Auditions are coming up for three season shows — looking for actors, singers, dancers.
Will you grace the UMass Theater stages this school year? We’re auditioning for three productions this September, and we’re looking for talented, passionate performers to add to our cast lists.
Auditions for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Moors, and Between Tattoos: An Autobiomythography are scheduled for Sept. 14 & 15, 6:30-10:30. Callbacks will be Sept. 16 & 17.
Auditions for Spelling Bee and The Moors will be held jointly. Performers should prepare a 1 – 2 minute contemporary monologue and 16 bars of a song. An accompanist will be available for auditions.
To sign up for a 30-minute slot, see character breakdowns and and casting notes for each production, please visit: https://www.signupgenius.com/
Between Tattoos will have 45 minute auditions. Interested performers should be prepared to tell a personal story of some significance to them. This can be about an event or experience from any point in their life, but ideally should be something that has shaped who they are. Ideally this story should be no more than 2 minutes long, with a clear beginning and end, and a clear description of why or how this experience has shaped them in some way. The use of movement or props to assist in conveying the story is welcomed but not required. Performers will be asked to respond to adjustments from the director, and participate in a short conversation with the directing team.
For more information about the project, character and process information, and to sign up for an audition slot, visit:https://www.
ABOUT OUR SHOWS
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
By William Finn (music and lyrics) and Rachel Sheinkin (book)
Director: Gina Kaufmann
Oct. 30, Nov. 5, 6 & 7 at 7:30
Oct. 31, Nov. 7 at 2 p.m.
Nov. 4 at 10 a.m.
The Rand Theater
Can you spell J-O-Y? Finn and Sheinkin’s musical follows a motley crew of spelling bee competitors in a delightful story that is by turns sweet, poignant, and laugh-out-loud funny. As they navigate a gauntlet of words, the tweens candidly reveal hilarious and heartfelt stories from their home lives, each hoping to avoid the soul-crushing, pout-inducing, life-unaffirming ding of the bell that signals a misspelling. Buy a ticket and brush up on your spelling — intrepid audience members can volunteer for the spelling bee hot seat at every performance!
Recommended for ages 13 and up due to adult humor and situations, and references to sex
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com
The Moors
By Jen Silverman
Director: Cordelia Winter Dwyer
Costume Designer: Hanh Rioux
Dec. 4, 5, 9, 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 5 & 12 at 2 p.m.
Dec. 10 at 10 a.m.
The Curtain Theater
A hapless governess, a mysterious hero, scheming siblings, and the bleak setting of the windswept countryside: Jen Silverman’s The Moors has all the trapping of the best gothic yarns written by folks like the Brontë sisters. At once satire and homage to this source material, this dark and funny play also introduces us to two surprisingly literate animals and their star-crossed love. This richly weird set-up offers a unique lens to explore the things that motivate us: love, power, the search for connection.
Recommended for ages 16 and up due to adult situations, violence and gore, and references to sexual assault
THE MOORS is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com
Between Tattoos: A Biomythography
by Iya Awotunde Judyie Ella Al-Bilali, adapted by Priscilla Maria Page
Directing and Dramaturgy: Jen Onopa and Tatiana M. Rodriguez
Dramaturg: Priscilla Maria Page
Feb. 19, 20, 25 & 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 20 & 27 at 2 p.m.
Feb. 24 at 10 a.m.
The Curtain Theater
Between Tattoos: A Biomythography is a powerfully poetic memoir and a lyrical treatise on art and life written by Iya Awotunde Judyie Ella Al-Bilali, the first Black woman to hold the title of Full Professor in the Department of Theater. A beloved member of our department, she completed this book near the end of her life. The complete text serves as both a chronicle and a guide for others to live artfully and authentically. In her final months, she began to view the work as a theater piece and this production honors her vision. The collaborators and mentees with whom she devised theater present a newly created work combining the threads of theater, music, dance, and the Theatrical Jazz aesthetic that Al-Bilali embodied.
AUDITION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
The Department of Theater is committed to racial, cultural and individual diversity. Casting for all department-sponsored productions is open to any student, staff, or faculty member of the Five College Consortium, any member of the community, or any invited guest artist regardless of race, ethnic origin, ability, sexual orientation or gender identification. Equal-opportunity casting is encouraged.
All Theater majors and minors are welcomed and strongly encouraged to audition. The Department chooses plays each year with the intention of offering roles to as many majors as possible, but casting of any individual theater major student is not guaranteed.
Company members must audition to be considered for a role. The only exception is if a role is pre-cast and announced prior to auditions. This may be the case for guest artists, faculty and for roles requiring special skills.
You are expected to sign up for a given audition appointment, and to arrive at the audition site 15 minutes ahead of the scheduled time. Performers who arrive after their scheduled time may not be permitted to audition.
After open auditions have been completed, the stage manager will post call back announcements. If you are called back, you are expected to respond via email to acknowledge attendance at the call back.
AUDITIONING FOR MULTIPLE SHOWS
Although performers cannot be cast in two shows that have conflicting rehearsal schedules or performance schedules, we encourage you to audition for all of our productions. If the directors of two shows with overlapping schedules both wish to cast you, you will be cast in the role that provides you with the largest opportunity. In addition, you may express a preference for one production over another.
This semester, our productions of Spelling Bee and The Moors will be in conflict with one another. The Moors and Between Tattoos will also be in conflict.