Theatre Charlotte: Making Virtual Auditions Less of a Headache

Come with me as I journey through my attempt to design a responsive virtual audition submission system that even Shakespeare could use… y’know, if he were still alive and all.

Duration: 3 Weeks

  • Scene 1: Background and Problem

    Scene 2: Research Goals and Objectives

    Scene 3: Competitive Analysis

    Scene 4: User Interviews (At a Glance!)

    Scene 5: Affinity Map

    Scene 6: User Personas

    Scene 7: Next Steps

  • Scene 1: Feature Set
    Scene 2: User Flow
    Scene 3: Task Flows
    Scene 4: Low-Fidelity Wireframes
    Scene 5: High-Fidelity Wireframes

  • Scene 1: Building the Prototype
    Scene 2: User Testing
    Scene 3: Prototype Results

Tools Used: Figma, FigJam, ArtBoard

Scene 1: Background and Problem

Theatre Charlotte is an entirely volunteer-based theatre company that aims to create incredible, professional-level theatre opportunities for the Charlotte community. They rely on the generosity of the Charlotte locals to maintain funding and staffing for all productions and events.

The Problem?

Act 1: Research

The entertainment industry was uniquely affected by Covid-19. Virtual auditions quickly became the norm. Keeping submissions organized in a single location was essentially impossible if one didn’t have the funds to pay for a third-party program, and the tried-and-true email with headshot, resume, and youtube link attached felt dated and inefficient.

Scene 2: Research Goals and Objectives

With the help of my incredible mentor and 20+ years of local theatre experience, I set out to identify what I needed out of my research.

Goals

  • Create a virtual audition system that can easily be accessed by Theatre Charlotte volunteers

  • Ensure applicant submissions are well organized and clearly labeled

  • Increase number of auditionees for Theatre Charlotte per season

Adam

Objectives

  • Determine what processes currently used by nonprofit theatres streamline their virtual submission methods

  • Discover a standardized file labeling system for applicant submissions, including headshot & Resume

  • Discover how those involved in casting process communicate with each other over virtual submissions

Scene 3: Competitive Analysis

  • Compared two direct competitors: Acceptd and Submittable

  • Compared one indirect competitor: YouTube

  • Chat/DM feature universal among competitors

  • 2/3 Competitors lacked native video hosting

  • 2/3 Competitors lacked an applicant filter system relevant to audition requirements

Scene 4: User Interviews

Participants

  • Pre-professional actors with experience uploading video submissions to educational/collegiate theatre settings

  • Community actors with experience uploading video submissions to local community/regional theatres

  • Community volunteers with experience reviewing video submissions for local community theatres

Scene 5: Affinity Map

  • Current systems involve learning curve that may be complicated for hobby/amateur actors

  • Virtual auditions allow a wider pool of actors to submit auditions

  • Clearly labeled submission files streamline the casting process

  • Current lack of substantial applicant filter system for adjudicators

  • Erratically named submission files result in disorganization that overwhelm smaller companies

Scene 6: User Personas

Adam represents the back-of-house involved in the casting process.

  • Older than the average actor

  • Post-graduate education

  • Theatre career spans decades

  • Not as comfortable with technology

Bethany

Bethany represents the processes and grievances actors experience when submitting virtual auditions.

  • Represents a younger generation of thespians

  • Accustomed to the virtual audition process

  • More willing to learn new methods of auditioning

Scene 1: Feature Set

Scene 2: User Flow

With the feature set created and deadlines drawing nearer, I decided to focus on back-of-house users (i.e. crew members and adjudicators) for the user flow. This provided me with both a welcome challenge and a much more concrete direction in which to move.

Scene 3: Task Flows

Task Flow 1: Marking Submission As Accepted

Task Flow 2: Filtering Submissions by Voice Type

Scene 4: Low-Fidelity Wireframes

Moving forward with the chosen task flows, I began my low-fidelity designs. Here’s what I kept in mind:

  • Theatre Charlotte’s existing site layout to ensure consistency

  • General look and feel of common video hosting sites

  • Ensuring all components could easily respond to different screens

Scene 5: High-Fidelity Wireframes

  • Primary color scheme composed of cool blues to match existing website palette

  • Submission card component created

  • Video player added

  • Filter system for video submissions added

Act 2: Design

Each task flow required two separate prototypes: one for desktop and one for mobile formats, meaning users had to undergo four separate usability tests.

Even though only 8 users participated, I was able to gain some pretty useful information! If you want to try it out for yourself, head on over to the Figma File.

Insights

  1. The shorter the better: when asked about navigation time, most users were able to complete all tasks in under 90 seconds.

  2. Too Blue: One common criticism seen during usability testing was the color scheme. Many users expressed dissatisfaction with the monochromatic color scheme.

  3. Desktop vs. Mobile: when asked which version they would see themselves using more, a majority of users said that they would primarily use the mobile version.

Next Steps

  • Consider adding complimentary orange hues to color palette

  • Change background color to white

  • Optimize mobile layouts to be more “finger friendly” using Human Interface guidelines

Act 3: Prototype

Final Thoughts

  1. You really never know who you’ll be designing for. I made several assumptions on what users would want out of a video audition system based off of my own experiences in theatre, and was very surprised to find out through user interviews & testing that my needs as a consumer of this product were not universal.

  2. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I undertook a major redesign of the high-fidelity wireframes before building the prototype, using already established video hosting products as visual guides. The final product was much more professional and clean looking as a result.

End of Scene