Theater at Lime Kiln Hosts Open Auditions At The Johnson Theatre

Theater at Lime Kiln will host open auditions for actors on Thursday, March 18th 6:30pm at the Johnson Theatre at the Lenfest Center for the Arts on West Nelson Street in Lexington.

This season, Lime Kiln is planning to produce three musicals, including the 50th anniversary of The Fantasticks and Stonewall Country, which Lime Kiln resurrected last season.

Lime Kiln is collaborating with Mindbending Productions, the student theatre troupe from Washington and Lee, to produce the first show. Senior Jenna Worsham, who is currently directing Ah, Wilderness! at W&L, has signed on to direct The Fantastick. The very-active Josh Harvey is slated to be music director. Rehearsals begin April 12, and the show runs May 20-23.

"I am so happy that we are working with the W&L students on this production," said Kim Renz, Lime Kiln executive director. "To me the partnership is natural. Here we are with local summer theatre, and they have students who need real-world experience between school sessions and before graduating. We are creating internships for them, and we expect them to work in every area of the production. I hope this grows into a regular part of their educational experience"

"This is still a community production," said Renz. "While we expect a few students on stage, the show has a wide range of adult male roles, including two spirited fathers. There is one singing role for a young female, age between 16 and 20, with four roles for men who sing and three non-singing roles."

The Fantasticks, with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones, first opened off-Broadway on May 3, 1960, and launched the career of Jerry Aurbach. The play, which holds the distinction as the longest running musical in history, is a favorite in regional, community and academic theatres across the country. Kendal at Lexington is sponsoring the event.

Stonewall Country is also a musical, with performance dates July 1-3 and 8-11. There are multiple roles for Men and for Women from 15 years up. Most Stonewall Country songs are performed by Guest Artists Robin and Linda Williams. Tom Conway, who appeared in the production last year and who led Dracula, or How's Your Blood Count? will direct.
Renz said that this year's Stonewall Country will resemble last year's, though he expects some "tweaking" by Conway. "One of the beautiful aspects of Stonewall Country, and one reason why people come back year after year to see it, is that is evolves. Last year we took a storytelling approach, which we plan to keep, but this year we are looking for appropriate ways to enhance that particular approach, with some more costume pieces, a few more actors and a more enhanced staging. We don't want to ruin what we made, just spruce it up some."

Interested performers are asked to prepare a one-minute monologue and bring an acting resume and headshot, if they have them. They should prepare a song showing off their vocal ability and range and the sheet music for accompaniment. They may bring their own accompaniment.
Conway will also consider everyone for a role in a September musical production. Renz invites interested performers to email the headshot and resume to him at kim@theateratlimekiln.com or call 540-463-7088 with questions.

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