The CM PERFORMING ARTS CENTER is holding Main Stage auditions for RENT on Tuesday, November 12 and Wednesday, November 13 at 7:00PM. Callbacks will be by invitation only on Sunday, November 17. Seeking performers 18+. PLEASE NOTE: CM PERFORMING ARTS CENTER IS A NONPROFIT COMMUNITY THEATRE. ALL PERFORMERS ARE VOLUNTEERS.
Please prepare a 16 – 32 bar cut of a musical theatre song either from the show or in a similar style. An accompanist will be provided. A dance audition will follow vocal auditions for those asked to stay. Please wear footwear you are comfortable dancing in.
Performance dates are below. Please bring possible rehearsal and/or performance conflicts to the auditions. The CM Performing Arts Center is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion in the casting and encourages actors of diverse backgrounds and underrepresented groups to audition. Video submissions will be accepted if you are unable to make either audition date. Please send a video submission along with headshot and resume to ader.jess@gmail.com with your name and RENT SUBMISSION in the subject line.
PERFORMANCE DATES:
Saturday, February 15, 2025 – 8:00pm
Sunday, February 16, 2025 – 2:00pm
Saturday, February 22, 2025 – 2:00pm
Saturday, February 22, 2025 – 8:00pm
Sunday, February 23, 2025 – 2:00pm
Wednesday, February 26, 2025 – 2:00pm
Friday, February 28, 2025 – 8:00pm
Saturday, March 1, 2025 – 8:00pm
*The Following are potential add-ons that should be treated as actual performances
Friday, February 21, 2025 – 8:00pm (February Break)
Friday, March 7, 2025 – 8:00pm
Sunday, March 2, 2025 – 2:00pm
Saturday, March 8, 2025 – 2:00pm
Saturday, March 8, 2025 – 8:00pm
Sunday, March 9, 2025 – 2:00pm
PRODUCTION TEAM:
Jess Ader Ferretti – Director
Kevin Burns – Choreographer
Rebecca Olivieri – Stage Manager
PLOT:
Set in the East Village of New York City, Rent is about falling in love, finding your voice and living for today. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rent has become a pop cultural phenomenon. with songs that rock and a story that resonates with audiences of all ages.
Based loosely on Puccini’s La Boheme, Jonathan Larson’s Rent follows a year in the life of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. The physical and emotional complications of the disease pervade the lives of Roger, Mimi, Tom and Angel. Maureen deals with her chronic infidelity through performance art; her partner, Joanne, wonders if their relationship is worth the trouble. Benny has sold out his Bohemian ideals in exchange for a hefty income and is on the outs with his former friends. Mark, an aspiring filmmaker, feels like an outsider to life in general. How these young bohemians negotiate their dreams, loves and conflicts provides the narrative thread to this groundbreaking musical.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:
Roger Davis
A struggling musician and former drug addict. He is reminiscent of Kurt Cobain. Roommates with Mark in the loft and battles with being HIV-positive.
Gender: male
Age: 20 to 25
Vocal range top: A4
Vocal range bottom: F2
Mark Cohen
Filmmaker and video artist. Knee deep in his own soul-searching, Mark is the typical young artist. He and Roger are roommates in the loft. A bit of a nerd.
Gender: male
Age: 20 to 30
Vocal range top: G4
Vocal range bottom: A2
Tom Collins
A computer genius and liberal professor. He is a nurturer with a smooth and relaxed disposition. Used to be a roommate in the loft and is HIV-positive.
Gender: male
Age: 25 to 35
Vocal range top: A4
Vocal range bottom: F#2
Benjamin Coffin III
The landlord of Mark and Roger’s apartment building. A former roommate in the loft, Benny traded in his personal morals for power and wealth.
Gender: male
Age: 25 to 35
Vocal range top: F#4
Vocal range bottom: Bb2
Joanne Jefferson
A public interest lawyer and headstrong lesbian. She is smart and purposeful in all her decisions. Carries on a tumultuous relationship with Maureen.
Gender: female
Age: 25 to 40
Vocal range top: E5
Vocal range bottom: G3
Angel Dumott Schunard
The eccentric HIV-positive street drummer. A drag queen with an incredible gift of dance and a magnetic personality. He becomes Tom’s lover.
Gender: male
Age: 20 to 30
Vocal range top: A4
Vocal range bottom: C3
Mimi Marquez
An HIV-positive stripper with drug addictions. Slender and sickly, she conceals it all at her job in the local strip club. She lives in the same building as the loft.
Gender: female
Age: 18 to 21
Vocal range top: E5
Vocal range bottom: Eb3
Maureen Johnson
An unpredictably zany performance artist. Maureen oozes sexuality and used to live in the loft. She has recently dumped Mark for Joanne.
Gender: female
Age: 20 to 25
Vocal range top: F5
Vocal range bottom: C4
Ensemble
Homeless Men & Women; Junkies, Parents (Mrs. Cohen, Mr. & Mrs. Jefferson); Support Group (Steve, Gordon)
Videos
