[e-drive][THE RED BARN THEATRE AUDITION NOTICE - 2004 SEASON]
Darlene Bullard
dbullard at caea.com
Tue Jan 6 09:41:07 EST 2004
Please direct all responses and inquiries directly to the theatre or
association listed in the e-drive notice below.
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THE RED BARN THEATRE AUDITION NOTICE - 2004 SEASON
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DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION IS MONDAY, JANUARY 12TH 2004 at 5pm.
1.Weekend Comedy by Jeanne and Sam Bobrick
2.Little Shop of Horrors by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken
3.Goodbye, Piccadilly
4.Jasper Station by Norm Foster and Steve Thomas
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1. Weekend Comedy by Jeanne and Sam Bobrick
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Director: Jordan Merkur Set Designer: Mary Spyrakis
Two couples are booked into the same cabin on the same weekend by
mistake. Generations collide, the sparks fly and humour abounds as each
couple gleans insight and inspiration from the other.
Rehearsals: begin May 31 - rehearsing for 2 weeks in Toronto
Performances: June 16 to July 3 - Tuesday through Saturday - opening
night June 18
Casting Requirements:
Frank - cast
Peggy: (late 40's, early 50's) Frank's wife of 23 years and mother of
3. She is bored being married to her middle class husband who is set in
his ways and preoccupied by his office supply business. She longs for
passion, adventure and romance. She's sarcastic and self-deprecating.
She claims that no matter how much she spends on clothing, she still
looks like someone's mother.
Tony: (late 20's) He works for his father buying real estate, drives a
Porsche and has had the world handed to him on a silver platter. He's
handsome, fit, self-assured and used to always winning. He can be cocky
and confrontational. After 5 years of therapy, he fully accepts himself.
After 3 years of dating Jill, he is still terrified of marriage.
Jill: (early 20's) She's a successful model, good natured and sweet and
very in love with Tony. Inspired by Frank and Peggy's marriage, despite
their quarrels and shortfalls, Jill decides that this week-end, Tony
must propose to her or she'll end their relationship. She remains
determined that Tony decide, despite his fears and apprehension.
Audition Requirements: Sides will be provided from the script in
advance.
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2. Little Shop of Horrors by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken
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Director/Choreographer: Marc Richard
Music Director: Michael Jones
Set Designer: Jeff Johnston Collins
This is a very stylized piece - it takes place in the 1950's. It is a
satire of many things from that period: science fiction, "B" movies, and
musical comedy itself. Although the situations in which characters find
themselves are over the top and "out there" the characters themselves
should be played with the utmost of sincerity and honesty.
Rehearsals: begin June 21 - rehearsing for 2 weeks in Toronto
Performances: July 8 to July 24 - Tuesday to Saturday - opening night
July 9
Casting Requirements:
Seymour - Cast
The Plant Puppeteer - Cast
Audrey - (20-30's) the bleached blond secret love of Seymour. If you
took Judy Holiday, Carol Channing, Marilyn Monroe, removed their
education and feelings of self worth, dressed them in spiked heels and a
low-cut black dress and then shook them up in a test tube to extract
what's sweetest and most vulnerable - that'd be Audrey.
Mushnick - (50's) A failure of an East Side florist. He is a tired,
bossy but cute New York Jewish man. He is an opportunist but very
likeable. This character needs to sing (baritone) as well as move well.
Orin - (20-30's) A tall, dark, handsome dentist with a black leather
jacket and sadistic tendencies. He is an egotistical pretty boy,
dressed up like a greaser but thinking like an insurance salesman and
talking like a radio announcer. This actor also plays many other small
cameo roles, he should have a facility with accents, and a strong
baritone voice with a good falsetto.
Voice of the Plant - this actor will work offstage on a microphone. The
sound is a cross between Otis Redding, Barry White and Wolfman Jack.
The voice is street-smart funky, conniving and evil - Rhythm and Blues
answer to Richard III.
Urchins - three female street urchins (multiracial) who function as
participants in the action and a Greek Chorus. They are young, hip,
smart and the only people in the cast who really know what's going on.
All three must sing and move well and be able to hold harmony parts.
The three are Crystal, (Pop Soprano), Ronnette (Alto Belt) and Chiffon
(Mezzo Belt).
Audition Requirements: All should bring an up tempo and ballad with 1950
-60's rock feel, (accompanist will be provided), as well as a short
comic monologue (one minute or less).
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3. Goodbye, Piccadilly by Douglas Bowie
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Director: Jordan Merkur
Set Designer: Tanit Mendes
Bess Brickley and her husband "Brick" have happily owned a country inn
for 43 years. Brick has been the mayor of the town for over two decades
and has just received the order of Canada. When Brick dies suddenly,
Bess and her daughter get a shock at the extraordinary bequest he leaves
behind. The play questions how well we know the ones we love. Both
funny and touching, Bowie tells a compelling story as the clues
surrounding Brick's death fall into place.
Rehearsals: begin July 12 - rehearsing for 2 weeks in Toronto
Performances: July 28 to August 14 - Tuesday to Saturday - opening
night July 30
Casting Requirements:
Bess - cast
Brick - cast
Cecil McCooey - cast
Bobbie Brickley (45) - Bess and Brick's daughter. An athletic and trim
gym teacher, divorced twice and about to become divorced again. No
children. She tries to be level headed and strong. She can be acerbic
and sarcastic but can also be very caring and funny. She idolized her
father and spent her life looking for a man to measure up to him, only
now to discover that he may have been quite a different man than she
imagined.
Kitty McCooey (71) - from East London (accent required at audition).
She was an attractive singer for the soldiers in WW. II and in
flashbacks we hear her sing as a girl of 17. At 71, she is somewhat
frail and asthmatic. She's lead a difficult life with little financial
means as a single mother and it's taken its toll. Yet, she has tried to
remain positive and not complain. She is selfless, kind and avoids
conflict.
Audition Requirements:
1. Sides from the script will be provided in advance.
2. Actors auditioning for the role of Kitty will be asked to also
prepare a short standard 40's war tune of their choice, such as "I'll Be
Seeing You" to be sung acappella.
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4. Jasper Station by Norm Foster and Steve Thomas
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Director: Jordan Merkur
Music Director: Scott White
Choreographer: Nicola Pantin
Set Designer: David Wootten
This new musical comedy tells the story of five travelers, all at
crossroads in their lives, who are drawn together while waiting for a
train. It's a poignant exploration of how people connect with one
another and how we sometimes reveal our hopes and dreams more fully to
strangers that to those whom we love the most.
Rehearsals: begin August 2 - for 2 weeks in Toronto
Performances: August 18 - Sept 4, opening August 20
Casting Requirements :This musical requires singer/actors who move well
but need not be dancers.
Emiline White - cast
Bert Calvetti (50's or 60"s) - Baritone - low 'Bb" to high 'F':
Dedicated station manager. He loves to observe people and becomes
captivated by their stories. He calls himself a cantankerous old work
horse, but is in fact very charming. His wife left him 10 years
earlier because he had more time for the strangers that rode the train
than her. The actor playing Bert also plays other characters in the
travelers' stories.
Henry Keegan (31) - Tenor - low 'Bb' to high 'A": A hockey player - a
checking forward - a tough player who protects the star players. He
played for years in the minor league and just got called up to play for
the NHL. Though aggressive on the ice, he has a gentle and kind
demeanor and falls for his fellow traveler Nikki. He has been desperate
to please his father and make him proud for his whole life.
Sterling Mimms (late 30, early 40's) - Baritone - Low 'B' to high 'F':
An accountant. Bored with his job, he dreams of becoming a country
songwriter and has decided to go to Seattle rather than Nashville,
because there is less competition. He is neurotic and nervous and keeps
changing his mind about whether or not he should go.
Rebecca Townshend (20's) - Mezzo - low 'F#" to high 'E': An eager
reporter for a small town newspaper. She feels she is not taken
seriously by her boss and dreams of being a hard hitting journalist.
She is writing a story about her fellow travelers and learns the value
of being less pushy and a better observer.
Nikki Dunn - (30) Belter - low 'Bb' to high 'D': Tough and bitter, she
is pregnant and the father refuses to be involved. Angry at "the modern
world", she has chosen to escape to utopian Planet Soroyan, which she
read about in a brochure in a trendy restaurant. Guarded and cautious,
she still falls for Henry.
Audition Requirements
1. Sides will be provided from the script in advance
2. Sing one up-tempo song and one ballad - at least one song should
be comic. (An audition accompanist will be provided)
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*Please note - anyone selected to audition for Little Shop and Jasper
Station need only prepare songs as required for the Little Shop
audition.
Audition Dates and Locations:
January 26, 28, 30 - Bloor Street United Church (Bloor and Huron, just
east of Spadina)
Feb 2, 3, 4 - musical auditions - Tarragon Theatre (30 Bridgman Avenue)
Call Backs: Feb 9 and 11 - Tarragon Theatre
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION IS MONDAY, JANUARY 12TH 2004 at 5pm.
Auditions are by application only.
Equity and Non-Equity actors are welcome to apply.
Please submit your photo and resume to The Red Barn Theatre,
c/o Renee Blake, casting co-ordinator, 35 Fairwood Drive, Keswick
Ontario, L4P-3X6
Little Shop of Horrors and Jasper Station are available at the Toronto
Reference Library.
Weekend Comedy and Jasper Station are available at Theatre Books. (call
to confirm)
Goodbye, Piccadilly is not yet published.
Copies of all four scripts will be available for perusal at the
audition, but must stay on the premises.
For further information contact Renee Blake at 905-476-9584
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Canadian Actors' Equity Association
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Toronto, ON M5C 3C4
Tel: 416-867-9165
Fax: 416-867-9246
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