Audition and Casting Information
Audition Schedule For A Grand Night for Singing, Daughters of Leda & Men on Boats
Initial auditions will take place on August 29th.
Callbacks:
Men on Boats- August 30
A Grand Night for Singing- August 31
Daughters of Leda- September 5
Auditions are now closed. Please see the SM team.
A Grand Night For Singing
Auditions are now closed. Please see the SM team.
Directed by Gary John LaRosa
Music Directed by Lauri Young
For the auditions, please bring in 16 bars of a Golden Age musical song (1940s-1960s) that demonstrates your vocal range and your acting ability. You may also choose a contemporary musical theatre song that replicates the Golden Age style. Have a second contrasting selection available which we may or may not need to hear. And have fun!!
CASTING BREAKDOWN
MARTIN – Baritone (Ab2-F4)
LYNNE – Soprano (G3-Bb5)
VICKI – Mezzo with belt (F3-Ab5)
JASON – Tenor (B2-G4)
ALYSON – Alto/Belt (F3-E5)
Note: It is likely the cast will be augmented in size. This will be determined during the casting process. Looking for a diverse cast of fine singers (dance ability is a plus) who bring style, elegance and humor to the material. We encourage performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to submit.
Summary:
Taste and imagination, the two key ingredients for a first-rate revue, abound in this fresh take on the Rodgers & Hammerstein canon, conceived by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie. Over three decades after the duo’s final collaboration, The Sound of Music, took Broadway by storm, this new R&H musical opened the 1994 Broadway season with flair and distinction, garnering wildly enthusiastic notices and earning two Tony nominations, including Best Musical.
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein may never have imagined “Shall We Dance?” as a comic pas de deux for a towering beauty and her diminutive admirer, nor might they have suspected that one day a lovelorn young lad might pose the musical question, “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” But that’s precisely the kind of invention lavished upon this new revue, with innovative musical arrangements, including a sultry Andrews Sisters-esque “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair,” a swingin’ “Honeybun” worthy of the Modernaires, and a jazzy “Kansas City,” proving how terrifically up-to-date the remarkable songs of R&H remain.
History:
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s A Grand Night For Singing premiered on Broadway at the Criterion Center Stage Right on November 17, 1993. Directed by Walter Bobbie, the production featured Victoria Clark, Jason Graae, Alyson Reed, Martin Vidnovic and Lynne Wintersteller
Auditions are now closed. Please see the SM team.
Daughters of Leda by Remy Van Collen
Auditions are now closed. Please see the SM team.
Directed by Remy Van Collen
ABOUT THE SHOW: Daughters of Leda is a contemporary retelling of the events of the Iliad and Oresteia focused around the Three Princesses of Sparta: Helen, Clytemnestra, and Phoebe. Following the young women as they grow up and grow apart, the play traces their paths of love, loss, vengeance, justice, and forgiveness as their names and stories become myth and legend.
If you would like to read the play prior to auditions to better decide which characters you would like to be considered for, you can find the latest draft here.
For your initial audition, prepare a 1 minute cut of your favorite contemporary monologue. If you are auditioning for both Men on Boats and Daughters of Leda, you will use this monologue for both productions in a joint audition. Do not worry about presenting material that expresses any particular gender, nor that avoids it. Perform something that you feel great about playing.
If you are in search of a monologue, some playwrights to consider would be: Halle Feiffer, Jenny Rachel Weiner, Jen Silverman, Lucas Hnath, Sarah Ruhl, and Theresa Rebeck. You are certainly not required to pull from any of these playwrights’ works, but they can be a good jumping off point if you are looking.
For the callbacks, you will be given sides for the specific character you were called back for. You will read with each other, and you may be asked to read another role that you have not prepared.
This is a workshop production, meaning although there is a complete script, the piece is very much still a work in progress. I am seeking a cast of playful, creative, insightful collaborators to bring this to life. I am looking to see you in these auditions as well as your take on these characters. Let yourself shine!
The roles are open to female identifying, trans-identifying, non-binary, genderfluid and/or non-gender conforming people.
ROLES:
Clytemnestra: Princess of Sparta and Queen of Mycenae, Helen’s Twin Sister. Entirely mortal. She is not a monster, she has just been greatly deceived.
Helen: Princess and ultimately Queen of Sparta, Clytemnestra’s Twin Sister. Daughter of Zeus. Seeking satisfaction, incapable of settling for contentment. Is it so wrong for her to want to be loved?
Phoebe: Princess of Sparta and Priestess of Artemis. Entirely mortal. A rambunctious youth turned reluctant peace keeper. She is done being responsible for her family’s screw ups.
Leda: One time Queen of Sparta, mother of Clytemnestra, Helen, and Phoebe. Devoted to her family and her kingdom. Wily, cunning, and capable of operating beyond her limitations. All of her daughters are beautiful.
Artemis: Goddess of the Hunt, Phoebe’s Patron, and perhaps more. She embodies the hunt itself: calculated, wild, mutable, and vicious with purpose. She is not so perfect, she falters and fails just like mortals do.
Electra: Clytemnestra’s second daughter. She feels slighted by her mother and like a mirror of her father. She believes sacrifices must be made for the good of the nation.
Hermione: Helen’s only daughter. Spent most of her life waiting for her mother’s safe return. Loving, sweet, sees the best in people. She has the chance to break the cycle. (May double with Aphrodite)
Iphigenia: Clytemnestra’s first daughter. She is honor bound and wants only to meet expectations. Diplomatic and well reasoned. She is not perfect, and she wishes you didn’t expect her to be. (May double with Cassandra)
Aphrodite: Goddess of Love. Self-assured, on a mission. She owes a mortal a favor, something she never intends to do again. Why not love herself? There’s so much to love! (May double with Hermione)
Cassandra: Princess of Troy and Cursed Prophetess of Apollo. Unlimited sight of the future, never to be believed. Incisive as a knife. Justice. Vengeance. Personally, she doesn’t really see the difference. (May double with Iphigenia)
SETTING:
12th Century, BCE, The Isles of Greece, particularly Sparta and Mycenae
Men On Boats by Jacklyn Backhaus
Auditions are now closed. Please see the SM team.
Directed by Theresa McCarthy
Before your audition, read the play available here as PDF. Decide which roles are right for you. Make decisions about who you would like to play.
For your initial audition, prepare a 1-minute cut of your favorite contemporary monologue. If you are auditioning for both Men on Boats and Daughters of Leda, you will use this monologue for both productions in a joint audition. Do not worry about presenting material that expresses any particular gender, nor that avoids it. Perform something that you feel great about playing.
For the callbacks, you will be given sides to choose from. Prepare the sides for the role or roles that you are trying for. You will read with each other, perhaps you will be asked to read another role that you have not prepared. There may also be a movement component to the callback, but it is not a dance call, so no special clothing is required.
The roles are open to female identifying, trans-identifying, genderfluid and/or non-gender conforming people. The roles Powell, Dunn, Sumner, Old Shady, Bradley, Goodman, Hall Hawkins are open to people of every ethnic and racial identity. The roles of OG Howland and Seneca Howland are open solely to BIPOC identifying individuals.
NOTES ON CASTING from the playwright
The characters in MEN ON BOATS were historically cisgender white males. The cast should be made up entirely of people who are not. I’m talking about racially diverse actors who are female- identifying, trans-identifying, genderfluid, and/or non-gender-conforming.
It is my strong preference that Tsauwiat and The Bishop (so thusly O.G. and Seneca Howland) be played by Native cast members. If there are no Native actors in your production, the Howlands/Utes must at least be cast as non-white.
Roles:
John Wesley Powell: one-armed leader of the expedition. Our leader-a one-armed crazyface with a fiery temper and an excitable soul. Powell hates suits and loves adventures.
William Dunn: hunter and trapper. A hunter with long black hair. Dunn wears beaver skin always.
John Colton Sumner: former soldier and current explorer. Sumner is widely known to be the Bear Grylls of the 1860s. Sumner will just go snowshoeing through the Rocky Mountains in winter because “no one had done it yet.”
Old Shady: Powell’s older brother and Civil War vet. The oldest crew member on the mission and does not like people. Grew up in from Wisconsin
Bradley: Lieutenant, manic with youth. Is 19 and genuinely loves people. His first expedition. Grew up in Wisconsin.
OG Howland (and Tsauwiat): printer and hunter. The O stands for Oramel. Says that his friends call him OG, also that he has no friends. The Howlands are tobacco-addled brothers.
Seneca Howland (and The Bishop): OG’s quiet little brother. People think he and OG are twins but they are not. The Howlands are tobacco-addled brothers.
Frank Goodman: (and Mr Asa): British, so excited. Red faced from exertion and and because of a pale, sunburn prone complexion. Gets tired under exertion.
Hall: mapmaker, old soul, respected, hard worker, serious, detail oriented. Doesn’t have time for this shit.
Hawkins: the cook-prepares a number of meals. Resourceful, always thinking about menus. Can make eggs all styles.
Tsauwiat: a Ute chief
The Bishop: Tsauwiat’s wife
Mr Asa: a dessert settler
SETTING
On boats in 1869. Traversing the Green & Colorado Rivers from Wyoming to a Big Canyon on the government’s first Sanctioned Expedition.
Auditions are now closed. Please see the SM team.