Being a Disney Cast Member
Turning Fantasy Into Reality
Disney Cart Members don't just sing, dance, and act. They make dreams come true.by Ken Schlager
McMasters has fond memories of her first audition to be a Disneyland Cast Member. "I was nervous, but I went in with a smile and just kind of tried to be me," she recalls.
Nineteen years later, McMasters is still performing regularly at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., and her love for the work has never diminished. She gets to sing, dance, act, and be part of something she finds inspirational. "It makes people believe in fantasy and the goodness that is Walt Disney," she says.
In her first Disneyland role, McMasters was a "Dickens Caroler," singing holiday songs along Main Street. Eventually, she landed a Disneyland stage role as Belle in Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage. "That was really a fun thing," she says. "A full-on staging with costumers and technicians and sets and all of that."
This season, McMasters is in four different Disneyland casts. That's unusual for Disney performers—most are in one or two shows. Typically, they appear in a single role four to six times per day, five days a week, in accordance with union limits on performing time.
Up-and-comers wanted
Disney cast members are a varied bunch. "We have jobs for all ages and sizes and types and looks," says Daniel Solis, casting director for Disneyland and Tokyo Disney. Solis holds casting calls for Disneyland several times monthly in Anaheim and North Hollywood, Calif., and sometimes as far away as New York and Honolulu.
"Most of what we attract, by the nature of the fact that we are a theme park, is up-and-coming talent," Solis says. "We have lots of people at every audition that will come in and say, 'This is my very first audition.' So, we are ready and open to people at any level of career advancement and we have places for people at all levels. For Jasmine and Aladdin in our Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular show, we are looking for people to portray 17-year-olds, so we are generally targeting people who may not have a lot of credits. They may just have some natural ability to come really close to the character."
Some newcomers audition first for the "character and parade" department, rather than the stage productions. "Generally, our character and parade performers are college students or people right out of high school that are looking for a way to get into the company before they have a lot of experience," Solis says. Once they have developed their talent in other parts, performers can audition for featured roles. Solis cites one young actress who until recently was performing in parades and is now featured as the acrobatic Magic Carpet in Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular.
Solis says he is constantly looking for singing, dancing, and acting talent. "It's generally helpful if you have proficiency in more than one of those disciplines," he notes.
'Up close and interactive'
But there's more to a Disney Cast Member than performing skills. "A lot of the shows that we are doing at Disney are up close and interactive with the audience, so we are trying to find people who really can connect well with an audience, who can really look an audience in the eye and be heartfelt, honest and real," Solis says.
Joining a Disney cast opens up a world of possibilities. Solis says there is an effort under way to make it easier for performers to move among the various Disney parks, including the international properties. Or, like southern California native McMasters, they can stay close to home and enjoy the flexibility that Disney scheduling provides. In addition to her Disney roles, Mc- Masters does recording sessions, performs in musical theater, and teaches Disney clinics.
Best of all, she gets to perform in quality productions with talented colleagues. "Whether you go on Broadway or you are doing a show at Disneyland, there is no difference," McMasters says. "It's the same feel, it's the same set of standards and rules... and you work exactly the same way."
Like their Broadway brethren, Disney performers face the challenge of staying fresh, show after show. To that end, Solis reminds performers to think of their audience. "These are people who have come from all over the country and all over the world. A lot of them have saved up and saved their vacation time to come out here. That keeps you wanting to try harder."