As we enter 2016, we here at the Majestic Theatre are excited to showcase a batch of homegrown productions looking for some fantastic local talent to fill their casts. From an original and beautifully tragic tale courtesy of 5 to 1 Theatre, to a classic production needing a large crew, there are wonderful opportunities for actors and crew of all types in our community. Whether you’re a veteran looking for a new production or looking for a way to get involved in your first show, the next few months feature auditions worth your attention.
Starting out our showcase is 5 to 1 Theatre’s Sound and Vision. With auditions on January 11th and 12th at 7 p.m, Sound and Vision tells the story of Kristin, a young homeless transgender woman on a journey of self-discovery. The show calls for around 10 cast members with roles for males and females of all ages. As a collective, 5 to 1 Theatre has become known for their incredible ability to traverse mature themes with a delicate touch. This marks their 3rd major production in association with the Majestic Theatre and performances run through two consecutive weekends, beginning on March 3rd in the Lab Theatre.
Director Bryanna Rainwater invites all to audition for this exploration of one’s identity.
“Kristin (the main character) is who the audience follows most closely.” Rainwater detailed. “We see her transformation from a questioning, insecure, quiet, homeless and addicted young girl to a young woman who has her life together. Through all of her struggles she is also transitioning her gender. This is a huge aspect of her life, but it is not the only thing that defines it. She has ambition and is willing to give up her old life to create a new one. Though her journey, she meets Jade another transgender woman who helps her on her path to self-discovery, but also down a dark path of prostitution and drug addiction. Each character changes in some way in this play. Each character goes through their own struggle and we learn more and more about them though their pasts.”
Next up, sharing audition time with Sound and Vision, is Michael Winder’s sketch comedy extravaganza, Idiot Box. Idiot Box is a wholly original production ideated by local improv comedians and actors Michael Winder and Jeremy Resnick. It follows Larry, an everyman who learns the secrets of humanity by looking through the lens of… his television. The show calls for 10 cast members to perform a variety of sketches, a la Saturday Night Live, that weave together to tell a (mostly) cohesive story. Winder has graced the Majestic stage time and time again, most recently in a series of Improv showcases with other local comedians, and is now looking to bring scripted sketch comedy to the main stage. Performances will run on March 18, 19, and 20.
Winder is looking for a cast that’s open to change, to experimentation, and to be involved in the creative process. “For my cast, I want flexible, open, adventurous team players.” Winder explained. “I oversee the general direction of things, but I give my actors a lot of room to experiment and improvise with each other. What appears in the final stage version isn’t necessarily what’s in the script right now. That could be scary for some folks, but that’s also the beauty of working with the writer/director: if I want to change something because an actor added a hilarious bit, I can! Another important key to making this work, however, is bringing together a group that works well as a team, sharing ideas, sharing focus, open to changing something mid-stream. For example, if you’re the type of actor who prefers to be given blocking early in rehearsal and then stick with it throughout the process, this might not be the type of show you’re looking for. We’ll “follow the funny” until we find the best bits, and that could mean changing things on the fly.”
On March 3rd and 4th at 7 p.m, is a fresh musical, Ordinary Days. Ordinary Days explores the lives of four New Yorkers whose lives come together in the search of life, love, and the perfect taxi cab. The cast calls for four dedicated actors willing to sing and bring life to these beautifully written relationships. The show will be directed by Mary Jeanne Reynales, whose last show was the big, bombastic Les Miserables on the main stage. Ordinary Days may be a much smaller, tightly-woven one act musical, but it will undoubtedly carry just as much emotional weight and acting talent as a show like Les Miserables. Performances will run two weekends starting on May 13th and will be in the newly renovated Majestic Lab Theatre.
Director Mary Jeanne Reynales is calling on “adventurous, romantic, and energetic singers” for this contemporary musical. She prefers that actors check out a copy of the show’s CD through the Majestic Theatre’s business office to perform songs directly from the show in their auditions. But if you are unable to, to come prepared with sheet music from any other classic Broadway show.
Majestic Reader’s Theatre is going on three years of providing excellent opportunities to local actors and audiences to enjoy small or unique shows that might not make it to our big stage. The following three Reader’s Theatre plays will have their auditions on February 1st and 2nd at 7:30 PM in the Classroom and Lab Theatre on the second floor of the Majestic Theater. Scripts are now available for check out from the Majestic Theatre Business Office.
Gross Indecency by Moises Kaufman will be directed by Richard Wagner on March 27 at 3pm amd 7pm.Gross Indecency uses trial transcripts, personal correspondence, interviews and other source materials to tell the story of the downfall of the great man of letters whose artistic genius has long been overshadowed by the scandal surrounding his imprisonment.
The Forest for the Trees & Intemperate Degrees by Leslie Hogan will be directed by Michael Winder on April 24 at 3pm and 7pm. The Forest for the Trees and Intemperate Degrees, written by Leslie Hogan, are two one-act plays of widely different styles united by a thematic thread.
The Forest for the Trees is a play celebrating our early conservation ethic. Hear the voice of Teddy Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, and John Muir. Intemperate Degrees is a comedy on global climate change. The setting is a community theater struggling with a malfunctioning furnace, a board of directors entrenched in tradition and self-interest, and members of the cast of its current play coming to grips with how, or if, they should extricate themselves from an intolerable working environment. What does it look like backstage when the cast is HOT?!
Love Alone by Deborah Salem Smith will be directed by Wendy Cortright on May 29 at 3pm and 7pm. When Helen’s lesbian partner of twenty years dies unexpectedly in minor surgery, Helen and her daughter want answers. Confused by the hospital’s silence around the death, they bring a lawsuit against the doctors. Now Dr. Becca Neal must confront her feelings about losing her patient while she juggles the demands of a lawsuit. Love Alone tracks the fallout in both the patient’s and the doctor’s homes, as both households navigate uncharted waters of anger, humor, and longing. This powerful story of how we grieve and how we heal speaks to an essential truth: We will all be patients one day.
And to wrap up our audition showcase, we have one of the biggest shows at the Majestic this season, Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass. With an adaptation of the classic story from British playwright Adrian Mitchell, Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass follows the young Alice as she wanders into the fantastical world of Wonderland and interacts with the whimsically fascinating denizens of this dream-like land. This non-musical production calls for a giant 30 member all-ages cast and a large crew to pull off grand costume work and even grander set design and special effects. Performances will run through four consecutive weekends starting on May 5th.
Director Robert Leff will be guiding this grand production and is undoubtedly looking for any and all members of the greater Corvallis community to join him on this ambitious journey for one of the biggest shows to grace the Majestic main stage in 2016. Adult auditions will be on February 1sr and 2nd, with a special children’s audition on January 31st from 2pm to 5pm. Scripts for all of these shows are available for checkout at the Majestic Business Office, which is open Tuesday through Friday from 12 to 5 p.m. For further information, contact the Majestic at 541-758-7827. For more information about these and all future auditions at The Majestic, please visit http://www.majestic.org/audition-info/.