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KELSEY THEATRE AUDITIONS and VOLUNTEER INFORMATION: The Kelsey Theatre has 10 different Theatre Companies that use our stage and their needs vary. Please read ALL audition notices through to see what is required and how to sign up for the audition.
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USHERS FOLLOW THIS LINK TO SIGN UP FOR YOUR USHER SLOTS:
MERCER DANCE ENSEMBLE, INHERIT THE WIND,
THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE and more
use this link CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP TO USHER
Note: you do NOT have to create an account to sign up to usher.
Just scroll down the list to the date you want, if it is available click the sign up button,
type in your name and email and if there is more than one of you
write the other peoples names in the notes.
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CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
Based on the DreamWorks Motion Picture
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Book by TERRENCE MCNALLY
Music by MARC SHAIMAN
Lyrics by SCOTT WITTMAN & MARC SHAIMAN
PRODUCED BY THE PENNINGTON PLAYERS
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PRODUCER: Sally Sohor
DIRECTOR: Laurie Gougher
MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Francois Suhr
CHOREOGRAPHER: Trina Shumsonk
STAGE MANAGER: Beverly Kuo-Hamilton
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ABOUT THE SHOW:
Based on the unbelievable true story of one of the most famous con artists in history, Frank Abagnale Jr., “Catch Me If You Can” is a rousing musical set in the 1960’s. Nominated for four Tony awards, including Best Musical, this delightfully entertaining show was created by a Tony Award-winning "dream team," with a book by Terrence McNally (The Full Monty, Ragtime) and a swinging score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray).
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We begin as Frank is captured by Agent Carl Hanratty, after years of pursuit. Frank, however, thinks the audience deserves to hear his version of the truth, and narrates his life as a hip, dance-heavy variety television show. We see Frank, as a teenager, run away from his unhappy home to live a life of great adventure. Along the way, he falls deeper and deeper into an elaborate con by assuming a multitude of identities: airplane pilot, doctor, and lawyer, to name a few. “Catch Me If You Can” tells the tale of an ingenious, yet lonely, boy looking for his place in the world.
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PERFORMANCE DATES:
Friday, October 24 & November 1, 2019 at 8pm
Saturday, October 26 & November 2, 2019 at 8pm
Sunday, October 27 & November 3, 2019 at 2pm
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AUDITION DATES & TIMES:
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Monday, June 24, 2019 7pm-10pm
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Saturday, June 29, 2019 10am-5pm
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Sunday, June 30, 2019 10am-3pm
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Dance Callbacks by invitation Sunday June 30 2019 3pm-5pm
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Principal Callbacks by invitation, Monday, July 1 7pm-10pm
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Auditions will be held on the Mercer County Community College West Windsor Campus. Check the Kelsey Theatre sign board for a room location on the day of your audition. MCCC is located at 1200 Old Trenton Rd, West Windsor NJ 08550
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APPOINTMENTS AND QUESTIONS:
Appointments are strongly recommended. Walk-ins will be accommodated as time allows.
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Email PenningtonCMIYC@gmail.com with questions.
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Sign Up for an audition slot at this link:
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https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090c4eacaa23a57-catch
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PREPARE:
- Please prepare 32 bars of a song in the “jazz” style of the show. No A Capella auditions will be allowed. An accompanist will be provided. Please bring sheet music in a binder with your cut clearly marked.
- This is a VERY dance-heavy show. Lead and featured performers must be proficient musical theatre dancers. The small core of featured dancers (male and female) must be jazz dancers with strong technique. Partnering skills are a plus. Come prepared to dance with form fitting attire. Ladies, please wear heels.
- Please bring a recent headshot and resume.
SEEKING:
We are seeking a high energy, diverse cast to bring these unique, complicated characters to life. All roles are open. All roles are Non-Equity, unpaid
CHARACTER INFORMATION: (All ages are Stage Ages)
Frank Abagnale, Jr. (M)
Our story's conniving protagonist, he is a handsome and youthful con artist. Grew up learning to disappear into another skin to avoid his problems. He eventually falls in love with Brenda and desperately tries to change his ways. Seeking an extremely charismatic actor with strong vocals.
Age: 18-25
Vocal Range: G2-C5
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Carl Hanratty (M)
An FBI agent leading the investigation and search for Frank Jr. A knowledgeable and habitual workaholic who lives to catches his perp. Lives a private life of loneliness and depression. Seeking a mature performer who can convey the nuance of a man that develops a paternal bond with his target over the course of the show. Must be a very strong singer.
Age: 35 to 50
Vocal Range: G2-G4
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Frank Abagnale, Sr. (M)
Frank Jr.'s father. He is an inspiration when it comes to swindling. Upbeat and fast-talking, he undergoes a series of progressive failures that leaves him a miserable drunk.
Age: 45 to 65
Vocal Range: F2-G#4
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Paula Abagnale (F)
Frank Jr.'s gorgeous mother. She met Frank Sr. in France, during the war, but has fallen out of love. Caring and loving, with an underlying resentment toward her husband and son. Must be a strong dancer.
Age: 40 to 60
Vocal Range: A3-C5
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Brenda Strong (F)
A young nurse and Frank Jr.'s eventual love interest. Hard-working and initially insecure, she meets Frank Jr. after running away from a wedding. Comes to trust him but his true identity clouds her feelings.
Age: 18-25
Vocal Range: G3-A5
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Carol Strong (F)
Brenda's traditional mother. She is talkative and boisterous. This is a great comedic role for a woman with a large personality.
Age: 45 to 60
Vocal Range: Bb3-A5
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Roger Strong (M)
Brenda's conservative father. He is stern and interrogatory, but reveals himself to be deeply romantic.
Age: 50 to 60
Vocal Range: A2-A4
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Agent Branton, Agent Cod & Agent Dollar (M)
Three FBI Agents in the Bank Fraud and Forgery Division. Branton & Cod are veteran agents who enjoy mocking Hanratty’s obsessive work ethic, while Dollar is a trigger-happy rookie.
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Cheryl Ann
A former model turned prostitute who learns not to accept checks for services rendered
Featured Dancers (Female)
These core ensemble members will play Stewardesses, Nurses, TV Dancers and a variety of cameos throughout the show. Strong jazz dance skills are necessary and partnering is a plus. All dancers must also sing. There are several extensive vocal solos which may be sung by one or more of the Featured Dancers if possible. NOTE: All female ensemble roles are based upon an 18 year old boy’s perceptions about women in the 1960’s, largely developed through Playboy and comic books. We are looking for strong, confident women with a sense of humor.
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Featured Dancers (Male)
These core ensemble members will serve as Pilots, FBI Agents, Doctors, TV Dancers and may also be cast in featured speaking roles as appropriate. Strong jazz dance skills are necessary and partnering is a plus. All dancers must also sing.
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Ensemble: (M/F)
A small group of strong singers and comic actors who will play the roles of Frank’s various cons
REHEARSALS:
Rehearsals will be held approximately 2 weeknights and one weekend day per week. Not every performer will be expected to attend every rehearsal. The rehearsal schedule will be created based upon cast conflicts.
NOTE: Auditions are being held early to accommodate summer conflicts. We will not begin rehearsing in earnest until August. Leads may do some table work in July and we will work around individual schedules.
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Calendar Girls
By Tim Firth
PRODUCED BY THE PENNINGTON PLAYERS
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Producer: Frank Ferrara
Director: Susan Galli
Set Designer: Haley Schmalbach
Stage Manager: Melissa Gaynor
ABOUT THE SHOW:
When Annie's husband John dies of leukemia, she and her long-standing best friend Chris resolve to raise money for a new settee in the local hospital waiting room. With varying levels of encouragement, they persuade four friends and fellow members of the Women’s Institute (W.I.) to pose nude with them for an "alternative" calendar. They are assisted by hospital porter and amateur photographer Lawrence, who looked after John in his final days. This is much to the horror of the their local W.I. chairman, Marie. The success of the calendar goes beyond their wildest dreams and they have soon raised the money needed and much more. Their efforts also catch the attention of the national and international press, who soon descend on the small village of Knapeley in the Yorkshire Dales, England, where the play takes place. Although the calendar is a huge success, Chris and Annie's friendship is put to the test with their new-found fame and Chris is forced to question her real motivation behind doing the calendar. Tim Firth’s hilarious play takes place in the present day and is based on the true story of eleven W.I. members who famously posed nude for a calendar to raise money for the Leukemia Research Fund in 1999.
PERFORMANCE DATES
Friday, January 3, 2020 at 8pm
Saturdays, January 4 & 11, 2020 at 8pm
Saturday, January 11, 2020 at 2pm
Sundays, January 5 and 12, 2020 at 2pm
*Special Fundraiser Performance Friday, January 10, 2020 at 8pm
Performances will be held at the Kelsey Theatre on Mercer County Community College’s West Windsor Campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor, NJ 08550.
AUDITION DATES:
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Saturday, June 22, 2019 – 11a-3p
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Sunday, June 23, 2019 – 12p-3p
- Monday, June 24, 2019 – 6p-10p
Auditions will be held on the Mercer County Community College West Windsor Campus. Check the Kelsey Theatre sign board for a room location on the day of your audition. MCCC is located at 1200 Old Trenton Rd, West Windsor NJ 08550
APPOINTMENTS AND QUESTIONS:
Appointments are encouraged, but walk-ins will be seen on a time-available basis.
To sign up for an audition slot https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0549aaab2da57-calendar
Questions can be directed to Susan Galli at sgalli33@gmail.com
PREPARATIONS:
- Please bring a headshot and resume to your audition, along with your completed audition form and conflict calendar.
- Prepare two monologues, one comedic and one straight between 1-2 minutes each.
- There may be cold readings from the script as well.
ABOUT ACCENTS:
FROM THE AUTHOR Tim Firth:
“The women of the real calendar in truth came from many parts of the country. Actors should resist the pressure to perform any kind of Yorkshire pyrotechnics. Nothing compromises the truth of comedy like a slavish attention to vowel-sounds and dipthongs. It will become a pebble in the shoe. If you can flatten the "a" so that giraffe no longer rhymes with scarf then that will be more than sufficient; but even that should not be championed over the intrinsic rhythm of the line. People travel. Communities are now gloriously multi-instrumental. We've had accents from Glasgow to Texas make the same part their own.”
ABOUT NUDITY:
Those auditioning should be comfortable with the illusion of their nudity, including those not auditioning for one of the calendar ladies as all cast members will appear in the calendar. No person shall actually be nude either on stage or in the calendar, and individual choices as to the degree of exposure will be respected.
From the Author: “As in the best tradition of Vaudevillian fan dances, the art of the play’s nudity lies in what is withheld. The choreography of this sequence is best described as ‘fabulous concealment’. Should we see anything we oughtn’t, the whole scene will deflate like a soufflé on which the oven door has been opened too quickly. “
CHARACTER INFORMATION:
CHRIS – (Female - 50s)
You want Chris at your party. She will talk to people she doesn’t know, and things to say to all silences and generate laughter. Part of this is because Chris is at home in crowds, holding court, being the center of attention. Without Chris in her life, Annie would be better behaved, her life less fun. The two of them are like naughty schoolgirls. Ideal car — who cares, as long as it’s a cabriolet. Ideal holiday — Algarve.
ANNIE – (Female -50s)
Annie will join in mischief but is at heart more conformist and less confrontational than Chris. After Chris has put a waiter’s back up in the restaurant, Annie will go in and pour calm. The mischievousness Chris elicits saves Annie from being a saint. She has enough edge to be interesting, and enough salt not to be too sweet. Ideal car — who cares, as long as it’s reliable. Ideal holiday — walking in English countryside.
The playwright notes that together, Chris and Annie are greater than the sum of their parts. They would be lesser humans had they not met each other.
CORA – (Female - around 40)
Cora’s past is the most eclectic, her horizons broadened by having gone to college. This caused a tectonic shift with her more parochial parents. She came back to them pregnant and tail-between-legs, but Cora has too much native resilience to be downtrodden. She is the joker in the pack, but never plays the fool. Her wit is deadpan. It raises laughter in others, but rarely in herself. Her relationship with her daughter is more akin to that between Chris and Annie. Cora doesn’t need to sing like a diva but must be able to sing well enough to start the show with Jerusalem and sing the snatches of other songs required. The piano keyboard can be marked up to enable her to play basic chords should she not be a player. Ideal car — who cares, as long as the sound system is loud. Ideal holiday — New York.
JESSIE – (Female - late 60s/70s.)
Get on the right side of Jessie as a teacher and she’ll be the teacher you remember for life. Get on the wrong side and you will regret every waking hour. A lover of life, Jessie doesn’t bother with cosmetics — her elixir of life is bravery. Jessie goes on rollercoasters. Her husband has been with her a long time and is rarely surprised by her actions. Jessie bothers about grammar and will correct stallholders regarding their abuse of the apostrophe “s”. Ideal car — strange-looking European thing which is no longer manufactured. Ideal holiday — walking in Switzerland or Angkor Wat.
CELIA – (Female - age anything 35-50)
The fact that Celia is in the WI is the greatest justification of its existence. A woman more at home in a department store than a church hall, she may be slightly younger than Chris or the same age, but she always feels like she’s drifted in from another world. Which she has. She is particularly enamored of Jessie, and despite the fact Jessie has very little time for most Celias of this world, there is a rebelliousness in Celia to which Jessie responds. It’s what sets Celia apart from the vapid materialism of her peer group and made her defect. Ideal car — Porsche, which she has. Ideal holiday — Maldives, where she often goes.
RUTH – (Female - 40s)
Ruth’s journey is from the false self-confidence of the emotionally abused to the genuine self confidence of the woman happy in her own skin. Ruth is eager to please but not a rag doll, and despite being Marie’s right-hand woman she is desperate to be the cartilage in the spine of the WI and keep everyone happy. She has spine herself — if she was too wet, no-one would want her around. But they do, and they feel protective of her because they sense there is something better in Ruth than her life is letting out. They are proved right. Ideal car — at the start, whatever Eddie wants; at the end, whatever she wants. Ideal holiday — at the start wherever Eddie is, at the end wherever he isn’t. The Rabbit Costume: Ruth made this last night. It should be a cocktail of good intention and not enough time.
MARIE – (Female - 50s)
Marie has gradually built the current ‘Marie’ around herself over the years as a defense mechanism. She went to her Oz, Cheshire, and found Oz didn’t want her. She came back scorched. The WI is a trophy to her, which justifies her entire existence. There is a lingering part of Marie that would love to be on that calendar. Ideal car — something German and well-valeted. Ideal holiday — a quasi-academic tour of somewhere in Persia advertised in a Sunday Supplement which she could then interminably bang on about.
JOHN – (Male - 50s)
Annie’s husband. John is a human sunflower. Not a saint. Not a hero. Just the kind of man you’d want in your car when crossing America. When he dies it feels like someone somewhere turned a light off.
ROD - Chris's husband, (Male - 50s)
You have to be a certain kind of guy to stick with Chris and Rod loves it. He can give back what he gets, and has a deadpan humor which has always made Chris laugh. He drinks a lot but never so much as to have a problem. He would work every hour to make his shop a success. And John was his mate, even though the relationship was originally channeled through their wives.
LAWRENCE – (Male - late 20s)
Hesitant without being nerdy, Lawrence is a shy young man with enough wit to make a joke and enough spirit to turn up at the WI hall in the first place. When he arranges the shots he is close to female nudity but sees only the photo.
LADY CRAVENSHIRE – (Female - 60s)
Lady Cravenshire really doesn’t mean to be so patronizing. But the WI girls seem from another world. The world of her estate workers. Dress: when she makes an entrance, she must make an entrance. Largely white or cream to outplay the others, with a bigger hat than Marie. She is not a tweed-wearer. She must glide in like a galleon.
ELAINE – (Female - 20s)
Elaine really doesn’t mean to be so patronizing. But Jessie seems from another world. The world of her gran. Dress: her clinical whites slice through like a knife. You feel you could cut yourself on that dress.
LIAM – (Male - late 20s)
Liam would like to be directing other things than photoshoots for washing powders. He’s not so unprofessional as to let it show, but we can sense a slight weariness at having to deal with these women. There’s a resigned patience to his actions and each smile he makes we feel is professional. For Liam, this photoshoot is a job. And not the job he wanted. Dress: Avoid wearing shades inside a building. If you’ve gone down that route, you’ve made the weary boy a wideboy.
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ABOUT REHEARSALS:
We plan to begin rehearsals in the first weeks of October. We are casting now and asking for availability through the summer as we are creating a calendar and will be taking photos throughout the summer and fall. The calendar photo shoots and rehearsal schedule will be determined based on the availability of those cast and will be made available to you. A weekly rehearsal schedule will be sent out by Stage Management with any updates or changes.
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MORE GREAT SHOW AUDITIONS TO COME
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1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor NJ, 08550 
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