If I create a group on Facebook that is closed, can people who aren't my friends request to join?

[JohnnyO]

I am Stage Managing a play and I want to make a group to communicate with the cast about schedule changes, call times ,etc. But I don't want to have to friend all 40 of them to do it. If I create a group and set its privacy to closed. AND check that only Admins (me) can approve requests to join, will the cast be able to request to join and have me accept them without being my Facebook friend.

[abraXus]

a closed group means that they have to be invited in order to be a member, and other people wont be able to see it

[DMR]

No. I have my own closed group for freelancing stagehands looking for work. I can't seem to find any other way to add them to my group other than to add them as my friend first. Otherwise, in the search box for friends on the right, their name will not appear if not on my personal page. Another way around this issue is within my personal page I have placed this group into my "Colleagues" group. When I place a status I do not want them to see, I click custom under the status bar and hit except colleagues, and this can be set permanant. There is not much to hide about my life from them. But that is an example.