Auditions for RAGTIME THE MUSICAL
AUDITION DATES: Monday, July 10 and Tuesday, July 11
SIGN IN: 6:30pm. Auditions begin at 7:00pm
AUDITION LOCATION: Sand Lake Center for the Arts. 2880 NY 43, Averill Park NY 12018
Please prepare 16-32 bars of music from a Broadway show. Please bring sheet music in the appropriate key – no acapella/CD accompaniment. We will also hold a brief movement audition following the vocal auditions. Some auditioners may be asked to stay and read from the script or sing from the show. We are also hoping to have some members of the cast play music in parts of the show (though this is NOT a requirement to audition). If you play an instrument, please indicate this at auditions.
All auditioners should bring a list of conflicts from July – October to the auditions.
Production dates: October 13-22, 2023
Tech week October 7-12 (No conflicts)
At the dawn of a new century, everything is changing… and anything is possible. Set in the volatile melting pot of turn-of-the-century New York, three distinctly American tales are woven together – that of a stifled upper-class wife, a determined Jewish immigrant, and a daring young Harlem musician – united by their courage, compassion, and belief in the promise of the future. The show also weaves in immediately recognizable historical figures such as Henry Ford, Emma Goldman, Booker T. Washington and many others. Together, the cast confront history’s timeless contradictions of wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair… and what it means to live in America.
The show includes diverse music styling including ragtime rhythms of Harlem and Tin Pan Alley to the klezmer of the Lower East Side, from bold brass band marches to delicate waltzes, from up-tempo banjo tunes to period parlor songs and expansive anthems.
Production Information:
The rehearsal schedule will be built around conflicts presented at auditions and based around the events/shows scheduled at the venue. Minimal rehearsals in July thru August and the production team is willing to work around vacations. Rehearsal frequency will pick up in late August/early September. Auditioners must be available for Tech Week thru Closing Night.
The production team is looking to cast around 12-20 cast members. Leading and supporting players will also be in the show’s ensemble in this production. In short, everyone will be actively participating throughout the performance.
Available roles:
Coalhouse Walker Jr. – male presenting character/Black performer – a proud and talented pianist (doesn’t necessarily have to play in the production but performers who play are encouraged as well). A Black man who believes that he can take part in the new America and will be treated fairly.
Sarah – female presenting character/Black performer – a washwoman who is beautiful and filled with a strong will to live, fueled by an innocent spirit. Falls deeply in love with Coalhouse after much resistance.
Mother – female presenting character/White performer – the consummate wife and mother. A kind woman with incredible moral fiber. Refined, intelligent, graceful, and open minded.
Father – male presenting character/White performer – Mother’s professionally successful husband. Fancies himself an amateur explorer, he is commanding and attractive. Enjoys being the family breadwinner, a traditionalist.
Younger Brother – male presenting character/White performer – Mother’s younger brother is an erratic and passionate soul, a firework waiting to be lit. Influenced greatly by Goldman’s teachings.
Little Boy – male presenting/White performer/child (approx 8-12) – Mother and Father’s son who is open-hearted and curious with inexplicable clairvoyance. Never passes judgment on others.
Grandfather – male presenting/White performer – Mother’s patrician father. He is a retired professor, and easily irritated by nearly everything.
Tateh – male presenting/any race – a Latvian immigrant who wears the trials and tribulations of his past on his sleeve, but remains optimistic that he will be successful. Full of genuine drive and heart. He lives for his little daughter.
Little Girl – female presenting/child/any race (approx 7-10) – Tateh’s daughter and a vulnerable child in a brand-new home, she has lost her mother and is guarded and shy. She clings to her father.
Booker T. Washington – male presenting/Black performer – brilliant social activist who is an eloquent gentleman with no patiences for Black Americans leading less than exemplary lives.
Emma Goldman – female presenting/any race – social activist originally from Russia, she is a leader, a fearless advocate for the oppressed.
Evelyn Nesbit – female presenting/any race – beautiful Vaudeville performer who was thrust into the limelight after the high profile murder of her lover, the entire world is her stage.
Harry Houdini – male presenting/any race – the famous magician, originally from Hungary. With notable physical ability, he stands as a symbol of the American Dream.
Willie Conklin – male presenting/White performer – the fire chief of New Rochelle and a racist/bigot.
Other characters and ensemble members include historical figures, soloists, baseball fans, Coalhouse supporters, firemen, immigrants, citizens of New Rochelle, reporters, vacationers, citizens of Harlem, and many more.
Characters and Notes on Casting:
- Using a smaller cast than traditionally produced means that every person in the show will play multiple roles and serve as the shows ensemble
- Some individuals may play multiple roles listed below and serve in the ensemble
- The director is seeking a diverse cast of performers to play these roles
- Some characters have a gender or race specified in the script (if so, this is listed) – otherwise roles can be played by actors of any race – all races/ethnicities/gender expressions welcomed and encouraged to audition
Production director: Eric Shovah ericshovah@performingsmarts.com) (Please reach out to Eric with any questions) If you are interested in auditioning, but unavailable on the nights of the audition, please contact Eric Shovah by June 30 (at the latest) and the production staff will make every attempt to accommodate your request.
SLCA-CTP can be reached at 518-674-2007