How a NYC theater company uses Jotform to foster inclusivity

With a mission to put larger bodies in leading roles and a lot of data to parse through, Broadway Bods needed a platform that was scalable and versatile. Which is why it turned to Jotform.

Creating opportunities for plus-size actors

In 2021, Grace Rosehill posted a question on her Instagram story. She asked her followers in the plus-size community if they would like to participate in a size-inclusive theater company. Rosehill, who has been singing and performing since she was six, knows that fatphobia and size stigma cause a lot of talented actors and playwrights to go unnoticed. Especially in a performing arts hub like New York City.

After garnering some initial interest from Instagram, Rosehill started Broadway Bods, New York City’s first size-inclusive theater company. Broadway Bods’ motto is that all bodies are good bodies, and their mission is to put larger bodies in leading roles.

The need for a size-inclusive theater company turned out to be pressing, as evidenced by the quick growth of Broadway Bods. Within a year, Rosehill went from having to fill roles herself to auditioning over 60 people for her company’s production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

Three platforms for one audition

Collecting audition applications from over 60 people is a production in and of itself. Each candidate is required to upload a resume, an MP4 of themselves singing, and a headshot. Candidates also have to answer short questions, like “What roles are you interested in?” and “Why do you want to work with Broadway Bods?”

Before Jotform, Broadway Bods used a combination of SignUpGenius (an online signup tool), Google Forms, and Google Sheets to collect audition materials. Rosehill or another member of the organization’s board had to download each attachment one at a time, then store the data in a separate space from the initial application.

Sorting through over 60 audition applications this way took hours.

Rosehill and her board knew they would have to make some changes to the process if they wanted to sustain their growth. Rosehill’s friend, a former board member, found Jotform (thanks, Molly!), and Broadway Bods hasn’t looked back.

We wanted to refine our systems and find what was actually going to work for us better in the following season, because we didn’t really anticipate that much growth within one year. So yeah, year two is when we brought in Jotform and started using it for all of the things.

Grace Rosehill

Broadway Bods case study results at a glance

Secured roles for 35 actors

Broadway Bods has used Jotform to secure 35 roles for its actors.

Saved 20+ hours per month

Jotform saves Broadway Bods 20+ hours per month during auditions.

Received 100+ submissions

Jotform helps Broadway Bods respond individually to 100+ audition applications for every show. 

Streamlining auditions with Jotform Tables

Broadway Bods started simply with Jotform, using a single form to collect audition applications. But one Jotform was all they needed. Once the submissions started coming in, Rosehill quickly learned that she could use Jotform Tables to categorize audition candidates, take notes, and require certain fields.

Rosehill found the Cards view in Jotform Tables particularly effective, because it lets her see the headshots of all the actors that are up for roles.

“We have cards of the people so we can see their headshot and then their name and the roles we want to call them back for. We have different tabs with the people who are called back for these roles, the people who are only called back for this role, or multiple [roles]. Being able to toggle through that was really, really helpful, because it had everybody’s contact information right there.”

Creating separate tabs within Tables has been a huge help in sorting data. The casting team will use tabs to separate out who needs to come in for callbacks and who they want to audition for other roles. Separating information with tabs makes it easy for the casting team to respond to everyone, even if they’re not selected for a role.

“If we’re calling someone back, that’s a different tab. If we’re not calling people back, we’ll have them in a tab. So then we can take all of those emails, and we always try to respond to people, even if we’re not casting them, because we want them to come back,” Rosehill says.

Requiring fields not only streamlines auditions, it shows the casting team who can take direction well.

“So if people are leaving things out or not doing our application correctly it does also help us kind of weed out someone that would probably be difficult to communicate with. So if our style of communication is already not working for you, that also kind of helps us see things as well.”

Now the process for auditions is much more efficient. Candidates fill out the audition form prior to auditioning, then they get scheduled for an audition. After the audition, the casting team uses Jotform Tables to take notes on who they would like to invite for a callback.

All the data for auditions now lives in one place, which has allowed Broadway Bods to go from three platforms to one. Rosehill says Jotform saves the team hours at a time, and when they’re actively doing auditions, it saves them a full day of work.

“Hours, because [of the time it would take] going through every individual email, downloading the attachments of each submission and their headshot, their resume, and all of that stuff. [When] we used a SignUpGenius form . . . it was like three different platforms we had, and it was a whole thing, whereas now we can do it all from one thing.”

Flexibility and customization in the Form Builder

Jotform’s many customizations have made it easy for Broadway Bods to tailor audition materials to their liking. Customizing and branding audition materials has given Broadway Bods free advertising and helps actors know they’re in the right place when they fill out an audition application.

“We’ll either have our logo at the top or we have the show promotional materials. We’ve been able to put [those] in so it’s all very consistent across our social media. And then, you click on the Jotform and you see the same pictures. That usually helps people, like, I’m in the right place. So, yeah, we’ve definitely been able to use those features.”

As audition candidates often have to upload multiple files in different formats, using a platform that supports that functionality is very important for Broadway Bods.

“I just recently found out that when you are asking people to upload a file, you can change the file type [in Jotform] just by typing it in,” says Rosehill. “So we’re doing video submissions for our current musical going up. So I just went in and changed it to [ask for a] movie, MP4, or WAV file. And that was really cool to just have that feature there. So the fact that we can build in pretty much everything customizable to the form . . . [is] super.”

The future of Broadway Bods

When asked where she sees Broadway Bods in five years, Rosehill says she wants to create as many opportunities as she can for her community.

Bringing in new directors and writers and all of these wonderful humans that you know haven’t necessarily gotten these opportunities before. That’s my goal. Always just to provide as many opportunities as possible.

Grace Rosehill

To create as many opportunities as it can, Broadway Bods would love to secure more donations and grants. Staying true to its commitment to inclusivity, Broadway Bods doesn’t require performers to pay or sell anything to be a part of its productions. Check out Broadway Bods’ donation page if you’re interested in supporting body diversity in the performing arts.

The future of Broadway Bods is bright. The company is starting to work on original productions by plus-size artists, beginning with Rascals, a comedy about two raccoons who live in a New York City dump and the chaos that ensues when they kill the king raccoon. This theater company is going places, and Jotform is excited to be a part of it.