Great River Educational Arts Theatre (G.R.E.A.T. Theatre)
AUDITION INFORMATION
GREAT Theatre is seeking community performers ages thirteen through adult to audition for our April/May 2012 production of the classic musical WEST-SIDE-STORY. Auditions are open to everyone (of all ethnicities) and will be conducted at GREAT Studios, downtown St. Cloud. This production will have a very dance heavy rehearsal schedule so please check your schedules to make sure you are able to commit to the rehearsal schedule. While we are auditioning ages 13 and up—our plan is to cast the show with actors that look late teens to early twenties. We also need four adult actors. All ethnicities are welcome. Younger actors are asked to audition for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
SHOW: WEST-SIDE-STORY
AUDITION DATES: Sun. Feb. 26th at 2:00pm and Mon. Feb. 27th at 6:00pm at GREAT STUDIOS, 919 St. Germain Street West AND Mon. Feb. 27th at 4:00pm at St. Cloud State University Atwood Ballroom, SCSU Campus. Please arrive 10 minutes prior to the audition time, with a prepared song & reading, dressed for dance (no buttons or zippers) with dance shoes if you have them.
Call-Backs (If Needed): Wed. Feb. 29th 6:00pm.
*A Call-back invites some people who auditioned to be come back and audition again. Please check greattheatre.org on Tues. Feb. 28th at Noon at to see if your name is on the call-back list. A call-back does not mean you DID or DID NOT get a role, it is just a chance for the directors to see you audition for a specific role.
WHAT TO PREPARE:
Everyone (unless auditioning for the four adult roles) will need to prepare a song and reading and dress for dance-
Memorize the song that best shares your talent:
Tonight- Maria and/or Tony
Tonight Reprise- Anita
Something's Coming- Tony
Cool- Riff
Click here to see the monologue choices. Memorize the monologue that best shares your talent.
Adults auditioning for the four adult roles: Doc, Schrank, Krupke & Glad Hand will only do acting
DIRECTOR/CHOREOGRAPHER: Dennis Whipple
MUSIC DIRECTOR: Hillary Vermillion
CHOREOGRAPHER: Debra Leigh
STAGE MANAGER: Courtney Bokovoy
DESCRIPTION: The world's greatest love story takes to the streets in this landmark Broadway musical that is one of the theatre's finest accomplishments. Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" is transported to modern-day New York City, as two young idealistic lovers find themselves caught between warring street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. Their struggle to survive in a world of hate, violence and prejudice is one of the most innovative, heart-wrenching and relevant musical dramas of our time. Fall in love at first sight with this passionate musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.
Characters:
Jets:
Tony: Handsome, sandy-haired (Polish), older teen-ager, who has outgrown the Jets; tenor.
Riff: Glowing, driving, intelligent, slightly wacky leader of the Jets; tenor.
Diesel: Lieutenant to Riff, big, slow, steady; baritone.
Baby John: Youngest member of the Jets, awed at everything, tries to act like a big man, but is vulnerable; baritone.
A-Rab: Small of stature, enjoys everything, takes nothing seriously, unaware, can be explosive; baritone.
Action: Most aggressive member of the Jets, a cat-like ball of fury; baritone.
Snowboy: Bespectacled, self-styled expert; baritone.
Others: Depending on cast needs, several other Jets may be cast; tenor and baritone.
Their Girls:
Anybody’s: Scrawny teen-aged girl, pathetically dressed to imitate the Jets, and wants desperately to be taken seriously by them.
Velma: Riff’s girlfriend, young, slithery, lost in a world of jive.
Graziella: Girlfriend of Diesel, impressed with herself.
Others: 6-8 girls depending on cast needs.
Sharks:
Bernardo: Handsome, proud, fluid leader of the Sharks, with a sardonic chip on his shoulder; baritone.
Chino: Shy, gentle, sweet-faced young boy, the intended husband of Maria; baritone.
Pepe: Lieutenant to Bernardo, typically proud, and resentful of discrimination; baritone.
Indio: Typically proud, and resentful of discrimination; baritone.
Luis: Typically proud, and resentful of discrimination; baritone.
Juano: Typically proud, and resentful of discrimination; baritone.
Toro: Typically proud, and resentful of discrimination; baritone.
Others: Depending on cast needs, several other Sharks may be cast; tenor and baritone.
Their Girls:
Maria: Lovely young and obedient immigrant Puerto Rican girl, excited and enthusiastic about her new life in America but with stubborn inner strength that allows her to evolve into a strong woman; soprano.
Anita: Older (20’s) and wiser in the ways of the world, flashy, sharp-tongued, and with a knowing sexuality; alto/mezzo-soprano.
Consuelo: Tough, young Puerto Rican girl with bleach blond hair and lots of baubles; mezzo-soprano.
Rosalia: Young Puerto Rican girl, more demure, not too bright; mezzo-soprano.
Others: 6-8 girls depending on cast needs.
The Adults:
Doc: Middle-aged drug store owner, tired and worn out.
Lieutenant Schrank: Plainclothes policeman used to being in charge, superficially pleasant to cover his venom, fear, and bigotry.
Officer Krupke: A not-too-bright street cop.
Glad Hand: Nerdy, overly cheerful and ill-equipped social director at the local gym dance.
REHEARSAL SCHEDULE: ALL rehearsals will take place downtown St. Cloud at GREAT Studios. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and some Fridays 6-9:00pm and Saturdays 10am-3pm. Not every actor will be called for every rehearsal, please note conflicts on your audition form. We will work around as many conflicts as we can.
PUBLIC PERFORMANCES: WEST-SIDE-STORY has TEN public performances Sat. April 28th 7:30pm, Sun. April 29th 2:00pm, Fri. May 4th 7:30pm, Sat. May 5th 2:00pm & 7:30pm, Sun. May 6th 2:00pm, Fri. May 11th 7:30pm, Sat. May 12th 2:00pm & 7:30pm and Sun. May 13th 2:00pm.
DAYTIME PERFORMANCES: This production has ONE day of School Matinee performances on Wed. May 9th at 9am & Noon.