***CASTING UPDATE***
Thank you to all who auditioned for Follies. The final cast list can be found by clicking HERE.
The full cast should plan to attend rehearsal from 7:00-9:30pm on both Monday, March 22 and Tuesday, March 23. Please bring a pencil and a $25 cash or check deposit for your script. The $25 will be returned to you at the end of the production upon the safe return of your script, which is rented from the publisher.
A schedule for the Thursday, March 25 and Saturday, March 27 rehearsals will be emailed out later today or tomorrow.
Let Charlie know if you have any questions!
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Blue Water Theatre Company is pleased to announce auditions for high school actors for our upcoming production of Follies.
In Follies, the time is 1971, and theatrical impresario Dimitri Weissmann hosts a reunion of ex-Follies performers in his crumbling theatre, setting the stage for a parade of brilliant musical numbers including: “Losing My Mind,” “I’m Still here,” and “Broadway baby.” Amid the reminiscing, two middle-aged couples confront some unpleasant truths about their past and present, coming face-to-face with the future.
A true theatrical event, this legendary masterpiece is considered by many to be the greatest musical ever created. Surreal, sophisticated, compelling, heart wrenching, and epic in scope, Follies, by musical theatre legend Stephen Sondheim and author James Goldman, uses musical theatre as a metaphor for the collapse of American innocence and naiveté in the post-Kennedy years.
WHO CAN AUDITION?
Auditions are open to actors who are currently in high school (grades 9-12).
WHEN ARE AUDITIONS?
Auditions will take place in person, by appointment, from 7:00-9:30pm on March 15 (Monday), March 16 (Tuesday), and March 18 (Thursday).
To sign up for an audition time, please click HERE.
The auditions will be held at our theatre in Wayzata at 605 Rice Street East. Please use the driveway on the north side of the building (off of Walker Avenue) to access the main entrance, which is off of the deck in the back of the building.
If you are unable to audition any of the scheduled audition times, you may submit a video audition. Please contact Charlie Leonard (charlie.leonard@bluewatertheatre.com) for further information. All video auditions must be completed, submitted, and received by the directing team by 7:00pm on Thursday, March 18 in order to be considered.
Callback auditions (for select actors) will take place on Saturday, March 20 from 9:00-11:30am. A list of the actors needed at callbacks will be posted on the BWTC website by noon on Friday, March 19. If you know that your schedule will not allow you to attend the callback auditions, please make sure the directing team is aware of that at your initial audition so that we can make alternative plans should we need to see you again.
WHAT DO I NEED TO PREPARE FOR MY AUDITION?
We will be asking you to present two short musical selections and one short monologue, which you will prepare ahead of time.
The monologue can be downloaded by clicking HERE.
The musical selections are listed below. Click the title of each to download the sheet music excerpt, and click the audio tab to hear the accompaniment track.
If you wish to be considered for the roles in the show that are written for women, you should prepare both of the following two musical selections:
If you wish to be considered for the roles in the show that are written for men, you should prepare each of the following two musical selections:
***Prior to your audition, each actor should fill out the online “Actor Information & Conflict Sheet,” which you can find by clicking HERE. Please have your personal calendars handy when you fill this out, including all important end-of-the-school year dates that we will need to know about.***
CASTING:
The cast list will be posted by 3:00pm on Sunday, March 21.
Under normal circumstances, we would be looking to cast between 35-40 actors in this production. We still hope that is what we end up doing. However, current COVID-19 guidelines limit the group size for indoor activities to 25. We will adhere to whatever the current guidelines are at the time the casting decisions must be made.
REHEARSALS:
Rehearsals will begin on Monday, March 22. They will generally take place from 7:00-9:30pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, and from 9:00-4:00 on Saturdays. There are also two Sunday evening rehearsals from 7:00-9:30 on May 9 and May 16.
There will be four dress/tech rehearsals that will run from 5:00-9:30pm. Those will be held each night from May 31 through June 3
DRESS/TECH REHEARSALS & PERFORMANCES:
Performances may begin as soon as Friday, June 4, and will close as late as Sunday, June 20. They will be held on Fridays at 7:00pm, Saturdays at 1:00 & 7:00pm, and Sundays at 2:00pm.
Please note that, for the first time ever we are scheduling performances over THREE weekends (not just two). We still expect to only have 8 performances over those three weekends, but for now we are leaving our options open as to which days we will actually perform due to many of the area high schools still waiting to figure out when and if they are having in-person graduation ceremonies. We expect to be able to narrow down performance dates at least a month ahead of time.
PRODUCTION FEE
Actors who are cast in Follies will pay a $375 production fee, which will be due during the first week of rehearsal.
Scholarships are available to those who are in need. Please contact Alison Haseman at alison.haseman@bluewatertheatre.com to see if you qualify for a scholarship.
COVID-19
For up-to-date info on how BWTC is handing COVID-19 precautious, please click HERE.
Obviously, involvement in any activity — especially an indoor activity — carries with it some level of risk due to the current environment, and we do not recommend participation at this time if you are uncomfortable with that.
Our goal is to follow the guidelines from authorities with regards to what we can and cannot do, while also looking to the experiences of local high school theatre programs and other youth activities (like sports).
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions about our production of Follies, or about Blue Water Theatre Company in general, please contact Charlie Leonard at charlie.leonard@bluewatertheatre.com.
