Questions About Cast98
- Help! One of my audition times is overbooked!
- Can I try Cast98 before I buy it?
- Can I skip auditions and just schedule rehearsals?
- How do my cast members update their conflicts?
- Can I customize the audition form?
- What does Cast98 cost for schools?
- How do I setup my non-profit?
- I'm not a theatre company. Can I use Cast98?
- Can my auditionees upload headshots?
- Can actors export rehearsals to Google Calendar?
- I can't get logged in, what do I do?
- Parents in my show can't register their kids because they don't have a unique email address
- Can I setup my whole season with just a single audition?
Answers To Theatre Questions
Help! One of my audition times is overbooked!
When setting up the audition details for your show you are able to add up to 25 time slots, each with an optional maximum capacity. When the number of performers who signed up for a particular block exceeds the maximum capacity, that time slot will no longer show on the audition form for the next auditionees.
The system checks time slot capacity whenever an auditionee loads the final step of the form, so it is possible if several people are signing up at the same time that the system may not have a chance to block a popular time slot for everyone. This has the highest chance to occur when you first announce that auditions are open, since that's likely when the most people will hurry to get the best time.
To lessen the chance of overbooking, schedule audition times for small groups insted of individual sessions, if possible. For example, schedule 6 people in 30-minute intervals (call them "arrival times") instead of booking individual time slots every 5 minutes. Auditionees usually don't mind waiting a few minutes and you'll be less likely to fall behind schedule when someone inevitably runs late.
Can I try Cast98 before I buy it?
Yes, you can demo Cast98 before you commit. Just go to cast98.com/demo
Can I skip auditions and just schedule rehearsals?
You can't skip the audition form but you CAN start scheduling rehearsals very quickly by posting your show now and inviting your cast members to submit the audition form right away. It takes them 5 minutes to complete and will save you hours of work!
The audition form is required because it's how performers give permission to the director to access their private information. It is also the quickest way to get their conflicts into the system so that the Schedule Maker can work its magic.
As your cast submits their audition form on Cast98, you'll need to assign them to the cast list so that they show in the Schedule Maker.
It would be a disservice to your performers if you tried to find a workaround to DIY instead of using Cast98's audition form. They will love the ability to filter and export their rehearsals, and you will be finished in a flash!
How do my cast members update their conflicts?
Cast members can update their conflict calendar at any time, but as the director you have the power to moderate what conflicts to approve or reject.
When a cast member updates their conflict calendar, they need to inform a show manager.
To review and approve conflict changes, a show manager can go to the Auditionee Dashboard, click on the performer to open their audition form and scroll down to compare the performer's submitted conflicts v. profile conflicts. Use the Save & Sync Conflicts button to approve their updated (profile) conflicts.
If you want to reject late conflicts, you don't need to do anything extra. Why? Because the audition form only captures a snapshot of their conflict calendar when they sign up. If they add or remove conflicts after that, they must notify you (the director) so that you can make the choice on a case-by-case basis!
If you choose to accept late conflicts, make sure actors know to tell you when they make any changes. Then go to the Auditionee Dashboard, open the performer's audition form, and click Save & Sync Conflicts at the bottom of their Q&A. That'll pull a fresh copy of their conflicts into the form so that the Schedule Maker recognizes them.
Can I customize the audition form?
The premade audition form already includes all the information regularly found on paper forms: demographic info, emergency contact info, past experience, conflict calendar, and role preferences are all built-in. There's even space for additional information so that auditionees can leave freeform comments as instructed by the audition details.
For theatre companies with a Pro Membership, audition form sections can be toggle on/off, and extra questions can be added.
What does Cast98 cost for schools?
Public middle schools and high schools can enjoy the same deal we offer non-profit organizations, which is a hefty discount on the Basic Membership. The per-show rate (non-members) is unchanged.
How do I setup my non-profit?
If you are directing a show for a nonprofit theatre company or public school, you can self-identify as a not-for-profit organization after you've created a studio page on Cast98. In your studio's Admin Tools, go to Membership and provide your tax ID for verification purposes. Then you'll be able to sign up for the Basic Membership at a steep discount!
I'm not a theatre company. Can I use Cast98?
Yes, you can absolutely use Cast98 as long as you don't mind nomenclature like auditions, rehearsals, and shows. Dance studios, schools, drama clubs, chorus groups, film studios... heck, even sports teams, study groups, and non-performance-based organizations can benefit from Cast98's powerful scheduling tools.
Can my auditionees upload headshots?
Headshot and resume uploads are included for performers on their actor profile. They can update these files at any time by editing their profile.
Can actors export rehearsals to Google Calendar?
Yep! Your cast members can export any of their rehearsals from the schedule to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar aka iCal, Outlook, or Yahoo! Calendar.
I can't get logged in, what do I do?
If you need to reset your password, follow the Forgot My Password prompts next time you try to login. If you don't receive the password reset email within a couple minutes, check your spam folder. Add "noreply@cast98.com" to your email address book to ensure delivery.
Remember: You can login with the email address that you setup when you first created your profile!
If you don't receive the reset email after multiple attempts, and you confirmed that it's not in your spam folder, please contact support and ask for a direct link to reset your password.
Parents in my show can't register their kids because they don't have a unique email address
There's no way around the unique email requirement for registering on Cast98. All users need this email address for the password reset to work, and to identify them as they try to access restricted areas (like rehearsal schedules).
If a parent doesn't want to create an email address for their child (it can be a neat sweet 16 birthday gift if you've been writing your child emails all their life), there is a trick in Gmail that enables them to use several variations of one email address without creating anything new.
Here's how...
Say your email address is myname@gmail.com. You can use a plus sign "+" to add an arbitrary suffix to your email address before the @ sign, and any mail sent to the new version will arrive at myname@gmail.com.
For example:
myname@gmail.commyname+son@gmail.commyname+daughter@gmail.commyname+Chris@gmail.com
These will all receive mail to myname@gmail.com and Cast98 will accept these variations as unique email addresses when registering new users.
Exclusions: this is confirmed to work using email addresses hosted with Gmail and Fastmail.
Can I setup my whole season with just a single audition?
Yes, you can. Here is a help guide explaining how to have one audition for many shows.
The gist is to create an extra show, give it an arbitrary name like General Auditions, and use it as your sole-source for auditions. Then have your chosen cast members submit the audition form on each of your real shows so that each show director (which can be different for each show) can create the cast list for each show like normal and start scheduling rehearsals.
Not bad for one night's work!