Parkway Playhouse

THE PARKWAY PLAYHOUSE ANNOUNCES OPEN AUDITIONS FOR ITS 64th SEASON

  The Parkway Playhouse will hold open auditions in Burnsville for the plays and musicals scheduled for its 64th Season on March 13^th and 20^th starting at 10am, and March 28 starting at 2pm at the Mountain Heritage Center in Burnsville, NC.  People with questions about the audition process are encouraged to contact the theatre at 828-682-4285 or send an email to info@parkwayplayhouse.com.  

The Parkway Playhouse is also seeking musicians for orchestra and band positions as well as staff for the theatres box office, production office, and scene shop.   There are numerous volunteer opportunities in addition to the seasonal staff that is hired at the theatre.  People of all ages and levels of experience with an interest are encouraged to audition. 

“Auditions are a big part of the creative process for a theatre.    Being a part of a play or musical is a big commitment and the first step is to audition, it demonstrates the performer’s commitment to the show.  Everyone who gets on stage auditions for the role that they get” commented Parkway Playhouse Producing Artistic Director, Andrew Gall.  “It can be an anxious experience, but the best casting comes from auditions.  I have worked with actors over and over, and they still must participate in an audition.  It is rare to just be asked to be in a play.”

All auditions will be held at the Mountain Heritage Center in Burnsville, located at 113 Green Mountain Drive and at the theatre.   No experience is required and interested adult performers should be prepared to read scenes from the play with other potential actors, sing either a prepared section of 16 bars of a song or will learn one at the auditions, and actors wishing to be considered for the musicals Annie or Guys and Dolls will also participate in a short dance audition.   Last year over 100 people came to Burnsville to audition for the Parkway Playhouse and most were from Burnsville, Spruce Pine, Mars Hill, and the Asheville area.  The theatre, which hires a small corps of professional actors, receives over 500 resumes from actors across the country and the competition for the college internship program is fierce.

“The number of people who auditioned for the theatre in during my first season in 2004 was about 20” continued Gall.  “We struggled to find people. The fact that we had a cast of 45 in Oklahoma! last summer is inspiring.  I know there is a lot of interest in Annie and Guys and Dolls.  However, we need passionate people for all of our productions to make them successful.” 

The cast of Annie and Guys and Dolls will be the largest with about 25 people in each show.  Pride and Prejudice  will have a cast of fourteen,  The Ballad of Tom Dooley will have a cast of about 10 and Leaving Iowa has a cast of 6.  The bulk of the performers who end up being cast will be drawn from the talent that comes to the auditions this month.

Auditions on Saturday March 13 will start at 10:00 AM and will be to cast adults aged 15 and up in the musicals Annie, Guys and Dolls, and the world premiere folk musical The Ballad of Tom Dooley. The non-musicals, Leaving Iowa and Pride and Prejudice will have open auditions on Sunday March 28, starting at 2:00pm.   

On  Saturday, March 20, casting for children aged 7-14 will start at 10am.  Annie  calls for 7 girl orphans – including the title role and some roles, according to Gall, who is directing the production, will be double cast (meaning  two actors will share the role and alternate at performances).   Additional roles for children of various ages are in Guys and Dolls.   Children wishing to be considered for a major speaking/singing role in Annie should learn the song “ Tomorrow” from Annie  or “Luck be a Lady” from Guys and Dolls.  No adults will be read on this date.  Parents with questions about the audition process are encouraged to contact the theatre before March 20^th.

Information about all of these shows, including more detailed audition and calendar information can be found on the Parkway Playhouse website at www.parkwayplayhouse.com.   Scripts are available at the TRAC Gallery in Spruce Pine and Burnsville, as well as the Parkway Playhouse office located in the Mountain Heritage Center across from the theatre. 

For more information about the Parkway Playhouse, its 2010 season,  performances, or becoming a sponsor,  please call the Parkway Playhouse office at 828-682-4285 or visit the Parkway Playhouse website at www.parkwayplayhouse.com
 

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This page was last updated on Friday, 05 March 2010 04:34 PM