more I look into it, so thanks in advance!

To do parades, you have to do fur. It's like the starting point for all of (non-equity) entertainment. For example - one of my friends, who was in the same training class as me for characters, is friends with Goofy a lot. He has high color codes (meaning he did really well on his dancing and animation at his audition) so he's been pulled for the Halloween parade. However, he won't be in a fur costume, he'll be one of the dancers. It is tough to get pulled for parades as a CP though - there aren't that many roles, and they're much more inclined to give them to full timers. Gotta start somewhere though! =D

Entertainment stuff can be really confusing, so feel free to PM me (or IM me, that'd probably be better) if you have any questions! I also have a blog where I talk about being friends with fur characters (link in my signature) - if you want to Friend me on there you can see all my entries.