How to Audition for Theme Parks and Cruise Ships

The notice is for a holiday show at a theme park, or a season of production shows on a ship. It wants 16 bars, a dance call, maybe a video by Friday. You’ve done plays and a musical or two, but this feels like a different world: a casting portal instead of a theater lobby, a contract that might start in another country, and a room full of people who all seem to know the drill.

It is a different world, but not a mysterious one. Their notices tend to be specific about what they want, down to the shoes and the camera framing. Read them closely and most of the guesswork goes away.

The short version: follow the notice exactly, because some calls don’t consider incomplete submissions at all. Have two short, polished song cuts in different styles, be ready to learn a combination even if you’re “just” a singer, and get any sides solid quickly. Then, before you sign, read the contract for the things that matter when you’ll live where you work: length, rehearsal location, travel home, and who your employer really is.

What these calls usually ask for

Many park and cruise calls run through the company’s own audition portal; Disney’s, for example, has you keep a profile with a headshot and resume, then book an appointment or upload a video for a specific posting. Disney’s audition FAQ gives the most useful advice in this whole article: read the posting carefully. It also tells you to keep the headshot and resume on your audition profile up to date.

What the posting asks for depends on the role. Across the notices we read, the pieces come up again and again:

• A short song cut. A 2021 Disney Cruise Line call asked singers to prepare the best 16 bars of your choice, with sheet music and other styles ready if needed.
• A dance combination. A 2025 Equity chorus call for Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage at Walt Disney World asked dancers to come prepared to learn a musical theatre combination, in fitted clothes that show your silhouette.
• Sides, for acting roles. In a 2019 Walt Disney World call, vocalists brought 16 bars of musical theatre, while for actors, sides were provided.
• A video first. Some calls now start online. Universal Orlando’s casting call for Epic Universe, as reported by WDWNT, required a headshot, resume, full-length photo, and an audition video link.

Notices change from year to year and from show to show, so treat these as examples, not rules. The habit that transfers is reading every line of the posting before you prepare a note of anything.

Theme parks: what casting looks for

Disney’s FAQ tells singers to choose songs that show their personality “within the style of the show,” and puts the company’s priority plainly: “We’re a storytelling company!” The note is to tell the story of the song, not just hit the notes.

Stamina and range come up in the notices too. A 2026 Walt Disney World notice for the Dapper Dans says all roles highlight the need for vocal stamina. Another 2026 notice, for the Voices of Liberty, lists sight singing and “quick-study memorization skills” among the requirements.

That last phrase is worth noticing. A notice that asks for quick study wants to know you can take new material and make it yours in a hurry. The Voices of Liberty notice was casting sub roles as well as full-time ones, and a sub may have to step into a show on short notice. If a call sends you material, how fast and how well you learn it is part of the audition.

Character and atmosphere roles

Not every park role is a stage role. Parks also cast costumed characters, atmosphere performers, puppeteers, and scare actors, and those calls often look nothing like a musical audition. For Halloween Horror Nights in 2023, Universal Orlando asked for a slate video against a solid-color wall with three-quarters of the body in frame, where you state your name and height and then do a slow 360-degree turn with your arms out. WDWNT’s report also notes that incomplete submissions were not considered.

For video calls like that, follow the framing instructions to the letter. Our guide on how to slate for a self-tape covers the basics of a clean slate.

Cruise ships: how the calls run

The cruise calls we read centered on singing and dancing, and Disney Cruise Line also casts actors and character performers. A 2021 Norwegian Cruise Line notice on BroadwayWorld said singer/dancers must submit a vocal and dance reel to be considered. Those called back after their vocal appointment stayed for the dance portion, and some vocalists stayed for a movement callback.

The same notice said cast members should be at the peak of their fitness levels and listed gymnastics, aerial work, tumbling, and partnering as a plus. Even if you come in as a singer, expect to move. If the dance call is what scares you, our dance call tips for actors walk you through learning a combination in chunks.

Robert Dean Hertenstein, Norwegian Cruise Line’s director of entertainment production, gave a set of tips to Dance Informa in 2015 that still read well:

• Present yourself polished, but don’t come dressed as the role: “We really want to see the person.”
• Use a real headshot: “Not like a selfie,” as he put it.
• Keep the resume to highlights; he doesn’t need your complete history.
• Stay open to roles other than the one you came for: “You don’t want to pigeonhole yourself.”
• Keep video auditions short, no more than five minutes.

Build a short book you can trust

Theme park and cruise calls reward a small, well-chosen set of material over a big one you half know. A practical core for most calls looks like this:

• Two 16-bar cuts in contrasting styles, for example one musical theater and one pop or rock, each marked clearly for the pianist.
• A 32-bar version of at least one of them, in case the room wants more.
• One short monologue, timed to well under any limit, for calls that ask actors for spoken material.
• A current headshot and a one-page resume, printed and uploaded.
• A full-length photo and a clean slate video, ready to attach.

Disney’s FAQ asks singers to bring music in several styles and to prepare it so the pages don’t fall off the piano. For cutting and marking, see our guides on how to cut 16 bars and building a musical theater audition book. For spoken pieces, the monologue library is a good place to start looking for something short.

Learn short material fast

Sides and provided material are where these calls catch people out. Some calls provide sides or material, and you may not get long with them. Short material is easy to read and hard to own, and the difference shows in the room.

The fix is to test yourself instead of rereading. Read the sides once for the story, then cover your lines and say each one from the other character’s cue. Check, fix the misses, and go again. Do it out loud, at performance volume, because words you’ve only mouthed are easier to lose under nerves.

Offbook is built for this kind of fast prep. Upload the sides as a PDF or a photo, pick your role, and realistic voices read the other characters, then wait for your line before they go on. You can hide your lines, or swap them for first-letter cues, and run the scene from memory until you no longer need the cues.

On the way to the audition, you can listen to your scenes on your phone in Offbook, with your own lines left as silent gaps to fill in. If you only need a quick pass on a speech, our free line memorizer turns it into first-letter cues with no account. Our guide on how to cold read for auditions covers what to do when there’s no prep time at all.

Contract basics to check before you sign

A park or ship offer can mean moving, or living at sea for months, so read the contract as carefully as you prepared the audition. Start with the rules at sea.

On ships covered by the Maritime Labour Convention, its rules apply to performers too. The International Labour Organization’s Maritime Labour Convention FAQ says the convention covers everyone working on board, naming “entertainers, singers” explicitly, whether they’re hired by the shipowner or through a subcontractor. It says each worker needs a clear written agreement, that the worker and the shipowner each keep a signed original, and that seafarers have a basic right to be repatriated at no cost to themselves. The detailed rules come from the country the ship is registered in.

One point in that FAQ may matter if you’re hired through an entertainment company rather than the cruise line. It says even someone working for a concessionaire on a cruise ship still needs an agreement signed by the shipowner or its representative. So if your offer comes from an entertainment company rather than the cruise line, ask what you’ll sign with the ship.

Here’s what to look for, and ask about, before you sign:

• Length and dates. When the contract starts and ends, and whether rehearsal is included. A 2025 Disney Cruise Line listing on Dance.NYC described a typical contract as up to 6 weeks of rehearsal and 6 months onboard, with rehearsal in Toronto.
• Who signs with you. Whether your agreement is with the cruise line or an entertainment company, and what you’ll sign with the ship itself.
• Where rehearsal happens, and who pays to get you there and back.
• Your job title and duties. The UK’s guidance on seafarers’ agreements, MGN 477, lists the capacity you’ll work in as a required item, along with wages and how they’re paid, hours of work, paid leave, health protection, and your repatriation entitlement.
• Getting home. When you’re entitled to repatriation, and in what circumstances you’d have to pay for it.
• Time to read it. The same UK guidance says seafarers must have the chance to examine the agreement and seek advice before signing. Ask for that time, wherever the ship is registered.
• Union status, at a park. Some park shows are union work. Actors’ Equity has a Disney World agreement covering theatrical performers at Walt Disney World, running until September 2027, and recent Walt Disney World notices say performers can apply for Equity membership once they sign.

None of this is legal advice, and rules differ by country, company, and contract. But if a clause on this list is missing or unclear, ask before you sign. That’s a normal question, and a professional company will expect it.

A plan for the week of the call

• Read the posting twice and list every required item: cuts, styles, shoes, photos, video specs, deadlines, and callback dates you must be free for.
• Pick your two cuts and mark clean copies in your key.
• Film the slate and any video pieces in the framing the notice asks for, and check the upload works before the deadline.
• If sides arrive, learn them out loud from cues each day, not by rereading.
• Pack dance shoes and clothes even for a singing call, plus water, a snack, and a warm layer.
• After the call, check your email and your spam folder. Disney’s FAQ notes that offers can come days, weeks, or months later.

If you’d like to see how open calls run before you go, our guide to what to expect at an open call covers sign-ups, the wait, and the minute in the room.

Questions actors ask

How do cruise ship auditions work?

Many start with an online profile or a booked appointment for a specific posting. At an in-person call, singers usually sing a short cut and may be kept for a movement or dance call; dancers learn combinations. Some calls ask for a vocal and dance reel first. Offers can include a rehearsal period before you join the ship; one Disney Cruise Line listing described up to six weeks of it.

What do theme parks look for in auditions?

Disney’s FAQ and recent Walt Disney World notices point to performers who tell a story clearly, have the stamina for the job, and pick up material quickly. Notices ask for things like vocal stamina, sight singing, and quick-study memorization, and some roles need a clean slate video with your height and a full turn. Read the posting for the exact list.

What should I prepare for a cruise ship audition?

Two contrasting song cuts of about 16 bars with clear sheet music, a longer version of one, dance clothes and shoes, a current headshot, and a one-page resume. If the call is for actors, have a short monologue ready and be prepared for sides. Check the notice for reels, photos, and age requirements.

Do I need to be a dancer to audition for a cruise ship?

Not always, but expect to move. Norwegian’s 2021 notice, for example, kept some vocalists for a movement callback. If dance isn’t your strength, show that you learn quickly, keep your own counts, and stay in time.

How can I learn sides quickly for a theme park audition?

Test yourself rather than rereading: cover your lines and say each one from the cue, out loud, then check. In Offbook, you can rehearse on your laptop with the full script on a big screen, and listen to your scenes on your phone anywhere, including on the way to the audition.