Wheaton Drama

Auditions for Wheaton Drama’s upcoming production of Peter and the Starcatcher, directed by Sean Ogren & Suzanne Ogren, are set for Sunday, March 29th and Monday, March 30th from 7:00pm to 10:00pm, with callbacks Tuesday, March 31st @ 7:00pm at:

Wheaton Drama, Inc.
111 N. Hale St.
Wheaton, IL 60187

Please note that this show is non-equity and there is no pay.
Performances for Peter and the Starcatcher will take place from Friday, May 22nd thru Sunday June 14th:
● Thursday, Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.
● Sundays at 3:00 p.m.
Actors are required to be there for all performances.

Rehearsals will begin on Sunday, April 5th and are held four nights a week, Sunday thru Wednesday evenings. Due to the collaborative nature of the play, all cast members will be required at most, if not all, rehearsals.
Auditions will consist of a 90-minute block from either 7:00-8:30 or 8:30-10:00. A short song will be taught, as well as a dance and basic fight choreography. Sides will be sent out prior to auditions. Callbacks will consist of further scenes from the play. To sign up for auditions, please send an e-mail request titled “Peter and the Starcatcher Audition” to ewmusic37@gmail.com and list your preference for date and time. Limited space may mean that we cannot honor your preference but we will do our best.

The following roles are available for color-blind casting.

Some roles are available for gender-blind casting as noted.

The imaginative theme of the play allows for wide age ranges for actors, however, please note that you must be at least 16 to audition.
Also, due to the physical nature of the play, all actors must be in good physical condition.

THE ORPHANS
PETER (male – 16-35) An astute boy. Nameless, homeless, and friendless, but a survivor. More than anything, he wants a home and family. If he could grow up, he’d fall for Molly in a big way.
PRENTISS (male – 16-35) Ambitions, hyperarticulate, logical; yearns to be a leader, even as he knows in his heart that he never shall be one. A bit of a blowhard with just the teeny-tiniest touch of cowardice.
TED (male – 16-35) Obsessed with food. A natural actor, an easy wit, perhaps a future poet.

THE BRITISH SUBJECTS

LORD LEONARD ASTER (male – 25-60) The very model of a Victorian gentleman, loyal subject to the Queen, devoted father, faithful friend. Also – a Starcatcher; thus dedicated to protecting the Earth and all who dwell thereon from the awesome power of starstuff.
MOLLY ASTER (female – 16-35) A true leader at a time when girls are mostly followers. Will risk everything for the sake of Doing Right. Curious, intelligent, beginning to feel things she doesn’t yet understand – romantic longings that revert to childish tantrums under pressure – because, after all, she’s a thirteen-year-old kid. She’ll be a great woman one day.
MRS. BUMBRAKE / TEACHER (male – 20-60) BUMBRAKE is Molly’s nanny. British to the bone. Still has enough of her girlish charm to turn a sailor’s head and leaven his dreams. Stiff in the lip, loose in the hip, fun on a ship. / Teacher is formerly a salmon, now an ancient, knowledgeable mermaid.
CAPTAIN ROBERT FALCON SCOTT (male/female – 20-60) Captain of Britain’s fastest frigate, the Wasp.

THE SEAFARERS
THE BLACK STACHE (male – 20-55) Long after everyone else got out of the pirate business, The Black Stache continues to terrorize the seven seas in search of a hero worthy of his villainy. Famous for his face foliage, he started shaving at age ten, had a bushy handlebar by eleven, and the blood of twenty crews on his hands by twelve. Heartless and hirsute, suspiciously well read, partial to the poetical and theatrical, and given to a ferocity from which no good shall every spring.
ALF (male – 20-60) An old see dog. Something about him appeals to the feminine sensibility – might be his bow legs, his saucy gait, or his kind heart.
BILL SLANK / HAWKING CLAM (male/female – 20-65) BILL SLANK is the Neverland’s vicious captain, without the skill or quality to lead anyone but himself, and always into disaster. A greedy bastard who’d sell his own mother for a ship to command and send boys to their doom for the favor of those who would use starstuff for personal gain, global domination, or worse. An orphan, too. / HAWKING CLAM Son of Fighting Prawn and Sweet ’n’ Sour Shrimp. One day, he will ascend the Clam throne as head of the Royal Clam Clan.
GREMPKIN / MACK / SANCHEZ (male/female – 20-65) GREMPKIN is the mean and malodorous schoolmaster of St. Norbert’s Orphanage for Lost Boys. / MACK is a very bad sailor who wants to be anywhere but under the thumb of Bill Slank. / SANCHEZ is a hard-working Spanish pirate with an identity crisis.
SMEE (male/female – 20-65) First mate to Black Stache. Single-mindedly dedicated to his captain’s every whim. His motto: “Tis good to be busy.”

Wheaton Drama is pleased to announce auditions for Hauptmann by John Logan (playwright of the Tony Award winning Red, and screenplay writer of Gladiator, The Aviator, Skyfall, and others). Hauptmann is a gripping drama about the 1932 kidnapping and death of Charles Lindbergh, Jr. and the man tried, convicted and executed for that crime, Bruno Richard Hauptmann, whose “Trial of the Century,” according to H. L. Mencken, was “the biggest story since the Resurrection.” Hauptmann tells the story from Hauptmann’s own perspective just prior to being sent to his fate in the New Jersey electric chair in 1936.  He enlists the assistance of six guards in recounting his tale who play multiple roles in the process.

Hauptmann will be performed March 20 – April 5, 2020. Show times are Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30p, Sundays at 3:00p.

Auditions will be held on Sunday, January 19 & Monday, January 20 from 7:00p to 9:30p at the theatre, 111 N. Hale Street, Wheaton [with time extended, if necessary.] Callbacks will be conducted on Wednesday, January 22.  Auditions are by appointment at 10-minute intervals, but walk-ins will be heard, if time permits.  

To reserve an audition time, email HauptmannWDI@gmail.com with your preferred date and time. We will do our best to accommodate your request, but the slots will be filled first come, first served. Audition forms can be found here. Please bring the completed form with you to your audition.

First auditions will consist of any monologue of the auditionee’s choosing, from 1:30 to two minutes in length which shows that person’s abilities to best advantage.  Callbacks will consist of readings from the script which will be available for viewing upon making an appointment for the first round of auditions.  Every effort to adjust to conflicts will be made.  Not everyone will be called back.  If auditioning for the role of Richard or Anna Hauptmann, a second monologue [or the same one repeated] will be necessary employing a German accent. Additionally, the Hauptmanns and one of the guards speak some of their lines in German. German Accent Workshops will be conducted by Mackenzie Grattan on Sunday, January 5 from 4:00p to 6:00p and on Saturday morning, January 11 from 10:00a to noon at the theatre. To sign up for the workshop in advance, click here. Walk-ins will also be allowed, but advanced notice is preferred. Attendance at the Workshops is not required. Either or both are available to those who would like assistance with performing a German accent.

All roles are available and are as follows:

Bruno Richard Hauptmann – Age 36 at the time of his execution.  A carpenter and stockbroker living in the Bronx until his arrest, he was an illegal immigrant from Germany with some criminal charges in his background.  While he had some of the ransom money in his possession, leading to his arrest, he always claimed to have been given the money to hold by another man.  He proclaimed his innocence until his death, even though his sentence would have been commuted to life in prison had he confessed.  Has some lines in German and speaks throughout the play with a German accent.  Heavy line and rehearsal commitment.  

The Guards – 4 males and 2 females – They all play multiple roles throughout, and they rarely leave the stage.  Some of the roles portrayed by the guards include but are not limited to: 

• Anna Hauptmann, Richard’s wife who proclaimed his innocence to the world and campaigned to overturn his conviction until her death in her nineties; 

• Charles and Anne Lindbergh, America’s golden couple, the famous aviator hero and his reserved, poetic wife; 

• David Wilentz, the lead prosecutor striving to obtain the death penalty; 

• Dr. John Condon who acted as the intermediary between the Lindberghs and the kidnapper(s); 

• Judge Thomas Trenchard, the police, reporters, and trial witnesses.  

Actors may or may not match the particulars of the the people they are portraying in Hauptmann’s narrative.

The Hauptmann creative team includes – Production Manager and Set Designer: Randall Knott;  Director: Ken Kaden; Assistant Director/Assistant Stage Manager: Linda Spadlowski;  Director’s Assistant:  Dee Hicks;  Director of German Language and Dialect: Mackenzie Grattan;  Fight Director: Andrew Trygstad;  Stage Manager:  Bruce Ebner;  Costumes: Ben Vargas;  Lighting:  Jim Van De Velde;  Choreographer:  Sarah Malloy.

Wheaton Drama, Inc. will hold auditions for Little Women, The Broadway Musical on Sunday, November 3rd and Monday, November 4th at 7pm. Callbacks (if needed): Tuesday, November 5th, 7pm. All auditions will be held at 112 N Wolf Road Northlake, IL 60164. NOTE – This is NOT Wheaton Drama. Auditions are being held off site for this production. The show runs January 17th – February 9th, 2020.

Little Women, The Broadway Musical is a heartwarming look at the lives of the four March sisters as they grow up and find their own voices against the backdrop of the Civil War. Full of hope and adventure, memorable songs, humor and heartbreak, the show (and beloved book) is based loosely on Louisa May Alcott’s life.

Audition slots are available by appointment only. Director Krystyn Wells would like to see a 30 second – 1 minute story or “elevator” pitch about a favorite thing (book, play, TV show, recipe, vacation). Please also prepare 16-32 measures of musical theatre style in appropriate key; please provide copy as an accompanist will be provided.  Please no a cappella or recordings. You may be asked for additional singing for range placement.

To request an audition time or to ask questions: please write to the show’s email: LittleWomenMusicalWDI2020@gmail.com and indicate preference for Sunday or Monday, as well as preference for earlier or later in the evening. We will do our best to accommodate your requests. Audition forms can be downloaded by clicking the link below:

Download audition forms here. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W5Y5oSB7_FrSMb-is8jqxT9lsYThOigwNGg2UFX7yAg/edit?usp=sharing

Available roles:
Jo March – Our protagonist who stands up for everything she believes in. Passionate, adventurous and brave. (Vocal Range E3-A5 (Belt/Mix), Age Range 18-23)

Professor Bhaer – A German Professor who exemplifies proper manners. He is a boarder in Mrs. Kirk’s boarding house. (Vocal Range G2-F#4 (Baritone), Age Range 25-45)

Amy March – The youngest March sister, impulsive, energetic, and striving for a more sophisticated life. (Vocal Range Cb4-Gb5 (Soprano/Mix), Age Range 14-18)

Meg March – The world-weary, yet hopeful, oldest sister who yearns for a great life. (Vocal Range A#3-Gb5 (Soprano), Age Range 20-25)

Beth March – The second youngest sister who tragically dies of Scarlet Fever. Peace-maker, giving and optimistic. (Vocal Range A3-G5 (Soprano), Age Range 16-21) 

Marmee March – The girls’ mother. She is the strong backbone of the family, courageous in spite of difficulties. (Vocal Range Eb3-Eb5 (Mezzo Soprano), Age Range 45-55) 

Mr. Laurence – Laurie’s grandfather who lives next door. Slightly crotchety. (Vocal Range D3-E4 (Baritone), Age Range 55-70) 

Laurie Laurence – The bright-eyed-boy-next-door with considerable charm. (Vocal Range Bb2-Bb4 (Tenor), Age Range 18-23) 

Aunt March – A formidable, over-bearing matron and great-aunt to the March sisters. (Vocal Range E3-F5 (Soprano), Age Range 35-60) 

Mr. John Brooke – Laurie’s tutor and a rather stiff man; shows very little emotion until he falls in love with Meg. (Vocal Range C#3 – F#4 (Bari-Tenor), Age Range 25-35) 

Mrs. Kirk – The woman who runs the New York boarding house where Jo lives. Slight Irish accent. (Vocal Range D4-G4 (Soprano), Age Range 45-60) 

Weekly Volcano Press Characters –  (Troll, Clarissa, Rodrigo II, Knight, Rodrigo, Hag, Braxton) – May be cast as separate roles within the ensemble or double cast with Amy, Meg, Beth, Mr. Laurence, Laurie, Aunt March and John Brooke (Various Vocal Ranges, Age Range 14+) 

Ensemble – Dancers at the ball, ice skaters, beachcombers, hags, trolls and monks. (Various vocal ranges, Age Range 14+) 

Wheaton Drama is proud to announce its audition schedule for the 2019/2020 Season. Save the date information is listed below for each of the shows, and more information about time, place and requirements for each show are forthcoming on our website and social media. Mark your calendars now – and join us in making the 2019/2020 Season at Wheaton Drama remarkable!

• The Addams Family Auditions – July 21, July 22; Callbacks – July 23; Optional Dance Workshop –  Sunday July 14. Auditions will be scheduled in group rotations.
• Moonlight and Magnolias Auditions – Sep 15, Sep 16; Callbacks – Sep 17. Auditions will be in scheduled time slots.
• Merry Mad Mid-Mod Auditions – Aug 4. Auditions will be in scheduled time slots.
• Little Women The Broadway Musical Auditions –  Nov 3, Nov 4; Callbacks – Nov 5.
• Hauptmann Auditions – Jan 19, Jan 20; Callbacks – Jan 22. Auditions will be in scheduled time slots.
• Peter and the Starcatcher Auditions – March 29, March 30; Callbacks March 31. Auditions will be in scheduled time slots.

Wheaton Drama announces auditions for SWEENEY TODD: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, directed by Randall W. Knott, with production management by Elyse Willis, musical direction by Bryan McCaffery, and choreography by Katy Smith.

WHEN: Sunday, March 3 or Monday, March 4, beginning at 7 p.m..  Callbacks will be held on Wednesday, March 6, beginning at 7 p.m..

WHERE:  Wheaton Drama’s Playhouse 111, located at 111 N. Hale St., Wheaton, IL

Auditions will be by appointment (see below). Please prepare 32 bars of a piece in the style of the show. There will be no movement/reading at the preliminary auditions, just singing. Callbacks will include some movement. Please plan to arrive as early as you need to prepare for your audition time. Note: we intend to be on time, if you are late, your spot will likely be forfeited. See below for character descriptions.

To schedule an appointment:  

Audition appointments have been filled and a waiting list has been started. Please email below to be added to the waiting list for an audition!

Please email toddwdi2019@gmail.com with a preferred audition night, NOT a preferred time. With the demand we expect, we will not be able to accommodate requests for appointment time. Audition appointments will be scheduled in 5 minute increments, and the Production Staff reserves the right to fill the slots as requests arrive. Please indicate that in the event your preferred night is not available, if you are available the other night as well. Auditions will be first come, first serve, and limited to the 72 slots we are creating. Audition appointments will close on March 1, 5:00 pm.  

SWEENEY TODDwill run May 24 through June 16, 2019. Performances will take place Thursdays/Fridays/Saturdays at 8pm & Sundays at 3pm. All performances are staged at Wheaton Drama’s Playhouse 111, located at 111 N. Hale Street in downtown Wheaton.

Non-Mandatory Q&A with Production Staff

There will be a non-mandatory Q&A with the Director and Assistant Director on Saturday morning, February 9^th, at Playhouse 111, 10:00-11:00 a.m. Audition expectations, a brief description of the vision of the show, and any questions from those attending will be the topics of the day.  There will be doughnuts, coffee, etc.  Mostly, it’s a way to break some of the tension before the auditions.  As stated, attendance is not mandatory, but we might have some fun.  

Character Descriptions:
Age ranges mean WHAT CAN BE VISUALIZED ON STAGE age ranges, not necessarily actual ages of actors.

Sweeney Todd– Baritone  (Age 35-45)  Primary male lead. A man out for revenge following his 15 year false imprisonment in Australia.  Will learn small amount of stage combat.

Mrs. Lovett– Mezzo (Age 45-55)  Primary female lead.  Opportunistic owner of a failing meat pie shop.  Comedic, for sure, but with an edge.

Judge Turpin– Baritone (Age 55-75) Supporting male lead.  Sanctimonious “honorable” man responsible for Todd’s imprisonment. 

Anthony Hope– Tenor  (Age  20-25) Supporting male lead.  Wide-eyed romantic ingénue.

Johanna– Lyric Soprano (Age 16) Supporting female lead.  Romantic ingénue who is perhaps not so wide-eyed.

Beggar Woman– Mezzo (Age – 35-45) Supporting female lead.  “Crazy” beggar woman with a tragic story to tell.

Tobias Ragg– Tenor (teenager-early 30s) Supporting male lead.  Mentally challenged, put-upon young man.  Will consider teenagers, but bear in mind that the role is demanding, vocally.  

Beadle Bamford– Tenor (Age 45-55) Supporting male lead.  Turpin’s lackey.  What Bill Sikes would be if he’d had someone spot his talent and groom him.  Must have a high falsetto range.

Adolfo  Pirelli– HIGH, crisp tone, tenor (Age 25-35) Pirelli is a theatrically comic Italian(?) barber with a soaring voice…and a secret.  

Ensemble– We NEEDbetween 5-16 ensemble members to act as a Greek Chorus throughout the play.  Stage time will be plentiful, and ALL will be featured, at least visually, at some point.  The Ensemble will be balanced based on strength of vocalists, it may be divided equally SATB, it may not.  We will be casting at least 3 males and 2 females in the ensemble. We would prefer a larger ensemble, as we want to fill the stage with sound.  This is a show that absolutely depends on its ensemble.

This production is non-equity & there is no pay.

SWEENEY TODD is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIshows.com