QUILTERS, A Musical. Audition, Monday, April 13 th, 2015 Registration 6:30 pm, Auditions 7:00 pm LOOKING FOR: 7 women (altos & sopranos) ages 18-60

Transcription

1 QUILTERS, A Musical PAGE 1 OF 5 Audition, Monday, April 13 th, 2015 Registration 6:30 pm, Auditions 7:00 pm LOOKING FOR: 7 women (altos & sopranos) ages AUDITION INFORMATION MUSICAL REQUIREMENTS: All actors sing. These are between 2 to 4 part harmonies. There are also solos, all though not all of the actors/characters have solos. Be prepared to sing a verse and/or chorus of something you like! You'll be singing with no accompaniment. Choose a key that is comfortable for you. Sing something not more than a minute to a minute long. We suggest a folk ballad, hymn or gospel tune. A song from another musical would be fine as well. Just give us your "belt out the song" voice! We will also spend a little time finding your voice range, low and high, as we will need a combination of sopranos and altos. ACTING REQUIREMENTS: This show is a lot of fun. It allows for a lot of variety. The scenes that comprise this play involve everyone acting different ages, genders and personalities. These are not meant to be cartoon characters. The emotions: humour, sadness, fear, joy need to be believable even though a 50 year old woman may be telling a story as an 8 year old child and in the next scene play someone s husband. Each auditioner will be reading from at least 2 different excerpts/ monologues showing a difference in the characters. NO ACCENTS are required. Please use your own voice, (accent that is natural to you). SHOWDATES: JUNE 18 thru June 29 (excluding Mondays). We may hold the show over to June 30 depending on ticket sales. (All shows begin at 7:30 pm) Sunday performances will be in the afternoon starting at 2:00 pm. STANDARD REHEARSAL SCHEDULE: Three to four nights/week plus week-ends (varies depending upon how often each character is required and cast members prior commitments) - Rehearsals may begin as early as APRIL 27th. Specific rehearsal schedule will be decided after casting is complete. General Audition Guidelines: - Auditions are open to everyone. - No appointments are necessary, auditions are conducted on a first-come first served basis. - If the audition date does not suit you please call to make alternate arrangements for an audition. - Casting can take up to two weeks. You will be notified if your presence is required at a call back audition. - Auditioners will be asked to read from the play - it will be a "cold reading". - Please take note of performance dates and standard REHEARSAL SCHEDULE. Bring any conflicts to note on your audition form. We are a community theatre. All actors are volunteers, but because everyone will need to travel out to the Barn for all rehearsals we try to help out with the cost of fuel. Should you be cast in a roll you will be asked to keep track of the kilometers your vehicle has accumulated driving out to the Barn and will be reimbursed 10 cents per kilometer. There is also a $50 honorarium.

2 PAGE 2 OF 5 SYNOPSIS OF QUILTERS Sarah, and elderly pioneer woman, has made a legacy quilt from scraps of material. Each block is a different pattern and each block tells a story of their lives on the prairie as pioneers. Some stories are very funny, some are touching, some are sad; but all of the stories are very engaging. All of the stories are also true stories taken from women s diaries of the time. It is Sarah s daughters who tell the story of each block to the audience. There are 15 blocks and some have multiple anecdotes. There are men in the stories and the daughters take on those rolls as well. A lovely little theatre trick; take the back hem of the full length circle skirt you are wearing and bring it forward between the legs, tucking it into the front waistband and you have trousers! As men and women were partners, sharing the workload on these pioneer farms, the husbands are very much a part of many of the stories. But the stories are told through the eyes of the daughters, by the daughters. The script has wide opportunity to be very creative creating the surface of a river, the raging of a prairie fire - all represented with movement and fabric. CHARACTERS SARAH S SEVEN DAUGHTERS (ranging in age from 18 to 60) There are no specific character names in this show. Each daughter is of a different age and takes on many different characters throughout the 15 blocks.

3 CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN Audition, Monday, April 15 th, 2015 Registration 6:30 pm, Auditions 7:00 pm LOOKING FOR: 7 young men/boys ages 6 thru 25 5 young women/girls ages 8 thru 25 2 men ages women ages PAGE 3 OF 5 AUDITION INFORMATION ACTING REQUIREMENTS: NO ACCENTS are required. Please use your own voice, (accent that is natural to you). SHOWDATES: AUGUST 19 thru AUGUST 30 (excluding Mondays). We may hold the show over to AUGUST 31 depending on ticket sales. (All shows begin at 7:30 pm) Sunday performances will be in the afternoon starting at 2:00 pm. STANDARD REHEARSAL SCHEDULE: Three to four nights/week plus week-ends (varies depending upon how often each character is required and cast members prior commitments) - Rehearsals may begin as early as JULY 13 th. Specific rehearsal schedule will be decided after casting is complete. General Audition Guidelines: - Auditions are open to everyone. - No appointments are necessary, auditions are conducted on a first-come first served basis. - If the audition date does not suit you please call to make alternate arrangements for an audition. - Casting can take up to two weeks. You will be notified if your presence is required at a call back audition. - Auditioners will be asked to read from the play - it will be a "cold reading". - Please take note of performance dates and standard REHEARSAL SCHEDULE. Bring any conflicts to note on your audition form. We are a community theatre. All actors are volunteers, but because everyone will need to travel out to the Barn for all rehearsals we try to help out with the cost of fuel. Should you be cast in a roll you will be asked to keep track of the kilometers your vehicle has accumulated driving out to the Barn and will be reimbursed 10 cents per kilometer. There is also a $50 honorarium. SYNOPSIS OF CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN It s the 1920s the world is excited with change -- factories with assembly lines speeding up production -- women s rights and new roles- short hairstyles, no corsets. New music, jazz was the bees knees. There is an excitement about the future. Frank Gilbreth is a leader in innovation at this time and was driven to make life better for the working person. He made it his life s work to find easier ways to do factory work that would take away any chance of injuries. In the middle of this exciting period of history, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth are trying to raise their family of 12 children to be caring responsible, hard working adults. Mom, who has a doctorate in psychology (very unusual for the time), always seems to know the best way to guide her children s energy. She also seems to know how to help Dad understand their children. Dad is filled with energy and is always looking for a better way to do things: ideas for the factory as well as for the home.

4 PAGE 4 OF 5 His children are brilliant and are used to being the test subjects for his ideas. The oldest 3 children are girls. They are in high school now and realize how very different their family is and how their family draws unwanted attention. Anne, the eldest is determined to fit in with her peers and is determined to start by dressing as her peers do. Dad is not happy about that and puts his foot down. That does not stop Anne. She loves her father, but she wants a life of her own. Through out the funny situations in their home, there is an underlying urgency on Dad s part. He organizes his children into a family council that will help to run the household, giving Mom less work to do as she takes on more of Dad s business. Dad also works with the school to give Anne a chance to finish high school early. Dad seems to be pushing, pushing, pushing and Anne is rebelling! Boys are coming by the house and we as the audience see one that is not such a good match. We also see the 2 nd, a better match. This one Dad is at least willing to tolerate. He will allow them to see each other, but only with one or two of the young brothers along. Dad s family council, while efficient in getting household chores sorted out also has the power to vote for things that they want and Dad doesn t they vote to get a dog. A dog that for the rest of the show the kids have to keep out of Dad s way! We find out toward the end of the show that Dad s reason for pushing his family and Anne to be self-sufficient is because he has a heart condition and knows it won t be long before Mom will have to take over the business to support the family on her own and that the kids will have to be able to take care of each other. Anne, however, has no idea about Dad s heart condition and she is not playing along with his idea of finishing school early. The examiner is testing all the children in the family and clearly does not like the family and Dad s methods of education. All three oldest sisters are insulted by this examiner s attitude. They come up with a way to teach Miss Brill a lesson. The younger sisters share some of the questions they were asked in the exam with Anne. Anne doesn t like this idea, but they have already given her the list of words that will be used for the free association part of the exam. When that portion of the exam comes up, Miss Brill is truly blown away, but Anne slips up and Miss Brill then believes that the whole family has been cheating. With everything in turmoil and Anne and Dad at odds, Mom finally shares with Anne why it is that Dad is pushing her so hard. Anne has to grow up fast. She rises to the challenge. Miss Brill is persuaded to give Anne another exam and Anne passes the hardest test that the school could come up with. She also tells the boy that she will not be seeing him anymore. It is Dad who convinces her that balance is a good thing. The show ends with the family in a council meeting mom taking Dad s position as chairman Dad walking out the door with one last look over his shoulder. He is off to a large conference in Europe to advance his work, knowing full well that he may not be coming home again. The show is hilariously funny with a poignant ending. This is an ensemble piece it s all about team work. It has great roles for 10 children and 2 boyfriends. It also has great roles for Mom and Dad. CHARACTERS MR. GILBRETH (DAD): Late 40's to mid 50's. Carries himself with the self-assurance of a successful man who is proud of his wife and family as well as his business accomplishments. Though a disciplinarian, he loves nothing so much as a good joke, preferably one on himself. MRS. GILBRETH (MOM): Late 40's to mid 50's. A gracious, attractive women. She is also a psychologist. In her own way she is often able to get better results with her large family more so than her disciplinarian husband. ANNE: the oldest. Good natured, but stands up to her father. ERNESTINE: the bookworm MARTHA: wants to be like her older sisters

5 PAGE 5 OF 5 FRANK: oldest of the boys much like his father and keeps a watchful eye on his sisters. The younger children: BILL, LILLIAN, FRED, DAN, JANIE and JACKIE JOE SCALES: Anne s age (about 17) cocky and very loud. LARRY: Anne s age (about 17), clean-cut boy. Will be Anne s boyfriend. MISS BRILL: A teacher who has no love for the children and they have none for her (age 35 50). DR. BURTON: The family doctor - a plain spoken man (age 40 60).