I did my first directing gig in 1982 (Brigadoon, FHS), and this was absolutely the toughest casting job I've done since. I have never had so many good options and tough choices, and for my next show, I want to audition a bunch of strangers whose feelings I don't care about. But this is a great opportunity for FCOA, and I've done my best to pull together a cast that can do this show justice and make the theater proud.
Velma- Jodi Hoover
Roxie- Jane O'Connor
Amos- Ryan Ingram
Billy- Brett Sloan
Mama- Carissa McClintock
Mary Sunshine- Janelle Chambers
Fred Casey- Jordan Rembold
Sgt. Fogarty- Ben Bodamer
Martin-TBA
Go to Hell Kitty- Jennifer Fox
Harry- Ricci Hardt
Aaron- Ben Bodamer
Liz- Casey McVay
Annie- Amanda Greene
June- Terri Gilmore
Hunyak- Tracy Brown
Mona- Katie Kirby
COMPANY
Lacy Perry
Missy Schwab
Pam Sibley
Deanna Wolfgang
Sallie Bertram
Zachery Hoffman
Bill Hennessy
Bob Morris
Dennis Cralley
Stephen Teig
Katelyn Schaffer
Erin Leccia
I'm excited. This is going to be a great eight weeks, and when it's over, we're going to have something to show Barrow audiences that they've never seen before. This is going to be an adventure!
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Casting Ranges
A few more words about cast requirements, focusing on the vocal.
Velma: Velma is a lusty alto, getting all the way down to As and Gs
Roxie: Also works the bottom end of the range, down to As and Gs
Billy: A baritone, a la Crosby, but he needs a good solid top-of-the-staff F
Mary Sunshine: Here's the soprano part. Goes up to a good solid A
Velma: Velma is a lusty alto, getting all the way down to As and Gs
Roxie: Also works the bottom end of the range, down to As and Gs
Billy: A baritone, a la Crosby, but he needs a good solid top-of-the-staff F
Mary Sunshine: Here's the soprano part. Goes up to a good solid A
Thursday, June 19, 2014
AUDITIONS
You can find the full casting info elsewhere on this blog. Here's the info on auditioning.
TIMES:
Saturday, July 26, 2:00 PM
Sunday, July 27, 6:00 PM
Monday, July 28, 6:00 PM
Note: you do NOT need to be there promptly at the starting time in order to audition.
SINGING:
Prepare 32 bars of a song of your choice. With the exception of Mary Sunshine's "Little Bit of Good," there is very little pretty, legit singing in this show. It's heavy on the belting and on the twenties style of pop singing, so choosing something in that vein would be helpful. I'm okay with hearing songs from this show in audition. Accompanist will be provided (pro tip: it's almost never a good idea to audition a capella).
DANCING:
We'll be looking not just for dancing ability, but trying to assess level of ability and how well you can pick stuff up. You'll be taught a sequence at the audition, and we'll look at dancers in groups. Just relax and give it your best shot.
READING:
We will do some cold reads on the spot. If you definitely just want to sing and/or dance without every opening your mouth, we won't make you read anything. There will be a copy or two of the script in the waiting area so that you can look over things ahead of time if you wish.
The audition packet will be available for download from this blog. Just not today.
TIMES:
Saturday, July 26, 2:00 PM
Sunday, July 27, 6:00 PM
Monday, July 28, 6:00 PM
Note: you do NOT need to be there promptly at the starting time in order to audition.
SINGING:
Prepare 32 bars of a song of your choice. With the exception of Mary Sunshine's "Little Bit of Good," there is very little pretty, legit singing in this show. It's heavy on the belting and on the twenties style of pop singing, so choosing something in that vein would be helpful. I'm okay with hearing songs from this show in audition. Accompanist will be provided (pro tip: it's almost never a good idea to audition a capella).
DANCING:
We'll be looking not just for dancing ability, but trying to assess level of ability and how well you can pick stuff up. You'll be taught a sequence at the audition, and we'll look at dancers in groups. Just relax and give it your best shot.
READING:
We will do some cold reads on the spot. If you definitely just want to sing and/or dance without every opening your mouth, we won't make you read anything. There will be a copy or two of the script in the waiting area so that you can look over things ahead of time if you wish.
The audition packet will be available for download from this blog. Just not today.
CASTING CALL
Here's what we'll be looking for:
MAJOR ROLES:
VELMA KELLY: Former vaudeville star, brassy, tough, convicted killer
Songs: All That Jazz, Cell Block Tango, I Can't Do It Alone, My Own Best Friend, I Know a Girl, When Velma Takes the Stand, Class, Nowadays
ROXIE HART: Ambitious, tough, not as smart as she thinks she is
Songs: Funny Honey, Roxie, My Own Best Friends, Me and My Baby, Nowadays
BILLY FLYNN: Smooth, polished, successful, amoral lawyer
Songs: All I Care About Is Love, We Both Reached for the Gun, Razzle Dazzle
MATRON MAMA MORTON: Runs the prison, an opportunist (no dancing)
Songs: When You're Good To Mama, Class
MARY SUNSHINE: Feel-good, sob story journalist (she will be a she in our production)
Songs: A Little Bit of Good, We Both Reached for the Gun
AMOS HART: Roxie's sad sack husband, not too bright (no dancing)
Song: Mister Cellophane
OTHER ROLES:
FRED CASELY: The callow player that Roxie kills
SERGEANT FOGARTY: Investigating officer at Fred's murder
LIZ: Murderess. She killed the gum popper
ANNIE: Murderess who killed the Mormon with six wives
JUNE: Her husband ran into her knife six times
MONA: Murderess. Had artistic differences with her man
HUNYAK: The Hungarian murderess. Anybody speak Hungarian? Convicted and hanged.
HARRISON: The district attorney prosecuting Roxie
GO-TO-HELL KITTY: Heiress who finds her man in bed with two women
HARRY: Her man. He makes poor choices, but he does get to say, "Are you gonna believe what you see or what I tell you?"
ALSO: We have a doctor, a tailor, a judge, a bailiff, a court reporter, and a person who single-handedly plays all twelve members of the jury.
ENSEMBLE:
There is room in the chorus for people who are singers but might not have the greatest dance skills, as well as dancers who are not necessarily God's gift to singing. If you are the total package, that is most excellent. But we absolutely have space for people whose skill set is not quite so broad.
AGE:
There are no young person roles in this show. I'm not setting a hard and fast age limit, but you must be able to come across as an adult on stage. I will miss all my orphans and street urchins from my past few shows, but I can't send anybody out on stage who can't pass for a grown up.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
We are structuring the show to incorporate actors of many levels of skill and stamina. Roxie and Velma are both demanding roles- basically run a few miles, then belt out a song, then run another mile while belting out a song.
For everyone else, requirements vary. The featured dancing ensemble will work hard, but for some folks considerably less dance will be required, and there are some roles that only require you to be able to walk and talk at the same time. In audition, you'll have the opportunity to share your comfort level.
I can't remember a show where this came up before, but people have been asking so, here we go. No, we will not have a height or weight requirement for this show. Human beings come in various levels of curviness, and there's no reason for the show not to reflect that. That said, this is a show that is a lot about sex and sensuality, and if you're generally only comfortable on stage wearing a hoop skirt and a parka, there are fewer (I won't say none) opportunities for you. But I'll also say this-- I never, ever, ever send any performer out on stage to be embarrassed. I know some folks are concerned about doing a show that they associate with people dancing around barely in their underwear-- we will be tasteful and appropriate, but we will also strive to keep it hot. If you have further questions about this, don't hesitate to get ahold of me.
MAJOR ROLES:
VELMA KELLY: Former vaudeville star, brassy, tough, convicted killer
Songs: All That Jazz, Cell Block Tango, I Can't Do It Alone, My Own Best Friend, I Know a Girl, When Velma Takes the Stand, Class, Nowadays
ROXIE HART: Ambitious, tough, not as smart as she thinks she is
Songs: Funny Honey, Roxie, My Own Best Friends, Me and My Baby, Nowadays
BILLY FLYNN: Smooth, polished, successful, amoral lawyer
Songs: All I Care About Is Love, We Both Reached for the Gun, Razzle Dazzle
MATRON MAMA MORTON: Runs the prison, an opportunist (no dancing)
Songs: When You're Good To Mama, Class
MARY SUNSHINE: Feel-good, sob story journalist (she will be a she in our production)
Songs: A Little Bit of Good, We Both Reached for the Gun
AMOS HART: Roxie's sad sack husband, not too bright (no dancing)
Song: Mister Cellophane
OTHER ROLES:
FRED CASELY: The callow player that Roxie kills
SERGEANT FOGARTY: Investigating officer at Fred's murder
LIZ: Murderess. She killed the gum popper
ANNIE: Murderess who killed the Mormon with six wives
JUNE: Her husband ran into her knife six times
MONA: Murderess. Had artistic differences with her man
HUNYAK: The Hungarian murderess. Anybody speak Hungarian? Convicted and hanged.
HARRISON: The district attorney prosecuting Roxie
GO-TO-HELL KITTY: Heiress who finds her man in bed with two women
HARRY: Her man. He makes poor choices, but he does get to say, "Are you gonna believe what you see or what I tell you?"
ALSO: We have a doctor, a tailor, a judge, a bailiff, a court reporter, and a person who single-handedly plays all twelve members of the jury.
ENSEMBLE:
There is room in the chorus for people who are singers but might not have the greatest dance skills, as well as dancers who are not necessarily God's gift to singing. If you are the total package, that is most excellent. But we absolutely have space for people whose skill set is not quite so broad.
AGE:
There are no young person roles in this show. I'm not setting a hard and fast age limit, but you must be able to come across as an adult on stage. I will miss all my orphans and street urchins from my past few shows, but I can't send anybody out on stage who can't pass for a grown up.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
We are structuring the show to incorporate actors of many levels of skill and stamina. Roxie and Velma are both demanding roles- basically run a few miles, then belt out a song, then run another mile while belting out a song.
For everyone else, requirements vary. The featured dancing ensemble will work hard, but for some folks considerably less dance will be required, and there are some roles that only require you to be able to walk and talk at the same time. In audition, you'll have the opportunity to share your comfort level.
I can't remember a show where this came up before, but people have been asking so, here we go. No, we will not have a height or weight requirement for this show. Human beings come in various levels of curviness, and there's no reason for the show not to reflect that. That said, this is a show that is a lot about sex and sensuality, and if you're generally only comfortable on stage wearing a hoop skirt and a parka, there are fewer (I won't say none) opportunities for you. But I'll also say this-- I never, ever, ever send any performer out on stage to be embarrassed. I know some folks are concerned about doing a show that they associate with people dancing around barely in their underwear-- we will be tasteful and appropriate, but we will also strive to keep it hot. If you have further questions about this, don't hesitate to get ahold of me.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Men??
When people think Chicago, they think mostly of all the awesome parts for women. However, there is plenty for men to do as well.
There are named rolls, including Billy Flynn, Amos Hart, and Fred Casely. But there are also policemen, newspaper reporters, and other chorus work. We will need dancers and singers to round out the chorus-- and this is not a show where we can easily substitute women in roles written for men.
So if you are a man, or know some men personally, do consider joining us. We need men to really do this show up right. Pass the word.
There are named rolls, including Billy Flynn, Amos Hart, and Fred Casely. But there are also policemen, newspaper reporters, and other chorus work. We will need dancers and singers to round out the chorus-- and this is not a show where we can easily substitute women in roles written for men.
So if you are a man, or know some men personally, do consider joining us. We need men to really do this show up right. Pass the word.
How Is The Show Different From the Movie?
Many folks are only familiar with the movie version, so if you're considering joining us for the stage version, you're perhaps wondering how the stage show is different from the film.
1) Roxie and Velma- The movie shifted the dramatic focus to Roxie, making her a more sympathetic character and putting her at the center of the action. The stage version balances the two principals a bit more evenly, with Velma actually appearing in more musical numbers.
2) Musical numbers- A few were cut between stage and screen, including the number "Class" which almost made it to the film
3) Plot- The whole courtroom twist with Roxie's diary never happens in the stage version. There's still a story, but in keeping with the vaudeville show format of Chicago, telling a story is not always the main concern.
1) Roxie and Velma- The movie shifted the dramatic focus to Roxie, making her a more sympathetic character and putting her at the center of the action. The stage version balances the two principals a bit more evenly, with Velma actually appearing in more musical numbers.
2) Musical numbers- A few were cut between stage and screen, including the number "Class" which almost made it to the film
3) Plot- The whole courtroom twist with Roxie's diary never happens in the stage version. There's still a story, but in keeping with the vaudeville show format of Chicago, telling a story is not always the main concern.
Monday, June 9, 2014
Chicago Is Vaudeville
The show was originally conceived and written as a vaudeville show. Each musical number is an act in the vaudeville show, most written in the style of a particular well-known performer of the twenties.
We'll get into those references a bit more later, but for one example, Velma's line "Hello suckers," was the signature line of Texas Guinan, a performer and night club (well, saloons and speakeasies) operator who was known for being hard edged.
The show was created less than fifty years after the period it references, so folks still knew who those old performers were, and that homaginess gave the show some of its original flavor. The movie's very presentational approach is a nod to the nature of the stage version; it's all a big show, and everyone is just putting on an act, trying to get attention and applause.
We'll get into those references a bit more later, but for one example, Velma's line "Hello suckers," was the signature line of Texas Guinan, a performer and night club (well, saloons and speakeasies) operator who was known for being hard edged.
The show was created less than fifty years after the period it references, so folks still knew who those old performers were, and that homaginess gave the show some of its original flavor. The movie's very presentational approach is a nod to the nature of the stage version; it's all a big show, and everyone is just putting on an act, trying to get attention and applause.
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