The Theatre Resources Unlimited (TRU) Voices Musical Series will be holding auditions for two different 29 hour readings. The audition information is below:
Date: | Saturday, December 17, 2016 |
Time: |
11:00AM-2:00PM |
Location: | Nola Studios (244 West 54th St. 10th floor from 11AM-2PM, 5th floor from 2:30PM-5:30PM) |
If you are interested in auditioning for the TRU Voices Musical Series, please submit a headshot and resume to TRUMusicals2017@gmail.com no later than 5:00PM EST on Thursday, December 15, 2016. You will receive a response as to whether or not we will be able to see you at the audition no later than 8:00PM EST on Friday, December 16, 2016.
Musicals Participating in Series:
Question 1 (music, lyrics, and book by Chris Reza): Presentation is January 23, 2017: When a politician becomes the center of Maine’s Question 1 debate, he must choose between being honest with himself and the world, or risk losing his entire career and family. Question 1 explores how the choices we make determine whether each of us contributes either strife or kindness and honesty to humanity.
Dumb Luck (music and lyrics by Michael Sansonia, book and lyrics by RC Staab): Presentation is January 30, 2017: There are stories about people living. There are stories about people after they die. But Dumb Luck tells the unlikely, but true, story of the life and afterlife of poor Elmer McCurdy, a small-time Old West outlaw.
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QUESTION ONE by Chris Reza, produced by Jesse Langston.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
Freddy Andrews (male; 18-29): Very strong tenor (high Bb4 belt). – Closeted politician who exudes a lovable, charming, charismatic personality (a la JFK) which he uses to win over Elissa, gain a political seat in Maine’s legislature, and win the Question 1 campaign to ban gay marriage. In response to his bullied childhood, Freddy finds safety from bullies by inadvertently becoming one himself in high school. Freddy’s endearing personality and genuinely good intentions allow the audience to forgive his increasingly misguided behavior. After losing everything in a sex scandal, he resolves to pursue philanthropy to combat bullying.
Daniel Frieder (male; 18-29): Very strong tenor (high A4 belt, mix to higher F5) with ability to riff – a charming, lovable hopeless romantic. He is overjoyed when he finally feels he will escape the prejudice in his small town, but he must defend his dream when Freddy leads a voter referendum campaign to stop the gay marriage law. Fueled by his resentment of the prejudice he faced when growing up, Daniel destroys Freddy's life, then learns essence of human equality in the end by helping Freddy in his time of need.
Elissa Female. 18-29. Mezzo-soprano (high E5 belt) – Elissa is the sweet, adorable girl next door who suppresses the pain of a childhood trauma by being the perfect girlfriend and wife to avoid ending up alone. By denying any trace of negative feelings, she inadvertently sacrifices being true to herself and others. Clinging to the hope of maintaining her flawless marriage with Freddy, she chooses to overlook the foreboding realities of their deteriorating relationship. Freddy's sensationalized sex scandal sparks her moment of revelation, and she vows to seek her own happiness from within–never again from someone else.
Father/Cam Note: Actor plays BOTH Father and Cam.
Father - Male. 37-53. Bass Buffo (low E2 – middle D4). – Part of a long family line of politicians, Father exudes a charming and charismatic persona which helped him become a wealthy, seasoned U.S. legislator. He tries to shield Small Freddy from the corruptive influence of the gays. Father’s hilariously absurd narrow-mindedness stems from the misguided, but genuine desire to protect his son.
Cam - Male. 38-41. Bass Buffo (low E2 – middle D4). – the deadhead cameraman of reporter Angela Evangeline. The cartoonish ying to Angela's yang, he juxtaposes her intensity with his slower, lackadaisical pace and nonchalance. He remains humorously unaware of how his own incompetence frustrates her.
Mother/Angela Evangeline Note: Actor’s vocal ability for BOTH Mother and Angela is a must.
Mother - Female. 35-51. Soprano (legit style high A5) – Mother is the sweetest, most caring mother that she knows how to be. Her highest priority is to shield her perfect son from the dangers of the world's evil, including the corruptive influence of the gays. Her hilariously absurd narrow-mindedness stems from the misguided, but genuine desire to protect her son.
Angela Evangeline - Female. 37-40. Mezzo-soprano (hit high G5-belt, parodic-opera to high C5). Actor should be able to play basic tambourine. – Angela Evangeline is the unapologetic, larger-than-life character actor with an uproariously narcissistic, explosive absurdity that everyone loves. A TV reporter more interested in garnering attention from sensationalizing rather than empathizing, Angela capitalizes on Freddy's sex scandal, guiding the people to share in their contemptuous hate for him.
Small Freddy/Inner Child/Freddy Jr. (all genders - including transgender; to be played by an ADULT): Small Freddy - Male. 10. Child (hit high E5-belt). – Forced to live up to his parents’ cherished belief that he is the “perfect son,” Small Freddy is afraid to show any flaws and risk losing their life-saving love, morphing his identity to that of his parents' liking. When classmates threaten to tell his parents that he’s gay (a concept that he does not quite understand, but surmises must be “bad”), Small Freddy vows to never let himself be “gay.”
Inner Child - Male. 10. Child (hit high E5-belt). – Freddy’s Inner Child torments Freddy the more he tries to distance himself from his troubled past and the more he denies his internal cognitive dissonance.
Freddy Jr. - Male. 10. Child (hit high E5-belt). – Freddy Jr. is a comically spoiled, bratty showbiz-kid who plays Freddy and Elissa’s fictional son in a TV political ad.
Ensemble Non-traditional casting will be considered for ensemble roles (casting of actors with disabilities, ethnic minorities, seniors and women in roles where race, gender, age or the presence or absence of a disability is not germane).
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DUMB LUCK by RC Staab and Michael Sansonia, produced by Sam Strum in association with Dan Irwin.
LuLuMae - 20s to early 30s, female. Beautiful in spirit, but might be described as plain or homely. She yearns for something more out of life than her hometown can give her. Her character ages from 20s to 80s. Actress also plays the role of a musician stuck between this life and the next who is anxious to move on. And actress plays and sings “male roles” in several ensemble numbers. Seeking versatile singer/actress with comic timing.
Bureaucrat / Older Ensemble Male - Early-30s to late-50s, male. Well-travelled and wise. He’s seen it all and only stops to consider those things and people that are truly significant. Ensemble roles are much older and cantankerous, ranging from grounded to cartoon.
Younger Ensemble Male - Early to late-20s, male. A musician stuck between this life and the next, also anxious to move on. Plays several roles that range between scheming and naive, confident and vindictive. A chameleon physically and vocally.