Why do you have to pay to audition?

Question

I've noticed for some acting auditions and for the royal school of ballet entrents have to pay to audition.Why is this?

Answer 1

One should only have to pay to audition for a legitimate school, like the Royal School of Ballet; and not to audition for a movie, TV show, or theatre production. Here's the scoop...

Theatre schools, dance schools, and ballet schools are extremely competitive, and there are a lot of people who DREAM of making it big, and have a self-absorbed belief that they are just "that darn talented" anyone will scoop them up in a second. By forcing people to PAY for the audition, they weed some of these crazies out. It also reflects the competitive nature of the school, and pays for the time the panel spends watching the audition.

Think of it this way...

100 people WANT to audition for the school

20 of these people are talented, trained artists

20 of these people are developing artists

60 of these people are crazies who "think they know it all" but have no talent

Let's say there are only 50 auditions are available... Now, if there's no fee, all the audition slots might be filled with the crazies (the MAJORity), and the other 40 young artists (the MINORity) get blocked from auditioning.

By charging an audition fee of, let's say, £60, MOST of the crazies will be deterred from auditioning because of the high price, and the more serious artists will have a better chance to get in and audition.

Finally...

With only the rarest of exceptions, one should NOT have to pay to audition for a role performing in something like a TV show, movie, or theatre production... Usually people who require auditionees to PAY for their audition are fly-by-night scammers who need to make a quick buck at the expense of hopeful performers.