What Exactly is a "Callback"?

Simply put, a callback is a tool used for the director and crew to get further information on certain actors for specific parts. When a callback is announced, the actors chosen will be told to prepare certain dialogue or songs for a given character(s). On the day of the callbacks, all actors will come prepared and attend the entire callback process.

How do you prepare for a callback?

The material that is required to be prepared is sent with the announcement of the callback. This is usually songs and/or lines for a certain character or characters. When learning the material, memorization can be important, but is not usually a key factor for the directors. The most important thing to prepare is the character itself. It is not important to just memorize lines or a song, you need to know the character and show that you can not just act like them, but become them.

What is a director looking for at a callback?

Many may think that a director are just trying to see who looks or sounds better, or even who can memorize the material the quickest, but that is not entirely true. At a callback, as with all casting, the directors are looking at a plethora of different factors.

Some of these factors include:

Can the actor

truly become the character
be easily directed
work well with other potential castmates both onstage and off
come prepared to work
follow directions and be flexible

What does the Callback process look like?

Once all actors arrive for the callbacks, the director will have everyone sing together while embodying the given character. This is a useful warm up, but also can give the director a lot of information about each actor.

After the warm up, different actors will be called up to deliver lines or the prepared song, they may even be asked to do parts that were not in the original preparations. During this time, the director will be giving directions and feedback and will be watching to see how the actors react and improve. Coming prepared is important, but the ability to take direction and show improvement with that direction is what the director is looking for.