Wheaton Drama

Director Randall Knott is excited to announce the cast for Wheaton Drama’s upcoming production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Knott and his production team are excited for the adventure ahead and would like to thank all those who auditioned for the production.

Cast List

Production Staff & Crew

Sweeney Todd will be on stage May 24 through June 16, 2019. Performances will be Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays at 8pm; Sundays at 3pm. All performances are held at Wheaton Drama’s Playhouse 111, located at 111 N. Hale Street in downtown Wheaton. Tickets are available NOW by phone at 630-260-1820 or online at www.wheatondrama.org.

Wheaton Drama is now seeking teachers for their annual Summer Workshop. Wheaton Drama workshops will help build confidence by giving the attendees first hand experience in creating a live production. Children will learn how teamwork works in building a theatrical presentation…besides having fun and making new friends.The place to be this summer is Wheaton Drama’s Playhouse 111.

Teachers will be responsible for working with a specific age group in building theatre skills, music skills or dance skills (depending upon the position they apply for). There will be several meetings in order to prepare for the summer as a group prior to the start of our July session. We will work as a leadership team to make sure that all staff feel comfortable and know what to expect.

Dance – Staff will be responsible for teaching each group a “class” dance to the music choose by the music teacher. They will also be teaching a camp finale dance number to the music choose by the music teacher.

Music – Staff will be responsible for teaching each group a “class” song that fits with the camp theme (to be chosen by the workshop staff). They will also teach a camp finale song that fits with the camp theme (to be chosen by the workshop staff).

Theatre – Staff will be responsible for working with their “class” on various theatre games to help build confidence. They will also find and present a short script that will fit with the camp theme (to be chosen by the workshop staff).

Our workshop moto – “It is about the process NOT the product.” We only have one week together and our goal is for the students to have fun and to learn something along the way. They should make growth from the moment they walk into the theatre on day 1 to the moment they leave on day 6. Our leadership team is there all week to help in anyway they can.

Teachers can apply for Music, Theatre or Dance for week 1 (elementary), week 2 (middle school / high school) or both weeks. They will get paid $500 per week.

All applications are due no later than midnight on March 12th.

Link to apply for a Workshop Teacher Position – https://goo.gl/forms/Q3EYznlapKjWviWi2

We will be holding staff interviews on March 16 beginning at 12:30pm. No later than March 14th, you will receive an email with a scheduled time for an interview if one is needed. (Note – an interview may not be needed if you are a returning staff member. But a completed application is required by ALL those who wish to be considered.)

Workshop Details & Dates

July 8 – 13, 2019 Performance Theatre

Grades 1-5* morning session: 8:30 am -12:00 pm

Grades 1-5* afternoon session: 1 pm -4:30 pm

Staff will be working from 8AM – 5PM Monday – Saturday. They are required to be present the whole time.

July 10 – 13, 2019 Technical Theatre

Grades 6-12*

July 10, 1 pm -4:30 pm

July 11-13, 9 am -4:30 pm

Staff will be working Wednesday from 12:30PM – 5PM and Thursday – Saturday 8:30AM – 5PM. They are required to be present the whole time.

July 15 – 20, 2019 Performance Theatre

Grades 6-12* full day session 9 am -4:30 pm

Staff will be working from 8:30 – 5PM Monday – Friday and 8:30 – 1PM on Saturday. They are required to be present the whole time.

July 17 – 20, 2019 Technical Theatre

Grades 6-12*

July 17, 1 pm -4:30 pm

July 18 -20, 9 am -4:30 pm

Staff will be working Wednesday from 12:30PM – 5PM and Thursday – Saturday 8:30AM – 5PM. They are required to be present the whole time.

Saturday Performance

Grade 1-5 morning class: July 13 -10:30 am

Grade 1-5 afternoon class: July 13 -2:00 pm

Grade 6-8, High School: July 20 -10:00 am

STUDENTS “ACTING IT UP” AT WHEATON DRAMA

A six week workshop designed to strengthen the acting “muscle.” Through acting games and exercises, each week students will work on a different aspect of acting technique such as movement, voice, characterization, pantomime, plus others. Teamwork, focus and listening are added benefits in this acting workshop. Students will also work on a short 15 min skit to apply the skills learned and will perform at the end of the last class. Sessions will be posted throughout the year as they become open for registration (roughly a month before the class starts).

All sessions will be on Monday afternoons at these times:

Grades 1 – 4:  4:30 p.m. until 5:20 p.m.

Grades 5 – 8:  5:25 p.m. until 6:15 p.m.

IMPORTANT NOTICE – Classes will now be on MONDAYS for the remainder of the year. 

Dates:  

Spring Session: February 24 – April 6 (Make Up April 13 – Note no class March 30 due to Spring Break)

Late Spring Session: April 20  – June 1 (Make Up June 8 – Note no class on May 25 due to Memorial Day)

WHERE: 111 N. Hale Street, Wheaton, IL 60187

TUITION: $110

REGISTRATION: www.wheatondrama.org

Note: Classes are subject to change based on enrollment. Registration for each class will be open one month before the class begins. If there are not enough students enrolled in any given session then the class may be cancelled. Notification of a cancelled class will be sent out the weekend prior to the start of class, and all money will be refunded. Depending upon student registration, classes also may be combined. All decisions will be made the Sunday before classes start and communicated to families ASAP. Registration for classes close the Sunday before class begins. 

Staff: All staff are certified teachers who go through extensive background checks each year.  

Contact Education Governor Elyse Willis for more information at wdieducation@gmail.com or call 630-260-1820 and leave a message about registration.

Wheaton Drama is now seeking applications for our 2019 Scholarship Awards. Scholarships will be awarded to two qualified applicants.

Applications will be completed online this year, with a deadline of March 31, 2019.

All application information can be found here: http://www.wheatondrama.org/education/scholarship/.

.

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