Encore Michigan

Penny Seats sets 2023 General Auditions 1/29 video submissions

January 24, 2023

THE PENNY SEATS 2023 GENERAL AUDITIONS

The Penny Seats will hold general auditions virtually, via video submission only, beginning now through January 29, 2022. Please e-mail your submissions to thepennyseats@gmail.com, attaching a link to your submission. Submissions must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. on Monday, January 29th.

Callbacks will occur seasonally on a rolling basis; directors will reach out to schedule in-person callbacks in the 2 to 3 months preceding each show. (See approximate callback dates below.) Please note – a lack of callback for one show does not mean you will not be called back for another!

If auditioning for non-musicals only, please prepare two contrasting 1-2 minute monologues. If auditioning for the musical, please prepare one 1-2 minute monologue and one song in the style of the show. (Karaoke accompaniment is fine; songs from the show are fine but not required.) Please also submit a resume and recent headshot. All roles are paid.

Although the character descriptions below typically contain binary (male/female) descriptors, our casting seeks to be as inclusive as possible. We encourage gender non-conforming, genderqueer, transgender, and non-binary actors to audition for the roles they most identify with. Further, actors of all races, genders, and ethnicities, as well as actors with disabilities, are exuberantly encouraged to audition. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us at thepennyseats@gmail.com if you have any questions.

HERE’S OUR 2023 SEASON
(AND RELEVANT CALLBACK/REHEARSAL/PERFORMANCE DATES):

MONSTERS OF THE AMERICAN CINEMA, BY CHRISTIAN ST. CROIS

  • Callbacks approx. February 6
    Rehearsals begin March 6
    Performances April 7-22

  • Cast:

    • Remy – approx. 37 years old, African American, male-presenting. Gay. A widower. Remy leads his two-male household with a warm and loving sense of humor, but he knows when to drop the cool-dad permissiveness and command respect. An activist, he’s deliberately unrefined, highly disinterested in extravagance or luxury. His working-class roots should be obvious in body and dress. He may or may not have tattoos.

    • Pup – a teenager. White, male-presenting. Straight. The son of Remy’s late husband. Pup’s an aspiring filmmaker, but little more than a skinny kid with a camcorder for now. At home with Remy, he shares his late father’s quippy sense of humor and fidgety nerves. You wouldn’t recognize the carefree bully he becomes when he’s around his friends, though. He sprouts a little chin stubble.

  • Synopsis: When his husband dies, Remy Washington, a Black man, finds himself both the owner of a drive-in movie theater and a caregiver to his late husband’s straight, white teenage son, Pup. United by their love of classic American monster movies, the two have developed a warm and caring familial chemistry – but their relationship fractures when Remy discovers Pup and his friends have been bullying a gay teen at his school. Told through dueting monologue and playful dialogue, the play is a haunting and humorous tale about fathers and sons, ghosts and monsters.

RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET, A MUSICAL BY BOB CARLTON

  • Callbacks approx. April 9
    Rehearsals begin June 26
    Performances August 3  – 19 (outside at Burns Park)

  • Cast: Approx. 10. 4 male-presenting principals, 3 female-presenting principals, 1-4 characters (including 1 principal) who can be any gender. A song list and more information is available here.

    • Captain Tempest – Male-presenting, Lead, Tenor. A stardust Captain, square-jawed paper hero and pipe smoker.

    • Doctor Prospero – Male-presenting, Lead, Baritone. A Mad Scientist.

    • Miranda – Female-presenting, Lead, Alto. A would-be Homecoming Queen.

    • Ariel – Any Gender, Supporting, any voice type. A soft hearted Robot.

    • Cookie – Male-presenting, Supporting, Tenor. The ship’s cook, a hopeless romantic.

    • Gloria – Female-presenting, Supporting, Mezzo-Soprano. A woman with a mysterious past.

    • Bosun Arras – Male-presenting, Supporting, Baritone. An all-around good guy.

    • Navigation Officer – Female-presenting, Supporting, Alto. A woman who knows where she’s going.

    • Damage Limitation Crew (2-4) – any gender, multiple voices.

  • Synopsis: Inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest, this high-energy jukebox musical is packed with rock classics like “Great Balls of Fire,” “Good Vibrations,” “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” “Young Girl”  and “Gloria.” Blast off on a routine flight and crash into the planet D’Illyria, where this sci-fi smash unfolds with glee!

THE MAN BEAST, BY JOSEPH ZETTELMAIER

  • Callbacks approx. August 6
    Rehearsals begin September 4
    Performances October 6- 22

  • Cast:

    • Jean Chastel, 50s, male-presenting. A hunter.

    • Virginie Allard, 40s, female-presenting. A taxidermist.

  • Synopsis: A Gothic drama. In the 1800s, the wilds of France were stalked by a fearsome creature. Over three years, the Beast of Gévaudan claimed over one-hundred victims. Then, an outcast forester killed a hideous wolf-like creature and presented its corpse to King Louis for a rich reward. However, the story he told may not have been the entire truth. He certainly didn’t mention a strange woods-witch and her involvement in his great hunt.

SUNRISE COVEN, BY BRENDAN BORQUE-SHEIL

  • Callbacks approx. September 11
    Rehearsals begin November 1
    Performances December 1 -17

  • Cast:

    • Hallie – 50’s-60’s, female-presenting. Was a Nurse Practitioner. Going blind from diabetic retinopathy. Slight Texas accent.

    • Annie – 20’s-30’s, female-presenting. Asian American. Born and raised in Buckstop, left for school, recently returned. Loves the practice of Medicine with a religious zeal, tries to love this town, with mixed success.

    • Winter Moon – 30’s-50’s, female-presenting. Eclectic Neo-Pagan geek, easily enthused, lifelong seeker and teacher.

    • Ethan – 20’s-30’s, male-presenting. Owns a bunch of swords and a thesaurus. Awarded a Purple Heart for the TBI he sustained in Iraq. Texas accent. Easily flustered but has a hyperdrive.

    • Jax – 60’s or older, male-presenting. “Jax” is short for Jackson. Lifelong citizen of Buckstop. Teaches Sciences and Shop at the local high school. Heart of gold.

  • Synopsis: Hallie Heaton is a beloved Nurse Practitioner in a tiny Texas town beset by every economic and existential struggle one could think up. After losing her medical license, she teams up with a local witch and a drug dealer to forge a new path to treating her patients. Magic and Medicine collide and coalesce in Sunrise Coven, a dark comedy about healers, healing, and pharmaceuticals, in a town that’s barely holding on

The Penny Seats

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