Interested in being on stage or working backstage?
You do not need to audition for a BA in Theatre. You do need to audition for the Musical Theatre concentration.
Auditions
ETSU THEATRE AND DANCE FALL 2024 SEMESTER AUDITIONS
The unified auditions for The Moors and Cabaret will take place during the first week of classes. Additionally, cast members for the public reading of the original musical Humbug! will be selected from the unified auditions. Actors cast in either The Moors or Cabaret are also eligible to participate in Humbug! We strongly encourage that you print the audition form beforehand and come with it already filled out.
The cast list for The Moors consists of 5 female identifying characters, 1 male identifying characters.
The cast list for the musical Cabaret consists of 3 female identifying characters and 3 male identifying characters, and 11 characters who are gender fluid, non-conforming, male, female, or anything in between.
The Moors tech and performance dates:
Crew View: Friday, October 18
Tech: Saturday, October 19
Tech: Sunday, October 20
Dress Rehearsal: Monday, October 21
Dress Rehearsal: Tuesday, October 22
Preview: Wednesday, October 23
Performances: Thursday, October 24- Sunday, October 27
The Moors Character Descriptions:
AGATHA: Female. Elder spinster sister. Dangerous. Powerful.
HULDEY: Female. Younger spinster sister. She has a diary. She wants to be famous.
EMILIE: Female. The governess. A romantic with a sweet face.
MARJORY: Female. A scullery maid. Down-trodden. Strategic.
THE MASTIFF: Male. The dog. A sad philosopher-king.
A MOOR-HEN: Female. A small chicken. Practical and very present-tense
Agatha and Emilie will engage in same-sex kissing. An experienced intimacy director will guide students in this endeavor, working with their respective comfort levels.
Cabaret tech and performance dates:
Crew View: Tuesday, November 12
Runthrough: Wednesday, November 13
Band rehearsal: Thursday, November 14
Sitzprobe: Friday, November 15
Tech: Saturday, November 16
Tech/Dress: Sunday, November 17
Dress Rehearsal: Monday, November 18
Preview: Tuesday, November 19
Performances: Wednesday, November 20-Sunday, November 24
Cabaret Character Descriptions:
Master of Ceremonies (Emcee) – Gender fluid/non-conforming
• Host at the Kit Kat Club-- a gender-nonconforming-presenting, exuberant figure; comfortable with being close to the audience; dark, comedic, sinister, vulgar…yet lovable; requires a strong presence that is playful and mysterious. Must act, sing (some in German), move well, and be comfortable with bawdy/suggestive staging/choreography.
• Accent: German
• Vocal range top: C#5
• Vocal range bottom: C3
Sally Bowles – female presenting
• A British cabaret singer at the Kit Kat Club. Quirky and flighty. Struggles with knowing the darkness of the reality of her life and has woeful luck in her relationships with men. Must act, sing, and dance well; comfortable with moments of intimacy and bawdy/suggestive staging/ choreography.
• Accent: British
• Vocal range top: C5
• Vocal range bottom: A3
Clifford (Cliff) Bradshaw – male presenting
• An American novelist and English teacher traveling to Berlin. Through his journey he explores the many facets and complexities of his sexuality, politics, and artistic goals.) Must act and sing well, comfortable with stage movement, light dance, and moments of intimacy.
• Accent: American
• Vocal range top: E4
• Vocal range bottom: A2
Fräulein Schneider– female presenting
• A landlady who rents rooms to Cliff, Sally, and several other characters in her large flat.
She is alone and is resigned to her place in life, but secretly longs for companionship. She is very critical of some people while looking the other way with others; comfortable with stage movement and light dance (waltz). Must act and sing well; comfortable with moments of intimacy.
• Accent: German
• Vocal range top: A-flat4
• Vocal range low: D3
Herr Schultz– male presenting
• A Jewish fruit shop owner who falls in love with Fraulein Schneider; sweet, lovable, and adoring; heartbreakingly naïve about the political turmoil in Germany. Must act and sing well; comfortable with stage movement, light dance (waltz), and moments of intimacy.
• Accent: German
• Vocal range top: high F
• Vocal range low: low G
Fräulein Kost (doubles as Kit Kat “Girl” Fritzie) – female presenting
• A prostitute who rents in Fraulein Schneider's boarding house; larger than life personality, quick witted and sharp tongued; should be comfortable exhibiting a strong sexual and commanding nature; must act and move well and sing in German.
• Accent: German
• Vocal range top: high F
• Vocal range low: A flat
Ernst Ludwig– male presenting
• A friendly and likable German, takes English lessons from Cliff, and smuggles funds for the Nazi party; comfortable with stage movement and light dance (waltz); and sing in German.
• Accent: German
• Vocal range top: high F
• Vocal range low: A flat
The Kit Kat “Girls” & “Boys” - All gender-identities and body types welcome
• These performers are often in salacious situations and costumes. They are an eclectic mix of types and aren’t necessarily a matching unit. It is very important they act, sing, dance / move well and with confidence. They will be part of various scenes in and out of the Club; should be comfortable interacting with the audience and comfortable with bawdy/suggestive staging/choreography; also sing in German; one dresses as a Gorilla in one cabaret number. Accent: German
• Rosie
• Lulu
• Frenchie
• Texas
• Helga
• Bobby
• Victor
• Hans (doubles as Rudy, a sailor)
• Herman (doubles as Customs Official & Max)
The cast list for the musical Humbug! consists of 5 male identifying characters, 7 female identifying characters and 1 non-gender specific character. [Rehearsals for Humbug! will take place mainly on Friday evenings throughout the Fall semester. The public reading of Humbug! will take place on December 4 at 7:30pm.
Perusal scripts for the productions will be made available online through the Sherrod Library. To access the scripts, please click here.
If you would like to sign up to rehearse with an accompanist in advance of auditions, you may do so here.
GENERAL NOTES:
• Auditions for the fall productions will take place in the Martin Center Bach Theatre on Wednesday, August 28. Callbacks for The Moors will be on Thursday, August 29 and for Cabaret on Friday, August 30. If you have a conflict or inability to make all three nights of auditions/callbacks, please let Ante and Melissa know as soon as possible. (Ursica@ETSU.edu, Shaferm@ETSU.edu, Funk@ETSU.edu)
• Please wear clothing that you feel comfortable in while moving and dancing, such as dancewear (leotard with tights overtop), leggings, sweatpants, fitted shirt. Please avoid wearing oversized shirts and denim jeans. If you have dance shoes (such as ballet shoes, character shoes, and/or jazz shoes), please bring them. Please wear socks and comfortable footwear (such as sneakers).
• Please bring your fall semester schedule/calendar to note any conflicts on the audition form.
• We are looking for an actress who can play a stringed instrument. If you play guitar or another stringed instrument, you are encouraged to bring it to auditions.
UNIFIED AUDITIONS on Wednesday, August 28 in the Bach Theatre- Martin Center
Please note times are approximate and audition sections may run longer or shorter than the stated time.
6:30pm – 7:00pm CHECK-IN with Stage Management in the Bach Green Room, complete the audition form, and receive an audition number. The monologues, songs, and cold readings will audition in flights of 15 actors at a time.
7:00pm – 8:30pm – Prepared MONOLOGUES and SONGS – Returning theatre students are expected to audition with a prepared 60 second monologue, or 90 seconds if you are both singing and acting. For the last 15-30 seconds of your 90 second audition please sing an unaccompanied chorus to a punk, rock, or grunge song. You must sing in order to be considered for the musicals and the role of Agatha, Emily, Hudley in THE MOORS. Please bring sheet music accompaniment of your song for the pianist to play
8:30pm- 9:00pm – New students who do not have a prepared monologue/song are allowed to audition with a cold reading. Sides will be provided. [However, we highly encourage you to prepare a monologue/song!]
9:00pm – 10:00pm – DANCE/MOVEMENT WORK
- Cardio / Dynamic Stretch Warm-up with Cara (10 minutes) - please wear socks, tennis shoes, or jazz shoes (no heels).
- Physical Theatre Exercise and Improv with Ante (20-30 minutes) please wear socks or bare feet.
- Body Isolation Exercise & Across the Floor with Cara (20 minutes) - please wear socks,
jazz shoes, or character shoes.
The movement and/or dancing in Cabaret may feature: body isolations;
slow, fluid, sultry movement mixed with sharp, quick, playful movement;
partnering & weight-sharing.
The MOORS Callbacks at 7:00pm -10:00pm on Thursday, August 29 in the Bach Theatre
The Moors Callback will consist of acting, movement, and other skill assessments that pertain to the play.
CABARET Callbacks at 7:00pm on Friday, August 30 in the Bach Theatre- Martin Center
7:00pm – 8:30pm DANCE AUDITION Professor Harker will lead the entire group in a warm-up and teach everyone a short dance combination and then run the combination repeatedly in smaller groups.
8:30 – 10:00pm MUSIC AUDITION – Professor Fugate will work music with various combinations of students. Victoria Keller will be available to rehearse your callback sides in advance of the audition. The expectation is that you meet with her BEFORE this callback (KELLERV@etsu.edu).
Production Technician, Assistant, or Designer
If you are interested in working as a production technician, assistant, designer, or any aspect of management, contact Zach Olsen (olsenz@etsu.edu) for more information!