Audition Information

ISU Theatre and Dance 2022-2023 Season Auditions

Initial Auditions: Wednesday, August 24 6:00-9:00 PM

Where: Bistline Theater, Stephens Performing Arts Center

*Auditions will be in-person, and a pianist will be provided. Bring sheet music, no taped accompaniments or acappella auditions can be considered.

What to Prepare:

• If you would like to be considered for all productions, please prepare two contrasting monologues and a song selection (3 minutes maximum).
• If you are only interested in being considered for the plays this season, please prepare two contrasting monologues (2 minutes maximum).
• If you are interested in being considered for a specific role in the opera, please prepare an aria from the opera to be heard at the callback on August 31st, or, a song or aria that displays range and coloratura. Excerpts for specific roles are accessible in this Google File.  (3.5 minutes maximum)
  • Callbacks will be in-person, and a pianist will be provided. Bring sheet music, no taped accompaniments or acappella auditions can be considered.
  • If you have any questions about the music please don’t hesitate to reach out to vanessaballam@isu.edu or dlfriedley@isu.edu.

Please fill out this Audition Form and upload it along with your headshot and resume on this Google Form. Name your files "Firstname Lastname - Item" (Example: John Smith - Audition Form):

Callbacks (Specific Times and Locations TBA):    

If you are invited for a Callback you will be notified after your initial audition.

• Sunday August 28, 3-6 p.m.– Marisol Callbacks 
  • Black Box Theatre
• Saturday August 27, a.m. – Spitfire Grill Callbacks 
  • Bistline Theatre
• Sunday August 28, p.m. - The Book of Will Callbacks 
  •  Bistline Theatre
• Wednesday August 31, 6-9 p.m. – Cendrillon Callbacks
•  Bistline Theatre

Marisol - Plot Synopsis

Marisol Perez, a young Latino woman, is a copy editor for a Manhattan publisher. Although she has elevated herself into the white-collar class, she continues to live alone in the dangerous Bronx neighborhood of her childhood. As the play begins, Marisol narrowly escapes a vicious attack by a golf club-wielding madman while traveling home on the subway. Later that evening Marisol is visited by her guardian angel who informs her that she can no longer serve as Marisol’s protector because she has been called to join the revolution already in progress against an old and senile God who is dying and “taking the rest of the universe with him.” The war in heaven spills over into New York City, reducing it to a smoldering urban wasteland where giant fires send noxious smoke to darken the skies, where the moon has not been seen in months, where the food has been turned to salt, and water no longer seeks its level. Alone, without her protector, Marisol begins a nightmare journey into this new war zone where she is attacked by a man with an ice cream cone demanding back pay for his extra work on Taxi Driver. Marisol finds herself on the streets, homeless, where her many encounters include a woman beaten for exceeding her credit limit and a homeless burn victim in a wheelchair looking for his lost skin. With the apocalypse well underway, the angels have traded in their wings for Uzis and wear leather motorcycle jackets and fatigues. As the action builds to a crescendo, the masses of homeless and displaced people join the angels in the war to save the universe.

Character Breakdown

Marisol: Puerto Rican or LatinX. Marisol is a battler of a woman fighting to retain control over her rapidly crumbling world. Sensitive, but incredibly strong, Marisol must take on the role of guardian angel to those closest to her in the world as humans fight to retain identity in the face of a failing God. She is assertive, street smart, and well-able to stand up to the forces of evil that seek her out.

June: June serves as an ambitious business professional working to uphold the last bits of “normal” left in her world as all of the rules of nature rebel against man in the play. Fast moving, and a commanding personality, June also serves as the primary guardian for her struggling brother Lenny and strives to maintain some form of human connection in the midst of chaos around her.

Angel: Marisol’s guardian spirit, ANGEL sees firsthand the crumbling of God’s plan for mankind and takes it upon themself to lead a rebellion against the highest power. Fully invested in the future of humanity, the ANGEL sacrifices themself for the interests of others and never loses sight of hope for a better future. Intensely loving, powerful, and physically dynamic, ANGEL is the leader we all wish we had, and the friend that we may not know, but feel with us at all times.

Actor 4 (multiple roles*): Plays ‘Lenny’ in particular as well as numerous other figures that haunt, threaten, and attack Marisol. This track demands a versatile actor capable of subtly shifting character quickly. Often threatening, and dark in intention, this track also reveals the soft layer of those warring in the play as Lenny still finds a desperate need for human connection beneath an aggressive exterior.

Actor 5 (multiple ensemble roles) Versatile actor with a knack for physical transformation. Takes on the role of our Greek chorus in many ways, processing, commenting upon, and reflecting on Marisol’s experience in the play.

*The roles within the ACTOR 4 track may be divided amongst several actors based on auditions.

The Spitfire Grill - Plot Synopsis

Percy Talbot has just been released from a five-year prison sentence for manslaughter. She is trying to find a place for a fresh start, and based on a page from an old travel book, travels to the small town of Gilead, Wisconsin. The local sheriff, Joe Sutter, who is also Percy’s parole officer, finds her a job at Hannah’s Spitfire Grill – the only eatery in this struggling town. The Spitfire Grill is for sale. But with no interested buyers, Hannah decides to raffle it off. Entry fees are one hundred dollars and the best essay on why you want the grill wins. Soon, mail is arriving by the wheelbarrow full and things are definitely getting hot at the Spitfire Grill. This musical triumph is an inspiring celebration of fresh starts and the power of what one person can do.

Character Breakdown

• Percy Talbot (Mezzo with Belt to D, must read early to mid-20s) A feisty parolee desperate to start over. Her past has given her wisdom and sadness beyond her years.
• Hannah Ferguson (Character Mezzo/Alto, 60+) The tough-skinned owner of the Spitfire Grill, a widow with a short, no-nonsense manner.
• Shelby Thorpe (Soprano with a Belt to D, 30s) Caleb’s meek but shy and soulful wife. She begins to show confidence under Percy’s influence.
• Effy Krayneck (Mezzo/Alto, 40s or 50’s) Nosy and opinionated postmistress – must carry close harmonies.
• Joe Sutter (Folk Tenor to G/A, mid 20’s to early 30s) The local sheriff and Percy’s parole officer. He has an appealing intensity and a restless nature.
• Caleb Thorpe (Folk/rock baritone to G, mid 30’s to early 40s) Hannah’s bitter and frustrated nephew. Former foreman of the stone quarry. As he loses control over most aspects in his life, he exerts control over his wife.
• The Visitor (40’s) A mysterious figure who never speaks. Looking for an actor with powerful eyes and a strong sense of their body.

Cendrillon (Cinderella) - Plot Synopsis

Cendrillon is Massenet’s beautiful operatic retelling of the fairy tale of Cinderella. We meet the horrible step-mother Madame de la Haltière, and step-sisters Noémie and Dorothée, Cendrillon’s kind-hearted father Pandolfe, the Fairy Godmother (La Fée), and, of course, Le Prince Charmant.

Cendrillon is left behind by her step-mother and step-sisters, as they go off to a ball with the Prince, La Fée hears her sadness, and wants to make her happy. She brings spirits and elves and instructs them to weave a dress out of star-silk, and color it with moonlight so that Cendrillon can also go to the ball. The finishing touch is, of course, the enchanted glass slipper, which will protect Cendrillon’s identity should she run into her family at the ball. There is only one rule, she must be back by midnight.

This well-known fairy tale is set to Massenet’s sparklingly magical score, which aside from the beautiful vocal writing, includes ballets and French court dances, processional marches for the Princesses, and lullabies for the sleeping Cendrillon and Prince.

Our performance will be a shortened version in English, with orchestra!

Roles:

• Cinderella/Cendrillon (Lead Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano)
• Prince Charming/Le Prince Charmant (Lead Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor)
• The Fairy Godmother/La Fée  Coloratura Soprano)
• Pandolfe (Supporting Baritone, Bass)
• Madame de la Haltière (Supporting Mezzo-Soprano, Contralto)
• Noémie (Supporting Soprano)
• Dorothée (Supporting Mezzo-Soprano)
• Le Roi (Featured Baritone, Bass)
• Surintendant des plaisirs (Featured Baritone)
• Le Doyen de la Faculté (Featured Tenor)
• Le Premier Ministre (Featured Baritone, Bass)
• La voix du Héraut (Featured Spoken)
• Six Spirits (Ensemble, Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Contralto)
• Chorus (Ensemble, Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, Bass, Contralto)

The Book of Will - Plot Synopsis

William Shakespeare’s been dead for three years. His closest friends and fellow actors deeply miss him and his beautiful plays. When a pirated, badly botched Hamlet (“To be or not to be, there’s the point . . .”) plays on a nearby stage, they realize Shakespeare’s lines are disappearing into the forgetful memory of time. What they need is a book—a definitive copy of his original plays, but to make one, they’ll have to battle an unscrupulous publisher, a boozy poet laureate and their own mortality. Lauren Gunderson’s look at Shakespeare’s First Folio is a lively, funny, poignant love letter to theatre and the printed word.

Character Breakdown

• Henry Condell: Feisty and hopeful, Henry is forty years old, Shakespeare’s friend, and actor in the King’s Men.
• John Heminges: Reasonable and serious, John is fifty years old, Shakespeare’s friend, and financial manager of the King’s Men. He is a good man, a gentleman, and owner of the Globe Tap House.
• Richard Burbage: A seasoned lion of the stage, loud and proud, Richard is in his fifties and famous across England.
• Elizabeth Condell: Savvy and fun, Elizabeth is Condell’s wife.
• Alice Heminges: John’s daughter and alewife, Alice is thirty-five years old, knows everyone, and hangs with the boys.
• Rebecca Heminges: John’s wife, Rebecca is strong, busy with their grocery business, and a woman who has weathered much but loves her husband, her sons, and God. She is a good wife.
• Ben Jonson: Poet laureate of England and friend/rival of Shakespeare, Ben is an amazing drunk, a bear of a man, and surprisingly weepy.
• Ed Knight: “Stage manager” for the King’s Men, Ed is self-serious and particular.
• Ralph Crane: Humble scrivener of the King’s Men, Ralph is quick, sure, and quiet.
• William Jaggard: Successful if shady publisher of books, plays, and playbills, William is confident in his ability to get what he wants. He is very experienced, very connected, willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, but an ass.
• Isaac Jaggard:  William’s son, Isaac will inherit the business. He is sensitive, an artist at heart.
• Marcus: Printer’s apprentice at the Jaggard print shop, twenty-year-old Marcus is nosy but honest.
• Compositor: Works for Jaggard, young.
• Emilia Bassano Lanier: A fiery Italian feminist and poet, Emilia is fifty years old, an independent woman, and a lover of life (and of Shakespeare).
• Sir Edward Dering: A book and theatre lover, Edward is sixty years old and the first customer of The First Folio.
• Anne Hathaway Shakespeare: Shakespeare’s now ailing sixty-year-old wife, Anne is strong-willed, a classy lady, a survivor.
• Susannah Shakespeare: A good girl and daughter of Shakespeare, Susannah is thirty years old.
• Boy Hamlet: A young actor.
• Two Barmen: Drunk ruffians.
• Crier: A newsboy.
• Bernardo, Francisco, Horatio, Marcellus: Actors playing these roles
• Fruit Seller