BRILLIANCE - NYC EPA
Musical Brilliance, LLC | Ellicott City, MD Notice: Audition Call Type: EPA
Monday, November 20, 2023
9:30 AM - 5:30 PM (E)
Lunch 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Off Broadway
$550 weekly minimum (Development - Tier II) + health/pension
Equity actors for roles in a reading of a new musical BRILLIANCE (See breakdown).
All Equity stage managerial positions have been filled.
Please prepare a contemporary musical theater song. For style reference, songs from the show can be found here:
https://soundcloud.com/lance-lewman 286339703/sets/players-theatre-cast soundtrack/s-EQZmjJLfKKl?
si=ebbd22244abe4107b48c4c60342e0a13&ut m_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm _campaign=social_sharing . Please bring your headshot and resume, stapled together.
Actors' Equity New York Audition Center 165 W 46th St
16th Fl
New York, NY 10036
Director: Lance Lewman
Choreographer: Pierce Cassedy
Music Director: Evan Swanson
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Lance Lewman w/ Additional Music & Lyrics by Kristan King & Gabriel Kane
General Management: Martin Platt, Perry Theatricals
Casting Directors: McCorkle Casting, LTD (Pat McCorkle CSA, Rebecca Weiss CSA)
Expected to Attend:
Casting Director: Rebecca Weiss, CSA
1st Rehearsal: on or about January 8th, 2023
Reading presentations: Thursday and Friday January 25-26th, 2023 at Open Jar Studios, NYC
The reading will rehearse for a maximum of 35 hours a week and the rehearsal schedule can accommodate actors currently working on other productions in NYC
OTHER
35 hours/week (Can do up to 6 full
choreographed dance numbers for additional $25 per number per performer per week)
EPA Procedures are in effect for this audition. An Equity Monitor will be provided.
Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimination.
Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to attend every audition.
Always bring your Equity Membership card to auditions.
BRILLIANCE
SYNOPSIS: “Brilliance” chronicles the meteoric rise, and tragic fall of Frances Farmer, a Hollywood movie star in the 1930s and 40s. The musical takes us from the beginning of Frances’ career, through her unprecedented success on stage and screen, to her involuntary commitment to an insane asylum by her own mother. The play explores the volatile mother-daughter relationship... what happens when a young girls love and adoration for her mother, and her own worship of the art of acting, are betrayed beyond measure. Frances and her mother, Lillian, perhaps too much alike, rage in a battle of wills, with neither backing down. At that time in history, a family member could claim someone was “crazy” and “men in white suits” would whisk them away to a mental facility. The fine-line between mental health and insanity was ambiguous and thus thinly drawn. Was Frances Farmer really “crazy”, or just a strong-willed woman that the big world of the “Hollywood Star System” wasn’t quite prepared to handle? The industry clearly viewed her as nothing more than an attractive product - Frances was told exactly who she could see romantically, where she should be seen, what she should wear, and what name she should use. Eventually, Frances found herself fighting for, not only her sense of self, but also her life and the ability to live it as she saw fit. Her insistence that she would oversee her own personal decisions forced her into a “battle of wills” against, not only her mother, but some of the most powerful and influential men of the day. Flying in the face of doctors, judges and movie moguls with often painful results of epic proportions. In a shocking turn of events, Frances is released from the asylum and eventually legally restored her mental competency by the court in 1953.
Frances Farmer: Female, White, 30 to 40 years of age. Movie star attractive. Strong willed and stubborn with a great capacity for love. Frances worshipped her mother in spite of the horrors she was subjected to (based on her mother’s actions). Part of her stubborn refusal to obey the Hollywood studio rules was her admiration and emulation of her mother’s strong and unyielding determination. (Mezzo/Belt: G3 – G5 Eb5 Belt)
Lillian Framer: CAST. Female, mid-60s. She started out as a pioneer woman who cooked and cleaned for lumber jacks in the wilds of the remote mountains in the wild Northwest. She’s very smart, imaginative, and thoughtful while still possessing the moxie to be a master manipulator. She managed to keep her husband, Earnest, around to help her in any way he could without giving him much attention at all. However, in light of all that, she has a huge heart and loves Frances very much. As much as it may feel like she was a monster, she wasn’t, she was just trying to help Frances the best she could at the time. (Alto Belt: F#3-Bb4)
Adolf Zukor: Male, Any Ethnicity, 60 to 70 years of age. High powered Business Mogul. Started Paramount Pictures and invented B-Films (which he was later sued for). He’s gruff and determined but has learned to rely on the support and advice of his secretary Leslie (Les) Moore. (Bari E2-F#4)
Leslie (Les) Moore: Female, Any Ethnicity, 40 to 65 years of age (should be just a bit younger than Zukor). Button-down get-her-done, runs the show but takes no credit. Has been working for Zukor for more than 10 years and she’s hard to ruffle, as she takes Zukor’s gruff demeanor in stride and manages to find redeeming qualities in him and ignore his general misogyny. (Alto F#3-B4 D5 not belt)
Track 1: Male, Any Ethnicity, 30-40 years of age. Clifford Odets and Leonard. Strong artistic type. Odets: Clearly battling his own mental health demons (Frances said they were both broken in the same way). Undeniably brilliant, but extremely mercurial and tremendously charismatic. Leonard:
Young, but very capable sincerely concerned for his patients ... buttoned down and by the book. Not comfortable out of his wheelhouse or challenged. Police Officer: Conscientious and unwavering. Not about to suffer fools or law breakers. (Clifford Odets – Bari G2-F4/Dr. Leonard – Bari A3-F#4 /Police Officer)
Track 2: Male, Any Ethnicity 40-50 years of age. Avery and Harold Clurman. Avery: Very perceptive and insightful. Loves his work and everything Hollywood! Might be a bit flamboyant. Clurman: Brilliant director and savvy entrepreneur. He handles problems and puts out fires. Dr. Nicholson: Brilliant. The doctor folks turn to when they need the absolute best answer. (Avery – Bari E3-E4/Harold Clurman/Dr. Nicholson -Tenor F#3-A4)
Track 3: Male, Any Ethnicity, 50 to 60 years of age. Judge Frater and Judge Hickson. Frater: Runs the state of Seattle and is about as high up as one can go in terms of state politics. His first concern is that he looks good (in order to keep his job) and everyone he oversees follows his example of excellence. Hickson: No nonsense by-the-book Judge. Expects respect and a certain amount of fear and decorum. (Judge Frater/Judge Hickson - Bari A2-D4)
Track 4: Male, Any Ethnicity, late 20s early 30s. Bill Anderson and Dr. Conway. Bill: Fun, entertaining, and very personable. He’s charming and makes up for his lack of talent with a very can-do collaborative spirit. Bartender: Mean and gruff but a bit sleazy, as well. Dr. Conway: Old school principal type. Not at all averse to playing mind games with the patients, in that one minute he’s your best friend and the next he’s so very disappointed in you, as he expected so much more. Your best friend ... until he’s not. (Bill Anderson -Tenor B2-G4/Bartender/Dr. Conway - Bari A2-E4)
Track 5: Female, Any Ethnicity, late 30s early 40s years of age. Nurse Doris: Our version of Nurse Ratchet. She’s tough mean and bit of a sadist. Been doing this job for far too long. Woman Fan: stars in her eyes and a huge fan of Frances’, but totally upset by the idea of her idol rebuking her. Clara: Child-like and broken. Unable to function in society, she relies completely on Sadie to get her through. The two of them live in a bubble. (Nurse Doris/Woman Fan/Clara Any A3-E5)
Track 6: Female, mid-20s or so years of age. Nurse Teresa: Young and naïve. Sweet demeanor and a very feeling and empathetic caregiver. Solicitous and nurturing in nature. Her deepest desire is to genuinely help people. Sadie: Waiflike and innocent, but she’s got more insight and understanding than most incurables. Her relationship with Clara in a defining characteristic. She’s almost like a big sister or mother to Clara, though she’s significantly younger in years. (Nurse Teresa/Sadie – Any A3- E5)
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