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One of my undergrad degrees was in theatre, with a focus in Shakespeare! I think it's safe to say that theatre changed my life too. I worked teaching Midsummer to teens at The Shakespeare Theatre of Washington DC (the Folger's original company) and I think it's a great way to involve young students in Shakespeare early on! Kudos to his teacher.
The process usually depends on the director. When I was doing it, we'd ask for prospective actors to prepare a monologue, and for callbacks we'd provide "sides," or printed papers with a few scenes on them. The high-school theatre director is probably prone to just having an open call with "sides" printed. It might be a private audition (it was in college) or it might be a public audition (it was in high school, for me.) If he's going to get the audition sides beforehand, make sure he studies them pretty hard and is comfortable with every character.
If he doesn't get anything in advance, he needs to make best friends with a copy of the play. If he doesn't have one, buy him one now. There are some very nice youth-oriented editions that have clear notes (for instance, some have facing pages, one with play text and another with youth-oriented notes.) Introduce him to sparknotes.com, a helpful source for character explanations in plays. (Make him read the play first, though-- the site is a smarter version of Cliff Notes.) You might consider renting a DVD of a production. The Kevin Kline/Michelle Pfeiffer/Ally McBeal production isn't great but he'd get an understanding of the playfulness of the piece.
Tell him that no matter what happens in the audition, don't start over again and again. Don't apologize afterward, just smile and thank the director for their time.
For a student play, beyond a basic comfort with the language, a director is probably looking for someone who is having fun!
And wish him the best of... broken legs... from me!
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