Auditions for the Summer Shakespeare Festival: This blog gets readers prepared for auditions for the biggest summer festival in town.
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We are now accepting applications for the 2012 Summer Shakespeare Festival!
Artistic Director, Bob Smith, is looking for actors who are ready to make a commitment to the Bard. As this festival has been a staple in our community for 40 years, it is important that those auditioning are prepared.
The entire festival runs from June 15th-August 2nd. Rehearsals will be held at the end of May and throughout June. The festival itself will be held in our outdoor amphitheater.
Auditions will be held on April 30th at 1pm and will consist of cold readings from the scripts. You must also prepare two monologues, one modern and one Shakespearean (please underline which monologue is which). Each monologue should not exceed two minutes. If you wish to audition for a musical, please bring sheet music; an accompanist will be provided.
Please include a resume with your application, detailing your theater experience (if any). All materials can be mailed to:
Summer Shakespeare Festival
Attn: Bob Smith
200 South Main Street
Pawtucket, RI 02000
If you plan to audition for a role in the summer Shakespeare Festival, be prepared to do more than just show up and recite lines. The competition is fierce, so you need to demonstrate that you understand the character and how he or she fits into the overall plot of the play.
Character development is one of the most important ways to set yourself apart from other actors. The director wants to see that you’ve put time and thought into your character’s motivations, relationships, and desires. This article will help you prepare by giving some tips on character development.
The first step is to read the entire play before you look at your character’s lines. Look for clues about your character throughout the text instead of just in his or her scenes. Are there any references to him or her in other scenes? If so, how does that affect how you think about your character? For example, if two characters are secretly having an affair, but one of them has a jealous wife, it will affect how they interact with each other on stage.
Next, read through your character’s lines and make notes about what they reveal about him or her: Do they seem happy? Angry? Sad? In love? Heartbroken? Don’t limit
You are performing with the Bard himself when you join the Summer Shakespeare Festival. Being a part of this experience will be rewarding and challenging, but it will also be an exciting journey. You can learn more about the festival by visiting
www.summershakespearefestival.com or else by calling 555-555-5555.
Auditions begin on Tuesday, July 1st at 5pm in the auditorium of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on Main Street and continue on Wednesday, July 2nd at 7pm at the same location. Please prepare a monologue from any Shakespeare play that is no longer than two minutes long. Show up 15 minutes early to sign up for your audition time slot. If you would like to audition for a specific role, please let us know when you sign up for your time slot by writing the name of that role on the sign-up sheet or else see Mr. Johnson to schedule a time to audition in his office (Room 301) during school hours between June 23rd and 27th.
Summer Shakespeare Festival auditions are open to all high school students in grades 9-12 as well as any community members who wish to participate. If you have questions about what roles are available or how many lines there are for
The Shakespeare Festival has had a tough year.
First, the festival’s executive director quit in the middle of his first year on the job. Then, the festival’s artistic director resigned suddenly. And last week, the festival’s assistant general manager announced she was leaving for another theater company.
Now, after a six-figure deficit and significant staff turnover, the Shakespeare Festival is moving forward with its 32nd season of free outdoor shows at Forest Park. Auditions are set for next month at the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts.
Among those trying out will be Steve Callahan of Brentwood. The 56-year-old actor said he’ll be auditioning for anything he can get — as long as it doesn’t require a lot of running.
“I’m not sure I could do ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ ” he joked. “I’d have to be Mercutio.”
I’ve been studying Shakespeare since my first high school production of Midsummer Night’s Dream. The big summer festival in town is auditioning for three plays this year: Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet. I’ve been lucky enough to land a part in all three, first as a spear carrier in Romeo and Juliet, then as a servant in Hamlet. This year, though, I’m hoping to get the lead part of Viola in Twelfth Night.
The one thing that’s tripped me up in auditions has been the language. Even though I’ve read almost all of Shakespeare’s plays, it’s hard to remember the lines when you only have a couple days before auditions. But I’ve found an awesome method that works like magic!
I read the play out loud every day for at least a month before auditions. I do this while I’m walking to and from school, or while I’m doing my homework, or while I’m eating lunch. It’s amazing how much easier it is to memorize lines this way–and it’s great practice too!
I also keep an ear out for anyone who speaks English with an accent. This can be really helpful when you’re trying to learn how someone from another
Saturday, August 8
Our guest blogger is David J. Oliver, an actor and director who teaches acting to tweens and teens at the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble in California. His most recent book is The Audition Process: A Practical Guidebook for Actors (McFarland, 2014).
What I love most about Shakespeare auditions are the surprises; I learn more from watching fresh-faced kids try something new than from seeing seasoned professionals play it safe.
I’ve been a theatre professional for over 30 years, but my favorite experiences continue to be seeing young people audition for the first time and watching them grow as performers. I get to do this twice a year when I prepare middle school and high school students for summer Shakespeare auditions. It’s challenging work because it requires me to make sure that kids have the skills necessary to succeed in the audition room–but it also gives me great pleasure because of the positive impact that Shakespeare can have on young lives.
Many of these kids come into the audition process with very little acting experience or training; they’re just trying something new. For others, though, this is their chance to shine; they want to show what they can do and how much they already know about performing Shakespeare. Some attend theatre camp or take
