Making Smart Casting Decisions

I have been pondering this topic for the past few days, and it actually seems a pretty popular subject at the moment, so I figured, why not? It also very much pertains to me and some decisions I might have to make shortly in my own show once the auditions role around. So, I have been thinking on it a lot lately.

One of the toughest things about auditions is making a smart choice based on who comes out and shows an interesting in the show. There will always be hurt feelings, and I am sure someone will always question what the director was thinking. Personally, I believe it's the director's vision and no one should question that....most of the time. There are examples of casting situations that make me wonder if propriety was even considered for a millisecond. Only in community theater it seems does someone think it's ok to have teenagers lusting after someone old enough to be their father, and vice-versa.

I think I've seen it all. I've seen attempts to age people with facial hair to make it seem like the age gap between a twenty something year old and someone who was at least in her fifties wasn't so great. I had a character aged a few years to make it more believable for me to play her, and make her story a little less creepy since the man lusting after her no longer seemed like a complete pedophile. And of course I've witnessed various transformations brought about with the wonders of stage make-up.

Yet, as I think about the character of Lynn in Red Herring, a young woman her twenties, I'm there there are a few teenagers within the community who could carry the part. Yet, I still couldn't see putting a sixteen or seventeen year old, no matter how mature she may act and look, in the part, especially if the actor playing James is actually in his twenties. It seems to me like it would be completely inappropriate to ask that such a pair be romantic even on stage. It also seems like a huge risk for the actor playing James as these days people get accused of so much, or for the theater company as you never truly know who you can trust. Hopefully, I will not find myself facing such a decision.