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Breakdown
General Info
Theatre has three AEA contracts per show, which will be cast among all available roles in each show.
If you cannot attend the EPAs, you may email your picture and resume for consideration to Casting Director Christian Saint-Girard at jobs@gretnatheatre.com. You MUST note which roles you wish to be considered for in the subject line of your email. It is incredibly rare for us to cast from a video audition only.
CHILDREN: Child actor for CAMELOT will be hired ONLY non-union and locally in PA and ONLY those with local housing and transportation will be considered. Children will NOT be seen in NYC, nor at any audition dates other than March 8 in Mt. Gretna, PA.
REHEARSALS: Tue - Sun, typically 9:30 – 5:30, with “10 out of 12” hour Tech and Dress rehearsals in the two afternoons/evenings prior to opening.
PERFORMANCES: typically 5/week – Thu at 2PM & 7:30PM, Fri at 7:30PM, Sat at 7:30PM, Sun at 2PM (be no performance of LITTLE SHOP on Sun 8/3, but there will be a special SATURDAY MATINEE of that show on 8/2.)
IMPORTANT! At the audition, please have your resume attached to the back side of your photograph, and be sure your full contact information is on your resume including where you live (we need to know for housing purposes if you are local, have the possibility of local housing, or are an out of town artist – whether we audition you in New York or locally). Note your correct height and weight as well as your vocal type on your resume. Have your sheet music ready for the accompanist in your key and with the start and end places clearly marked. We may or may not have you sing your second piece, so sing what you consider your very best first.
2014 SEASON BREAKDOWN
CAMELOT
Book/Lyrics: Alan Jay Lerner
Music: Frederick Loewe
Dir/Choreographer: Richard Sabellico
Musical Dir: Louis F. Goldberg
1st reh: 6/10/14
Runs: 6/19-6/29
Based on “The Once and Future King” by T.H. White, CAMELOT is the classic musical story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table featuring such musical numbers as The Simple Joys of Maidenhood, The Lusty Month of May, How to Handle a Woman, I Loved You Once in Silence, If Ever I Would Leave You, What Do the Simple Folk Do? and of course the title song.
NOTE: This production will NOT utilize a chorus. ALL 10 roles are principals (with some doubling as noted below). All musical numbers will be performed by the principals. ALL roles require ability to do excellent British RP accents.
Will cast ONLY THREE of the following four roles under AEA contracts, the balance of the cast will be non-union: Arthur, Lancelot, Merlyn/Pellinore, Guenevere.
King Arthur
Baritone. 30s–40s but able to convincingly portray ages 18 – 30. Excellent actor/singer with ability to portray the impish and insecure younger king and transform to the mature and commanding King of Camelot. Seeking a strong leading man with warmth, comic ability and great stage presence. Starring role. Could be cast with a “name” performer.
Merlyn/Pellinore
Baritone 50s–70s. The legendary magician who “youthens” rather than ages. Grandiose but warm mentor to the young Arthur. Doubles as King Pellinore, a visitor to Camelot who is often blustery and befuddled (think older English character actors like Nigel Bruce and Robert Coote). Excellent character actor/singer with great comic timing and presence. Featured role.
Lancelot
Baritone 20s. Tall, handsome Knight from France who has come to join King Arthur’s Round Table but falls in love with Queen Guenevere. Strives to be good, loyal and virtuous in all he does and sometimes takes himself too seriously. Excellent singer/actor with magnificent voice, great looks and physique and some comic ability. Leading role.
Guenevere
Mezzo 25-30 but able to convincingly portray ages 16-28. Lady from a distant court who comes to Camelot to be Arthur’s bride and queen. She loves Arthur but reluctantly becomes enamored of Lancelot. Excellent singer/actress with great presence and attractive with good figure. Must have exceptional singing voice and ability to transform from insecure young lady to Queen. Leading role.
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MOON OVER BUFFALO
By: Ken Ludwig
Dir: Jason Summers
1st reh: 7/1/14
Runs: 7/10 - 7/20/14
Ken Ludwig’s uproarious comic farce follows in the same madcap tradition of Lend me a Tenor. The play centers on George and Charlotte Hay, has-been actors who are on the brink of a disastrous split-up caused by George’s dalliance with a young ingénue. Just as they receive word that they might have one last shot at stardom with an impending visit from none other than film director Frank Capra, everything that could go wrong does go wrong, resulting in non-stop hilarity. Originally starring Carol Burnett and Philip Bosco on Broadway, this is a bust-a-gut, side-splitting laugh riot!
NOTE: Due to the “plays within the play scenes” in the script, almost all actors double in the “onstage” roles in scenes from Cyrano and/or Private Lives.
Will cast ONLY THREE of the following four roles under AEA contracts, the balance of the cast will be non-union: George, Charlotte, Richard, Ethel.
George Hay
50s. A traveling actor and head of his own acting troupe. Not quite a “has-been” but more of a “never-was”. Although he has played some excellent roles he has always been just shy of that “big break” and is still dreaming of being the “big star” he thinks he should be. A bit of a ham with a large ego who can be overbearing but endearing. Excellent comic actor with great stage presence and physical agility. Fencing or stage combat skills are a plus. Starring role. Could be played by a “name”.
Richard Maynard
50s. A lawyer and friend to Charlotte and advisor to George. Good-looking and lovable with a keen wit and air of urbane sophistication. Successful and charismatic, he is attracted to Charlotte and would like to “take her away” from her life on the road. Excellent character actor with great coming timing capable of delivering “bon mots”. Featured role.
Charlotte Hay
50s. Wife and acting partner of George. Not a “has-been” but more of an “almost-was”. Still hankering for a major film career and tired of playing “the road” to survive. She has played all the standard leading lady roles and is probably a better actor than George. Excellent comic actress with great stage presence and ability to do physical comedy as well. Starring role. Could be played by a “name”.
Ethel
Early 70s. Charlotte’s nearly-deaf mother. Once an actress, she now helps out backstage with wardrobe and other odds and ends. She is never aware of very much unless it’s in front of her and in a shouting tone. She is constantly mistaken in what she “hears”. Excellent comic character actress capable of delivering an occasional “put down”. Prefer to cast someone short of stature and impish. Featured role.
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LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
Book/Lyrics: Howard Ashman
Music: Alan Menken
Dir/Choreographer: Dennis Courtney
Musical Dir: Louis F. Goldberg
1st reh: 7/15/14
Runs: 7/24 - 8/2/14
You’ll scream and scream again…with laughter! One of the all-time great spoofs of classic horror films set to a musical score that will have you humming your way out of the Playhouse. Songs include Little Shop of Horrors, Somewhere That’s Green, Feed Me!, Suddenly Seymour and more!
Will cast ONLY THREE of the following roles under AEA contracts: Seymour, Mushnik, Audrey, Plant Voice OR perhaps one of the three girls (Crystal, Ronnette, Chiffon).
Seymour Krelborn
Bari-tenor A2 –G4, mid-20s. An insecure, naïve, put-upon, florist’s clerk and eventual hero. He’s a genuine, sweet, well-meaning little man who is taken for granted because of his clumsy ways and poor social skills. Excellent singer/actor with good comic timing. Starring role.
Mr. Mushnik
Bari-tenor G2-F4, 55-65. The seasoned owner of the failing East Side Flower Shop and Seymour and Audrey’s nosy boss. Profit-driven, greedy and manipulative with a middle class New York accent. He seldom smiles but often sweats. Excellent actor/singer with good comic timing. Featured role.
Voice of the Plant
R & B Baritone G-2-G4, 20-50. Actor/Vocalist located offstage. The voice is that of a conniving, street-smart “villain.” A funky Rhythm and Blues sound. Excellent singer with great range and ability to riff and lip-sync to movements of the Audrey Two puppet’s movements. African-American. Leading role.
Audrey
Belt G3 – D5, mid-late 20s. The quintessential dumb bleached blonde with incredible good looks and figure and a sweet and vulnerable demeanor. If you took classic blonde characters or actresses like Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday, Judy Holliday (who played her), Carol Channing, Marilyn Monroe and a young Goldie Hawn, removed their education and self-esteem, dressed them in spiked heels and a low-cut black dress, and then shook them up in a test tube to extract their sweetness and vulnerability – that would be Audrey. Excellent singer/actress with great belt voice and comic timing. Starring role.
Crystal, Ronnette, Chiffon
Ab3-F5, mid-20s. As their names suggest are a take-off on the girl groups of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s like The Supremes, The Ronnettes, The Chiffons, Shangri-las, etc. with all the harmonies and moves of their lead singers and backups. They are three African-American street urchins who function as participants in the action and as a kind of “Greek Chorus” outside it. Young, hip and smart, they are the only people in the whole cast who really know what’s going on. In their capacity as a “Greek Chorus” they occasionally sing directly to the audience and often with a “secret-smile” that says “we know something you don’t know!” Excellent singers who move well. All require voices with great range and power and ability to do riffs in the style of the period. African American. Featured Roles.
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ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE
by: Ted Swindley
Dir/Choreographer: Jason Summers
Musical Dir: Louis F. Goldberg
1st reh: 8/12/14
Runs: 8/21 - 8/24/14
Based on the true story of Patsy Cline’s friendship with Houston housewife Louise Seger who became an avid fan and personal friend. Great Patsy Cline hits include Walkin’ after Midnight, Back in Baby’s Arms, Sweet Dreams, Blue Moon of Kentucky, Your Cheatin’ Heart, Crazy and more!
Note: Both roles in this show will be cast under an AEA contract
Patsy Cline
mid 20s to 30. The legendary country singer who died while still very young in a plane crash in the early 1960’s. Because the show is based on a true story and Patsy is an iconic figure in Country Music who had a most distinct and recognizable sound, role requires an excellent singer/actress who can look and sound as much like her as possible. Recreating her glottal, trill and yodel-like delivery of her many hits including Crazy, Sweet Dreams, I Fall to Pieces and others is essential to the successful portrayal of this role. Patsy was a warm, funny, vulnerable AND tough lady and the actress cast must be able to play those. Seeking excellent singer/actress with ability to mimic Patsy Cline’s vocal stylings and country accent. Starring role.
Louise Seger
45-60. A Texas housewife and fan of Patsy Cline. Overweight (on the chunky side) but not obese. Through a chance meeting, she becomes friends with her “favorite star” and the relationship continues until Patsy’s death. Louise is a tough, no-nonsense Texas gal who idolizes Patsy. Her delivery ranges from folksy to razor sharp and all in the idiom of a 1950’s Southern woman who is equally at home in the kitchen and out “honky-tonkin’!” This character is the driving force of the play as she performs numerous monologues and narrations between the live musical numbers performed by Patsy and the on-stage band. Excellent actress with great comic timing, good Texas dialect and ability to sing some duets with Patsy. Starring role. ESPECIALLY seeking and PREFER to cast a “name” for this role.
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