Audition Notices
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For future audition notices, please join the Alabama Shakespeare Festival Auditions Facebook Group or check this page for updates.
CHILDREN/YOUTH LOCAL EQUITY & NON-EQUITY AUDITIONS — SEASON 53
Seeking Youth Performers Ages 8 – 18 for The Watsons Go to Birmingham
Montgomery, AL
Sunday, August 25, 2024
1:00 – 6:00 p.m.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham
Adapted by Cheryl West
Based on the book The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Ten-year-old Kenny chronicles the events of a fateful summer for the Watson family of Flint, Michigan. Momma and Dad decide it’s time for Kenny’s teenage brother to have a lengthy stay with strict Grandma Sands in Birmingham, Alabama, and the family heads south — toward a deadly, defining moment in American history
In attendance at auditions: Keith Arthur Bolden, Director; Madeleine Lambert, Associate Artistic Director; Cameron Williams, Artistic Coordinator
AVAILABLE ROLES
- Kenny, age 10 – 16, Black, male-identifying
- Byron, age 13 – 18, Black, male-identifying
- Joey, age 8 – 13, Black, female-identifying
- Buphead, age 13 – 18, Black, male-identifying
KEY PRODUCTION & REHEARSAL DATES
- First Rehearsal: January 7, 2025. Rehearsals run after school Tuesdays through Fridays. Expect full days on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Technical Rehearsals: January 30 – February 2, 2025. Young performers will need an excuse from school to attend technical rehearsals on January 30 – 31. They also will need to attend technical rehearsals on February 1 – 2.
- First Preview: February 4, 2025, at 10:00 a.m.
- Opening Performance: February 7, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.
- Closing Performance: February 23, 2025, at 2:00 p.m.
- Click here for the full schedule with all performance dates.
WHAT TO PREPARE
Please bring a headshot and resume to the audition.
If you are auditioning, prepare the sides that corresponds with your character. For Kenny and Byron, please prepare two sides.
All young performers should also prepare a story based on one of the following prompts. The story should be memorized with a beginning, middle, and end. No more than two minutes.
- A story about a time when you learned a valuable lesson.
- A story about a time when an experience made you happy or sad.
- A story about a time when you felt proud of yourself.
- A story about an adventure — what surprised you, scared you, delighted you?
AUDITION REGISTRATION
You must register for a time slot by emailing [email protected] to schedule an audition time. Auditions begin at 1:00 p.m.
No phone calls regarding auditions, please.
Guardians please note: This is a serious commitment because the young performers are integral to the production. Please review the full schedule before auditioning. The production will not be double cast.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
- When you arrive for the audition, you will be asked to fill out an audition form/conflict sheet. Make plans to arrive early! Once the audition form is completed, your child will be called in to audition individually. Parents/Guardians are required to wait outside or on our grounds while their child auditions. Please do not leave your child unaccompanied during the audition.
- Guardians please note: This is a serious commitment because the young performers are integral to the production. Please review the full schedule before auditioning. The production will not be double cast.
- Wear comfortable clothes and shoes that you can move around in.
- Auditionees will be notified if they are requested for a callback.
For additional questions, please visit our Auditions Frequently Asked Questions page or email [email protected].
Alabama Shakespeare Festival is committed to diversity; we encourage performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to attend every audition. Always bring your Equity Membership card to auditions.
Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to attend every audition.
ADULT LOCAL EQUITY & NON-EQUITY AUDITIONS — SEASON 53
None currently scheduled. Please visit again for updates.
No phone calls regarding auditions, please.
For additional questions, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page or email [email protected].
ADULT NEW YORK EPA & AGENT AUDITIONS — SEASON 53
None currently scheduled. Please visit again for updates.
To audition in New York, please contact Karie Koppel with Koppel Casting: [email protected].
No phone calls regarding auditions, please.
For additional questions, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page or email [email protected].
If you have further questions, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.
Anti-Racism Statement
ASF commits to anti-racism in its systems, practices, and theatre-making. As a storytelling institution charged with building community, we believe our civic, not-for-profit mission cannot be achieved with racist policies, ideals, or thinking in place. We commit to a conscious decision to make frequent, consistent, equitable choices daily. These choices require ongoing self-awareness and self-reflection as we move through life. We commit to combating discriminatory treatments, unfair policies, or biased practices based on race that result in inequitable outcomes for whites over Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and extend considerably beyond prejudice.