Words casting uses

What the notice, the monitor and the room mean when they say it.

16 bars: A short cut of a song, about thirty seconds. The usual ask at an EPA when the notice says “a short song.” Count the bars of the music, not the lines of lyric.
32 bars: A longer cut, about a minute. Asked for at callbacks and some open calls.
Accompanist: The pianist in the room. Bring your music in a binder, cut and marked clearly, in the key you sing it.
Alternate list: At an EPA, the list for Equity members without an appointment. Names are called as time opens up. The monitor runs it.
Appointment: A set time to be seen, given by the casting office or booked through Equity's sign-up. Not the same as walking in to an open call.
Book (your book): The binder of songs you bring to every audition, ready to hand to the pianist.
Breakdown: The list of roles a production is casting, with each one's age range, voice and description.
Callback: Being asked back to be seen again for the same show. Sometimes more than once.
Casting director: The person, or the office, the producers hire to find the cast. Often the face behind the table.
Chorus call (ECC): Equity Chorus Call. A call for the ensemble. Singers and dancers usually have separate days.
Cold read: Reading sides you've had little or no time with.
Contract: The Equity agreement the job is under, which sets the minimum pay and the rules. The notice names it: Production, LORT, LOA, Off Broadway and so on.
CORST: Council on Resident Stock Theatres: the Equity contract for many summer stock companies.
Cut: The part of a song you'll sing, marked in your music. Also used for monologues: a cut-down version.
Dance call: A call where a combination is taught and you dance it in groups. Bring the shoes the notice asks for.
EMC: Equity Membership Candidate: a path toward joining Equity. Equity has changed how actors join in recent years, so check Equity's own page for where it stands.
EPA: Equity Principal Audition. A call for principal roles, run under Equity's rules, with a monitor running the day.
Final callback: The last round, often with the director, the music team and sometimes the producers in the room.
Headshot and résumé: Your photo, with your résumé stapled to the back and trimmed to 8 by 10. Bring one even when you've sent one.
Hold: The production wants you kept free on certain dates. It isn't an offer yet.
LOA: Letter of Agreement: an Equity contract written for one theatre or one kind of production. LOA-NYC is the New York version.
LORT: League of Resident Theatres: the Equity contract most big regional theatres use, graded A to D by the size of the house and its box office.
Monitor: The person at an EPA or ECC who runs the sign-up, the lists and the line, and keeps the day to Equity's rules.
Off Broadway contract: The Equity contract for New York theatres of 100 to 499 seats.
Open call: A call anyone can come to without an appointment. On the hub, any call that isn't an EPA or ECC.
Pinned: Asked to stay. They're thinking about you for something. Not a promise.
Production contract: The Equity contract for Broadway and first-class tours, with the highest minimums.
Self-tape: An audition you film yourself and send in, with a reader off camera.
Sides: The pages of the script you're given to read. Sometimes songs too.
Slate: Saying your name (and sometimes your height or where you're based) to camera at the start of a tape.
SPT: Small Professional Theatre: an Equity contract for smaller houses, graded by size.
Submission: Sending your materials or a tape when the notice asks, instead of walking in. The hub shows these with the day they're due.
Typed out: Sent home before singing, on look or height alone. It's about the show, not you.
Understudy: The actor who goes on when someone in the cast can't. A call can be for understudies even when the roles are cast.
Work session: A callback where they work on the material with you, to see how you take direction.