Auditions for our mid-season musical, The Sound of Music, at The Weekend Theater approaches! Auditions for The Sound of Music (Directed by Elizabeth Reha, Music Direction by Lisa Petursson) will be held at TWT on Saturday, December 6th at 10 a.m. (10 am – 11:30 am for children / 11:30 am – 1:00 pm for adults) and again on Sunday, December 7th at 6 p.m. (6:00 pm – 7:00 pm for children / 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm for adults). You only have to attend one of the times.
During the auditions, first everyone will sing 16 bars of a song from the show or in a similar style. After everyone sings, we will have readings from the script. The script will not be available before the auditions. Parents of young people auditioning are welcome to stay with their child during the audition process if they wish. TWT is located at 1001 W. 7th Street, Little Rock, AR 72201 (on the corner of 7th and Chester across from Vino’s.)
ACTORS NEEDED
7 Women (20 – 50+ years)
4 Men (30 – 45+ year s)
8 Children (5-18 years / 5 girls & 3 boys)
10-15 Men & Women (Chorus members)
WHAT TO BRING
1. 16 bars of a song from the show or in a similar style, with sheet music.
* A pianist will be present to accompany you as you sing.
* If you don’t have a song to bring, just sing happy birthday for us! You do not have to be a practiced singer to audition.
2. TWT Audition Form Shows 8 2014-15 Season — Please print and fill out the form before you arrive. Copies will also be available at auditions.
3. A recent photo no larger than 4in x 4in. Can be color or b/w, medium- or head-shot.
Rehearsal and performance schedules are as follows:
REHEARSALS
Sunday, January 17th – February 12th, 2015
There may be additional music rehearsals scheduled before the regular rehearsal schedule depending availability of the cast.
PERFORMANCES
February 13th through March 1st, 2015
All shows will perform on Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 2:30 p.m. It is quite possible that we will add Thursday night performances if the shows sell very well.
If you cannot attend all dress rehearsals, brush-ups, and performances, please respect your fellow actors and tell us, so you will not be cast. But you are still welcome to audition, as it is always good to practice auditioning!
QUESTIONS?
If you have questions, feel free to email the director: Elizabeth Reha — auntwoowoo@aol.com
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Dec 6 & 7 Will Also Provide An Opportunity For Children To Be Considered For Another Upcoming Show:
TWT’s official auditions for the award-winning, Carson McCullers play, The Member of the Wedding, will be held later in the season, but on Dec 6 and 7 there will be a unique opportunity for you to express interest in participating in early auditions for the two lead children’s roles. The Member of the Wedding director Margaret Pierson-Bates will be present at The Sound of Music tryouts ONLY to observe and to accept applications from those interested young people.
Because The Member of the Wedding is centered on the children, Ms. Pierson-Bates will be hosting Pre-casting Auditions for the main children’s roles on the UALR campus, Monday, Dec. 8 from 6:30-7:30pm (DSSC Auditorium), and Sunday, Dec. 14 from 2:30-3:30pm, (DSSC-Rm 213). (UALR campus: 2801 S. University Ave. 72204 – Donaldson Student Service Center).
The roles Ms. Margaret is hoping to cast are those of Frankie (girl, age *12-13 yrs.) and John Henry (boy, age *6-7 yrs.). Each part requires the memorization of a massive amount of lines, and is the reason the parts may be cast so early. (*Older students with the ability to portray the appropriate age range(s) will also be considered.) Performance dates are May 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 and 30, 2015 with rehearsals scheduled to begin late March, (exact dates tbd). For further information please call Ms. Pierson-Bates at 501-416-6652.
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SHOW DESCRIPTIONS
The Sound of Music
Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II,
Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp
February 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, March 1, 2015
Directed by Elizabeth Reha
Music Direction by Lisa Petursson
Winner of five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, this final collaboration between Rodgers & Hammerstein was destined to become the world’s most beloved musical. When a postulant proves too high-spirited for the religious life, she is dispatched to serve as governess for the seven children of a widowed naval Captain. Her growing rapport with the youngsters, coupled with her generosity of spirit, gradually captures the heart of the stern Captain, and they marry. Upon returning from their honeymoon they discover that Austria has been invaded by the Nazis, who demand the Captain’s immediate service in their navy. The family’s narrow escape over the mountains to Switzerland on the eve of World War II provides one of the most thrilling and inspirational finales ever presented in the theatre. The motion picture version of The Sound of Music remains the most popular movie musical of all time.
The Member of the Wedding
By Carson McCullers
May 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30, 2015
Directed by Margaret Pierson Bates
Winner of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award and the Donaldson Award in 1950 for best play, The Member of the Wedding is based on the Carson McCullers multi-award winning novel by the same name. The play set during World War II takes place over a few days in late August, 1944. It tells the poignant story of 12-year-old tomboy, Frankie Addams, who, like many pre-pubescents, feels disconnected from everything in the world; in her words, an “unjoined person.” Frankie’s mother has died in childbirth, and her widowed father is a distant, vacuous figure who has no idea of the anxiety his daughter is experiencing. Her closest companions in her small racially divided hometown are the family’s African American housekeeper and surrogate mother to Frankie, Berenice Sadie Brown, and her six-year-old pesky cousin, John Henry West. She has no other friends in her deeply southern birthplace and dreams of going away with her soldier brother and his bride-to-be on their honeymoon in the Alaskan wilderness. Frankie Addams desperately wants to become “joined” with the newlyweds in The Member of the Wedding.
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We are a theater which features plays of social significance, and we strive to treat each other and ourselves with kindness, empathy and respect. Auditioning with us is designed to be a sharing and learning experience, not a competitively brutal trauma, so please come join our Weekend Theater family!
