What is the casting director looking for in the Billys?

[stgmom]

Does anyone have insight into what, specifically, the casting director is looking for in the young Billys? Besides the obvious: ballet experience, age & height requirements. It seems like they pass up many talented boys for unknown reasons.

[SatinandLace]

I think mostly it just comes down to there being more talented boys than there are slots to fill, so lots of talented kids have to be turned down.

[Billy Whiz]

Besides the obvious: ballet experience

Strangely enough Brad Wilson's parents told me after his opening night that he had never done any ballet until he started with the Billy training school.

[stgmom]

Besides the obvious: ballet experience

Strangely enough Brad Wilson's parents told me after his opening night that he had never done any ballet until he started with the Billy training school.

What was his prior experience, then?

[Billy Whiz]

Besides the obvious: ballet experience

Strangely enough Brad Wilson's parents told me after his opening night that he had never done any ballet until he started with the Billy training school.

What was his prior experience, then?

I do believe it was tap, jazz and contemporary dance.

The amazing thing is that he is now a Ballet Billy.

[johnnyc]

I suspect that they are looking for potential. Prior dancing, singing, acting experience is nice, but they want boys that have the raw talent, are eager to learn and have the determination to stick with it over a long period of time. Stephen Daldry once said they could teach any kid to act. George Maguire had no dance experience when he auditioned, but they saw he had the potential, and he quickly became one of the finest tap and street dancers the show has seen thus far. James Lomas danced, but had no ballet experience. He copied the ballet moves of the boy ahead of him in the audition and wowed the judges. So he demonstrated a quick to learn capacity. I think having a certain charisma is also a necessity.

A boy may appear to have all of the talent needed to succeed, but he may become discouraged during the long and strenuous training process, which can stretch over a two-year period. If they see he lacks determination (or stamina) he will be dropped. So there's a lot more to it than just having talent. It's rare indeed when they find a kid who already is the "complete package," as was Colin Bates. Colin had already "paid his dues" and was a professional entertainer. So he was able to go on stage as Billy after something like a two month training period in London. But for most of the boys who audition, it's a long, hard road to becoming Billy, regardless of talent.

[Steamboy]

The audition sequence has always been dance, then singing, then acting. The kids who can't move or are hesitant are quickly weeded out, the ones who can't sing are next out, then they're into what they view as the easiest deficiency to correct, acting.

As JohnnyC mentioned, they're not looking for developed talent as much as they are looking for potential and personality, that elusive spark that sets one or more kids apart from the pack. Either the kid has it or not, and either they happen to see it or not, it's not really something you can learn, train, or display on command. Probably not even the casting directors themselves could properly explain why they chose one child over another. They've also mentioned several times that they're not interested in 'stage school' kids, since they want a more realistic performance than some of those programs develop, and they don't wish to spend a lot of time helping the kids unlearn bad habits before they can move forward.

They have sometimes turned down a potential Billy at one audition, but gave him a list of teachers to go to, and suggested that he reapply in a year or so. They've also arranged lessons for Billys who made the short list one year, but not that final round, and picked them during a following round.

To add to the list of 'hadn't befores', Liam Mower had never sung publicly before BETM.

[Todd]

I got to see Josh Waiss Gates in what I believe was his second-last performance and that performance was what got me obsessed with Billy. He had one of the best voices I've ever heard from a child

Moving the discussion of the singing Billys over to this thread as requested, I would definitely have to agree with the above comment. I never got to see Josh in the show (having never been to Australia !) but I thought his performance singing the Australian National Anthem in the video clip below was the best singing I've ever heard by one of the Billys. Enjoy . . ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS21hH7R06M

[billyforlife]

I got to see Josh Waiss Gates in what I believe was his second-last performance and that performance was what got me obsessed with Billy. He had one of the best voices I've ever heard from a child

Moving the discussion of the singing Billys over to this thread as requested, I would definitely have to agree with the above comment. I never got to see Josh in the show (having never been to Australia !) but I thought his performance singing the Australian National Anthem in the video clip below was the best singing I've ever heard by one of the Billys. Enjoy . . ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS21hH7R06M

And he's SO much better live, plus the show in which I saw him was 6 months later. Even on the youtube sound clip of his last show, it was nowhere near as good as hearing it live. He didn't hit a note off in the entire show! It was clear and he had great diction, which is another thing I think should be important, because it's hard enough to understand the accent for many audiences outside of the UK.
I think singing is so important because it's something most audiences can appreciate and understand more than the dancing, just because it is more commonplace to be able to tell if Billy goes off key, and most people won't be so trained in dance to tell exactly how brilliant every Billy is (It's quite obvious how incredible they are to any eye, I mean technically).

I have no idea how on earth the company finds so many boys with RBS standard dancing, singing and acting skills, stage presence, personality, stamina, comedic timing, and emotional and physical strength to go through all the years of rehersals and shows..and all around 11 years old.
No wonder singing isn't the highest priority...but I do think it needs to be a bit more considered.

eg: This is the original Sydney Billys' first performance and they all have pretty good voices. This was also their first performance anywhere, before the show even opened, so they only got better It doesn't have to be brilliant, but you would need to be able to listen to them for a 3 hour show....yeah, I think I've made my point enough
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1_4cY6t ... re=related

[Justin]

Re. the youtube clip. The incongruity of singing Advance Australia Fair with Fly Emirates banners in the background was a bit bemusing!

As to the question of whether singing should/should have been given a higher priority in the casting of Billys.....speaking only as one familiar with the London production, I'd say it should correctly be taking a backseat to dancing. I think the balance that they have achieved so far with regards to London is about right, or in fact if anything I wish a higher priority is given to dance ability for the London Billys, in particular ballet potential. I feel like in the London production at least, ballet technique is being, not so much ignored, but not as emphasized as say in the Broadway/New York show where all the Billys have either a good background in ballet or enough potential such that they can perform the ballet version of Electricity. In London, it's not uncommon to see some Billys unable to perform an accurate developpe or have misaligned hips for their arabesques - which is the position most commonly associated with ballet.

I think that as long as a kid has a semi-passable voice and can carry a tune melodiously, provided the necessary dance, motivation and other qualities, the fact that he doesn't sing as another poster put it (and I'm paraphrasing here) - with a voice that one would want to listen to on the ipod - should not be a barrier to him being cast in the role.

The halting, mildly tentative singing of some Billys can actually suit the role quite well I feel. Just like the excellent musical phrasing and vocal control of say Travis or Leon was used greatly to enhance the overall standard of performance, the more tentative, raw singing of some other Billys brings something to the role that a more confident singer may not.

It's a strange paradox with me, as someone who has been singing in choirs since childhood, I've always found that nothing other than a truly professional choir and soloists will allow me to just lose myself in the music. I've learned not to rely on musical theatre for proper singing so for me, whether the Billys sing with correct vocal technique or not is very much by the by.

I suppose another reason why I'm so much in favour of dance ability being favoured over singing is that Brad Wilson, one of my favourite Billys is clearly...not the best singer.. and it's clear that he was chosen very much on his dancing potential. If the criteria were weighted differently with more given towards singing, I wonder if he may not have made the cut, in which case I would have never seen him dance or known of him at all, which to me would be a nightmare!!!