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What is it like to be a disney character???
- Thread starter Aragorn22
- Start date
JaynMACP96_97_9
New Member
What's it like?
When i was on the CP in the Fall of 96, my then girlfriend was one of only a few CPers that was in Characters. About halfway thru our program they held auditions at Vistaway for College Program kids who were interested in being characters. I made it to the final cut but was put on a call list for two reasons:
1) I'm 5'6" like you are and that's a VERY generic height in disney character terms.
2) I wasn't available to be a character right after my college program ended in January and preferred to wait til the summer. They of course wanted people asap and going back to school outweighed being a chipmunk.
The audition itself is dance/mime orientated. If you ever took dance lessons, were in a show choir, or can pick up the basics quickly you'll get thru the first few cuts with no problem. I was in show choir in high school and had no problem.
They teach you the steps for a few minutes, then have you create a long line of pairs and have you dance the moves towards the judges and they put you in pass/cut groups like that.
After the dance portion, they give you a quick tutorial on mining. Then they privately give each of you a scenario. I was told that i had to be teaching little kids how to bowl. You have a few minutes to think about what you're going to do and then they bring a few of you back in at a time to do your thing.
That was it.
As far as day-day being a character i'm sure there are characters on here that can help you with that. But my ex loved doing it. She was Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story Parade at the Studios all fall.
If you're wondering about the heat in FL , they have time limits "on stage." For example, if it was 97 on a July afternoon you may only be out for 10-15mins whereas a 65 degree evening in the winter you may be out 20-25 etc...
But like i said, those who did it/do it can tell you best.
Also, those who are shortest/tallest are who they're constantly in need of. People our height, 5'6"ish are everywhere. So you'll need to kick ______ in the audition.
Good luck!
When i was on the CP in the Fall of 96, my then girlfriend was one of only a few CPers that was in Characters. About halfway thru our program they held auditions at Vistaway for College Program kids who were interested in being characters. I made it to the final cut but was put on a call list for two reasons:
1) I'm 5'6" like you are and that's a VERY generic height in disney character terms.
2) I wasn't available to be a character right after my college program ended in January and preferred to wait til the summer. They of course wanted people asap and going back to school outweighed being a chipmunk.
The audition itself is dance/mime orientated. If you ever took dance lessons, were in a show choir, or can pick up the basics quickly you'll get thru the first few cuts with no problem. I was in show choir in high school and had no problem.
They teach you the steps for a few minutes, then have you create a long line of pairs and have you dance the moves towards the judges and they put you in pass/cut groups like that.
After the dance portion, they give you a quick tutorial on mining. Then they privately give each of you a scenario. I was told that i had to be teaching little kids how to bowl. You have a few minutes to think about what you're going to do and then they bring a few of you back in at a time to do your thing.
That was it.
As far as day-day being a character i'm sure there are characters on here that can help you with that. But my ex loved doing it. She was Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story Parade at the Studios all fall.
If you're wondering about the heat in FL , they have time limits "on stage." For example, if it was 97 on a July afternoon you may only be out for 10-15mins whereas a 65 degree evening in the winter you may be out 20-25 etc...
But like i said, those who did it/do it can tell you best.
Also, those who are shortest/tallest are who they're constantly in need of. People our height, 5'6"ish are everywhere. So you'll need to kick ______ in the audition.
Good luck!
mkepcotmgmak
Well-Known Member
im kind of interested in this too - i mean, why would you have to dance unless you are auditioning for a dance part - i would only want to be a character in a parade or at meet and greets, not Cindy's celebration or anything - i guess what i should have asked is, are the dance moves hard, or is it like aerobics stuff?
JaynMACP96_97_9
New Member
dancing
I think whether they're "hard" or not is really personal perception.
Like i said, i had a show choir background, and found the moves pretty easy. I think most girls would find the moves even easier than guys like me.
As far as saying you want to be in the parades and why do you have to know how to dance. The parades are all choreographed. Just think of all the parades you've seen at the parks or on TV, all the characters have set moves whether they're on moving floats or mobile.
Also, they're getting a feel for where else you might be able to work besides just doing autograph sets and parade choreography. They want to see your range.
A friend of mine that i tried out with back in 96 while i was on the College Program became a character that spring in the Studios. By the time i was back down there that summer(97) she was a regular in the Hercules parade and was also doing Hunchback.
So they're looking for people that have that kind of potential.
I think whether they're "hard" or not is really personal perception.
Like i said, i had a show choir background, and found the moves pretty easy. I think most girls would find the moves even easier than guys like me.
As far as saying you want to be in the parades and why do you have to know how to dance. The parades are all choreographed. Just think of all the parades you've seen at the parks or on TV, all the characters have set moves whether they're on moving floats or mobile.
Also, they're getting a feel for where else you might be able to work besides just doing autograph sets and parade choreography. They want to see your range.
A friend of mine that i tried out with back in 96 while i was on the College Program became a character that spring in the Studios. By the time i was back down there that summer(97) she was a regular in the Hercules parade and was also doing Hunchback.
So they're looking for people that have that kind of potential.
daksimba
New Member
Since character costumes "eat up" a lot of animation, they need people that they know move well. Dancing is a great way to show how much movement you can put into it.
Plus, it makes sense for the company to find people that are as multi-talented as possible. They can't afford to look for people that only do sets. They need people that they know can eventually learn shows and parades.
Plus, it makes sense for the company to find people that are as multi-talented as possible. They can't afford to look for people that only do sets. They need people that they know can eventually learn shows and parades.
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